Goddess Eastre And The First Day Of Spring 2010

This video is about a statue that I purchased at a dollar store. As I was walking down an aisle, I spotted it and thought that it would look nice if it was painted into a statue of a Goddess. Which one I thought ... how about The Germanic Goddess Eastre! I grabbed some paint and brought it all home. I wanted to do the job on March 20 since that date is the First Day Of Spring and the beginning of The Ostara Season. It turned out alright - the hair is fabulous.  I need to touch-up the rest of it.

Here is a video of it:

Keywords: Ēastre Ēostre Eostre Easter Ēostur-Monath Eosturmonath Germany German Anglo-Saxon Austrō Au̯es- Au̯es Ostarâ Eástre Eástor áustr Göttin des Ostern

Grover Cleveland's Birthday!

Today, March 18, 2010, is the 173th anniversary of former President Stephen Grover Cleveland's birth, and what better way to celebrate it then to go right where it all began ... his birthplace in Caldwell, New Jersey. It is a wonderful place to visit as it contains a nice assortment of items pertaining to the life of Grover Cleveland and life in general from the time in which he lived. These photos were taken at the home where Cleveland was born on November 30, 2008. I just cropped and uploaded them now!

Photo taken with the flash (horrible):


Photo taken without the flash (turned out quite nicely - great color):


Here I am to the left on the photo:

You can visit his place of birth too. Here are a few websites that discuss and describe the home:
http://www.clevelandbirthplace.org
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/historic/grover_cleveland/gc_home.htm
http://caldwellnj.com/grover.htm
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/presidents/grover_cleveland_birthplace.html
http://www.presidentialavenue.com/gc.cfm

James Madison's Birthday!

On this day in the year 1751, James Madison, Jr. was born. He is one of the great long-haired males of history and also one of the greats who was of a shorter stature - he is, in fact, the United States' shortest Commander In Chief standing at around five feet, four inches in height. Madison was the principal architect of the U.S. Constitution and, as leader of the nation, was one of two sitting Presidents (the other being George Washington) to lead the army on the actual field of battle (in the War Of 1812). Happy Birthday to James Madison on the 259th anniversary of his birth!

Here is a print of James Madison (believed to be from 1836):




Here is a land grant, signed by Madison as President, from November 20, 1816:


Close-up of the signature:


Here is a print of Madison's Montpelier Estate (believed to be from 1867):

A video of the above three items with a quick biography of James Madison:

Homemade Clay Statue Of The Venus De Milo

Continuing the clay statues from the previous post, here is the Venus De Milo aka Venus De Miko (made on 2-17-2010).  Here is a video showing the process.

Venus De Milo Goddess:

Many more clay statues to come!

Homemade Clay Statue Of The Minoan Snake Goddess

I have been having a fantastic time making clay statues the past few months, and I am just now showing them to the public. The first one to be presented is the Minoan Snake Goddess (made on 2-13-2010).  I have never had any training in the arts in my adult life and I did not make a project out of clay since elementary school ... that was nearly twenty-five years ago. I am very satisfied with the completed specimen. Here is a video showing the process.

Minoan Snake Goddess:

James Garfield (And Family) Signature Identification Video

I made this video so viewers and future autograph collectors can get acquainted with the signatures of James Abram Garfield, his wife Lucretia, his Mother Eliza and his son James Rudolph. I do not have enough examples so I do not consider this an actual Signature Study. You will note the letter - very interesting and apropos to see a letter with a request for one of James' autographs.

Remembering William Maxwell Evarts

I would like to introduce you to a lesser-known figure in American History, William Maxwell Evarts. He was heavily involved in the most important events of his day,  He is an obscure figure in the present. His history ...

1818-1901. Delegate at the 1860 RNC - nominated William Seward. Defense in the Andrew Johnson Impeachment Trial. Counsel for Rutherford Hayes versus Samuel Tilden in the 1876 election controversy. Secured funds for the Statue Of Liberty.

Family - his grandfather was Declaration Of Independence signer, Roger Sherman. His great-grandson was Archibald Cox who was the prosecutor during Richard Nixon's Watergate Scandal so he and his great-grandson were involved with two Presidents' court proceedings.

