winged death heads
the may fifteenth b-b-bonus this week in outsider art *paid* newsletter
FIND OF THE WEEK
There are a handful things, in the past few years that I have become obsessed. Things, particularly art things, that I love everything about, want to know everything about, and can’t get enough of. Two of those things are in this newsletter.
Below you’ll find centuries old gravestones from New England. Above, centuries old handmade playing cards (don’t forget Asafo flags, printing woodblocks, and fish decoys). I mean c’mon, can you blame me?!
Ever since I spotted these handmade cards at the Outsider Art Fair, I’ve kept my eyes out for any and all handmade playing cards, and these from the fine folks at Critical Eye Finds fit the bill.
The prints were cut apart from the original publication, mounted on heavy weight card, bordered with gold foil paper adhered around the edges, and hand-painted with glorious color much richer and more elaborate than in the copy of the booklet at Yale. I think it is safe to assume that this is a one of a kind set, perhaps as very special flash cards of sorts for a child. Two are lost (the M and the W) or never were, but miraculously this set of 24 has stayed together, in excellent shape
You had me at playing cards from the 1830s and kept me forever at hand-painted and gold foil paper edges. Unfortunately for me, since there is no M or W, I can’t buy these as my sons Milo and Wallace would be thoroughly disappointed in me.
At the time of this writing, these are still available for purchase via Critical Eye Finds for $375.
✌️ every wednesday, this bonus newsletter with bonus outsider art content, including exhibit listings, personal collection highlights, and news of the week, will be sent to paid subscribers. The weekly ‘This Week in Outsider Art’ newsletter that goes out every Sunday morning continues to and will always be free of charge — enjoy ✌️
B-B-BONUS
Earlier this week I shared Lucy Ulmer’s gravestone. I caused a bit of a stir when I mentioned that this looked to me like a spider. Of course, as I have come to find out and as almost everyone pointed out to me it is not a spider, but an angel or winged death head. Look, I’m new to “New England Gravestones from the 18th Century” and the thought of a spider skull on a gravestone was too good to pass up.
Needless to say I wanted, nay needed to know more. So as one does, I spent my planning periods during the last two weeks of school reading about these gravestones and going down a rabbit hole of funerary art in Puritan New England, finding some of the most beautiful gravestones I’ve ever seen.