I am tired and I am dirty. I have spent the past two days deconstructing old ledgers.
We have been collecting them for a year or two now. Some are as old as the mid 1800s and some as new as the early 1900s. Now before you start reprimanding me for destroying history, look at the covers.
I only take apart those ledgers that have totally damaged covers. The one on the right looked as if it had been in a fire although the pages were still in good condition. Well, not the last 50 pages. A child had access to the book and colored all over those last pages. The one on the left had a detached cover and the back cover mostly missing. The earlier the year of the ledger, the more handsome the handwriting and the more costly! I love wondering about the clerk who carefully kept the records. The lovely flourishes must have taken extra time. I think by preserving the pages and honoring them in some art project, they are given new life and respect.
These pages will end up in a package of assorted ledger and journal pages, all handwritten, to be sold at Artiscape in Columbus April 16-18 at our Small Studio booth.
Some of my favorite people have signed up for the Teesha and Tracy weekend in July. I am so looking forward to all the classes. There are openings just waiting for you. I feel like one of those Public Radio fundraiser programs. I won't stop promoting this event until all the seats are taken.
Butcher!
Posted by: luftmensch | Monday, 29 March 2010 at 09:46 PM
The pages are works of art themselves.
Alison
Posted by: Alison Gibbs | Tuesday, 30 March 2010 at 05:34 AM
Mike: You are too funny
Allison: I agree, beautiful and fascinating.
Posted by: ginnycartersmallenburg | Tuesday, 30 March 2010 at 10:49 AM
Love the pages...but I love those covers equally as much!
Posted by: Seth | Tuesday, 30 March 2010 at 11:21 PM