What kind of cows do bovine heart valve replacements come from? Surely not random animals off the feedlot. Are there FDA-monitored herds that provide the donor pericardial tissue for this process? This is surprisingly difficult to run down via the usual sources.
Posted: 4:46 pm Sat November 06 2010 | Comments(3) |
Y’all did such a beautiful job on the china pattern question a year or two ago that I have a new china pattern question.
calendula_witch found some Haviland plates in a thrift shop. She’s having trouble running down the pattern. Most of what she can find online shows the pattern extending into the flat of the plate, but these are on the rim only.
One of the plates in all its glory.
A closer view of the pattern.
The maker’s mark, sadly blurred by low light.
Here is what the words on that last photo say:
Haviland, France
Haviland & Co Limoges
for
S&G Gump Co
San Francisco
With a bear, presumably to symbolize California.
Any thoughts on this pattern, or information about its history, would be most welcome!
This work by Shannon Page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Posted: 6:48 pm Thu November 04 2010 | Comments(3) |
Thank you very much to everyone who made comments and suggestions on yesterday’s post about the curio cabinet belonging to calendula_witch’s family [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ].
As a followup, calendula_witch’s mother has provided more detail and additional photos.
This cabinet has been in our family since at least 1940. It came with a 2nd husband (aged about 50 at that time)of my grandmother. He had inherited it from his wealthy New England family. They originally came to this country from Germany, and his father became a naturalized US citizen in 1885.
The decorations are painted, not inlay or decal. The design on the top includes a lyre on top of a scroll of sheet music. It seems mostly solid wood, except for the top surface, which is veneer. The gold accents are metal, tack-nailed on. There is no label or mark we can find. There are 2 metal keys. The shelves are thick glass, with a mirror on the back inside wall. There is no light in the cabinet.
The curved glass has no distortion. The solid pieces of wood are butted, and probably joined with dowels that can’t be seen.
A while back I found something similar on eBay that was French from about 1850, so this may be the same or a later reproduction. It would be nice to know. It is about 4’8″ tall. Also, there are some screws on the bottom, holding things together, but the curved wooden pieces are solid. My husband thinks the wood might be ash.
Also, it was mentioned elsewhere that the wiring visible in some of the photos is incidental to a lamp. The cabinet itself is not wired for electricity.
And the photos…
Photos © 2010 K. Salonen, reproduced with permission.
Posted: 5:50 am Tue October 19 2010 | Comments(3) |
calendula_witch’s mother has a china cabinet that has passed down through several generations of the family. The origin of this piece is completely unknown at this point. It is perhaps a century old. We’re hoping that someone among you can help identify the provenance, or give us clues as to what to look for by way of maker’s marks, etc. Given the success of you guys in identifying such things as china patterns and German bridges for me, I’m hoping we can score a hit here, too.
Any thoughts?
Photos © 2010 D. Salonen, reproduced with permission.
Posted: 5:57 am Mon October 18 2010 | Comments(8) |
I have a friend who’s planning a trip to Machu Picchu later this year. They asked me for some advice about access to the site and booking tours in specific time slots, but South America is the one inhabited continent I’ve never visited, so I’m a little thin on Peru travel lore.
If you have experience traveling in Peru, or specifically to Machu Picchu, and are willing to help my friend out, please leave me a note in comments so I can hook you up.
Posted: 5:44 am Mon October 04 2010 | Comments(2) |
Is 25-50 generations sufficient elapsed time for a human population under significant selection pressure to exhibit significant phenotypical variations?
I’m assuming something like a lost colony scenario, and/or multigenerational space farers. I’m also not looking for 10 foot tall green men or anything like that, but more along the lines of meaningful changes in height, build, coloration, body mass, musculature etc. such that current extreme expressions might become more common or even typical.
Posted: 10:19 am Sun October 03 2010 | Comments(13) |
Thank you for all the help on yesterday’s mystery photo post [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]. Users skh and
My Dad, who was the originator of the help request, is quite impressed with the community response. On his behalf, I extend thanks to everyone who pitched in.
© 1955, 1956, L.E. Lake, Sr.
This work by L.E. Lake, Sr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
Posted: 5:14 am Mon June 28 2010 | Comments(2) |
My grandfather, Colonel Dr. L.E. Lake, Sr., took this photo in Germany, or possibly elsewhere in Europe, ca. 1955-1956. We don’t know where this bombed-out palace is, or anything about the place. Can anybody help identify it? The mighty LJ brain has been very helpful in previous such queries.
© 1955, 1956, L.E. Lake, Sr.
This work by L.E. Lake, Sr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Posted: 7:35 am Sun June 27 2010 | Comments(7) |
Lilith Saintcrow and I have discovered a shared passion for the movie Mystery Men. We also have a shared love of the mighty Herkimer Battle Jitney featured in that movie. Neither of us has ever seen a toy or a model based on that prop vehicle.
Any model makers out there with the mad skillz to build a pair of Herkimer Battle Jitneys to desktop scale? 1:48 or 1:72 perhaps? Not to mention the time and interest… Please let us know.
Posted: 4:25 am Fri March 26 2010 | Comments(4) |
Hello, Internets. My sister is scanning old family photos. We’re trying to identify the bridge pictured below. My grandfather took the photo, probably in 1955, we believe in Bremen, Germany. Can anyone help us with the bridge name, location or historical info?
© 1955, Dr. L.E. Lake, Sr.
This work by Dr. L.E. Lake, Sr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Posted: 6:37 pm Tue February 02 2010 | Comments(5) |