Some photos of a portrait print and an autographed card ...

Perhaps I will get around to framing the two of them together some day:


A video for you ...

The 65th Anniversary Of The Flag-Raising At Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima - a battle during World War II that cost both the Americans and the Japanese thousands of lives. Commemorations have taken place in the United States today, and many have duly noted the belligerence of this specific conflict. The fighting lasted from February 19, 1945 until March 26, 1945, and, although the War ultimately ended on September 2 of that year, two Japanese soldiers on the island of Iwo Jima did not surrender until 1949 or 1951 (accounts vary). Such soldiers are referred to as "holdouts" and "stragglers".

On February 23, 1945, a photo was taken ... and not just any photo. The flag raising at Iwo Jima is one of the most recognizable images in American History and perhaps all History. The image that most people know was actually the second flag raising of the day; the first flag was not large enough to be seen from other landing beaches so it was replaced with a larger flag

Here is an autograph of Charles Lindberg - he was part of the first flag raising and is believed to have been the last survivor of both flag raisings (he passed away in 2007).

George Washington's Birthday - February 22, 2010

Today is George Washington's Birthday, and we are going to go back in time to his 148th Birthday Anniversary Celebration held in 1880. Here is a promotional flyer from that event ...



Close-up shots (note the reference to the Grand Army Of The Republic)




A newspaper (Gazette Of The United States) from the time of his Presidential Administration (October 2, 1790) in what can be referred to as relic condition




George's name in type after an Act along with some other well-known figures in American History whom you might recognize


Here are some tokens and coins featuring portraits of Washington. I will go into greater depth and description of these at a later date. I plan on doing a full report on these exciting and misleading items.

From left to right, top then bottom ...

Obverse: "GEORGIVS TRIUMPHO"; Reverse: "VOCE POPLI" 1783 - the Latin phrases are George Triumphant and Voice Of The People. Many tokens of Washington that people believe to be from the Confederation Period (named after the Articles Of Confederation) were made much later than the date on the token. This is the rare exception as it is known to have circulated during that time period. The portrait looks nothing like George Washington and looks far more like George III. This is due to the fact that although he was well-known, a number of people still did not know what he looked like. A truly outstanding piece of Early Americana.

Obverse: "WASHINGTON PRESIDENT 1791"; Reverse: "ONE CENT" (and under the eagle, "UNUM E PLURIBUS" meaning One Out Of Many). This coin is real, but not real meaning it was made in the year 1791, but was unlicensed. Washington did not want his image to be depicted on any coins since this was typical of monarchs. Furthermore, this cent was made by the British in a bid to have a contract with the new nation. Washington wanted no part of it as he desired to have the minting done in America. A fantastic "could have been" specimen and an example of outsourcing rejected.

Obverse: "GEORGE WASHINGTON"; Reverse: "LIBERTY AND SECURITY". This was made around the year 1795 while he was in office. Awesome portrait - this is my favorite of all Washington tokens and coins.

Obverse: "WASHINGTON & INDEPENDENCE 1783"; Reverse: "UNITED STATES" (and at the bottom, "T.W.I." and "E.S." ... these initials give intriguing clues as to who made this token and thus when it was made). This is one of a handful of tokens bearing an eighteenth-century date, but was made in the nineteenth century. This was likely produced sometime between the 1820s and 1850s. People are constantly advertising and selling these as authentic Colonial and Confederation-Era items ... including honest and reputable political memorabilia dealers who do not know the history pertaining to these kinds of tokens. Exhaustive, yet still little-known, research has gone into this particular issue. Much more on this area of collecting when I make an actual website.





Another Birthday has come and passed. Thank you to all who have been reading this blog!

Civil War Union Buttons - Original And Reproduction

Here is a game for all of you to play. It features two buttons that date to the time of the War Between The States as well as two buttons that were made recently. Can you tell which ones are old and which ones are new??? Not too hard, huh?

Here is the url for the above video in case the embedding does not function properly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoEao1aZako