Friday, January 27, 2017

A new addition to the War Room

The back - note the text on the cards is viewable. 

We're not at home much at present, but I came across these pictures while I was messing about on my phone.  They are from a small project that I completed before Christmas and which I'm very happy with. I was given a collection of cigarette cards by a friend some years ago, shortly before he died.  I think they belonged to his brother.  In any event, they were a complete set of uniforms of the territorial army, beginning with the London Trained Bands and finishing with the TA of 1938. I love their clean lines and bright colours, but I wanted to find a way to display them without covering up the text on the back of the cards. 



The front - a fine body of men

I ordered the mount online, as cutting windows for fifty cards seemed like a ludicrous way to spend my time.  There was also every chance that I would make a balls of it and ruin a perfectly good piece of mounting board. My plan was to get two pieces of glass cut to fit the frame and sandwich the cards and the mount between them. I wasn't sure that the frame would take the weight, but I was happy to be proven wrong.  



This somewhat Trump like construction appeared in Capability Savages garret studio recently. Whatever can it be? 




17 comments:

  1. A wonderful and very attractive addition for your war room walls! I'm terribly envious.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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    1. Thank you very much Stokes. I'm very pleased with it.

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  2. Very handsome display piece! Perfect addition to your War Room.

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  3. Could it be a windmill just waiting for its sails?

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  4. Excellent: thanks for sharing. I've got quite a number of cigarette cards that I gathered for reference purposes that now live in a small box. Not the best form of display, to say the least. It hadn't occurred to me that there are products available to mount and show these colorful artifacts in picture-form. Could I trouble you to tell me what the thingy that the cards are mounted in is called?

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    1. I honestly couldn't tell you old chap. I think they are just called a mount.

      I got mine from Lee@cigarettecards.co.uk.

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  5. The cards are very stylish - I love that style of illustration.

    Have you seen the book "Vanished Armies" published by Shire? That is a fascinating collection of 1908 (ish) illustrations

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    1. I leafed through a copy a couple of years ago and have been fighting the urge ever since...

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  6. A superb addition, and very tastefully presented.

    Cheers,
    Aaron

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  7. I can only think that it might be a mouse hotel? The Trump like construction is what I'm talking about, of course, for some reason it just screams mouse hotel!

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  8. A genius idea to put glass at the back as well as the front.. I have a similar set of American War of Independence uniform cards and may do the same!

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    1. I heartily recommend it. I would suggest giving Lee@cigarettecards.co.uk a shout - he does reasonably priced mounts.

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  9. Whoever might the artist be? Stadden?

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