In the mid-19th Century, not long after the invention of photography, John Benjamin Dancer (1812 – 1887) began printing tiny photographs onto glass slides at his studio in Liverpool, England. In Paris, René Dagron (1817 – 1900) wondered how to circumvent the need for an expensive microscope to view them. In 1859, Dagron patented the first Stanhope lens mounted with a mini-photograph.
He named it after the magnifying device invented 50 years earlier by Charles Stanhope, Third Earl Stanhope (1753-1816). In the late-18th century, Stanhope invented lenses which allowed all sorts of “viewers” to house images in secret. Stanhopes, also called Bijoux Photomicroscopiques, became known as ‘peep holes’, ‘peep-eye views’ or ‘peeps’.
Kay Kyser (& his Kollege of Musical Knowledge) performed one of the strangest compositions I’ve heard recently. Invented in 1939, the Sonovox (or Talk Box) was featured in many advertisements, and used for the voice of the talking train in Disney’s Dumbo. [Found here via here.]
Possibly the best lip sync of Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs ever. (That’s John and Adrian according to the YouTube post notes.) Whoop, la-di-dah.
The Wheelgrinders are three hep cats from Vancouver B.C. cranking some entirely bitchin’ roots rockabilly. [h/t Gord S.]
Glad this week is over. The wind is picking up, so keep an eye on the weather forecasts. Have a great weekend – be back here tomorrow just for the helluvit.
Stack O’ Lee Blues,Mississippi John Hurt (1928)The song was published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923 by Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians, but the origin predates both, as a song called Stack-A-Lee was mentioned in in the Kansas City Leavenworth Herald, in 1897 as being performed by “Prof. Charlie Lee, the piano thumper.”
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 28 December 1895 Shot in Curtis’s Place
William Lyons, 25, a levee hand, was shot in the abdomen yesterday evening at 10 o’clock in the saloon of Bill Curtis, at Eleventh and Morgan Streets, by Lee Sheldon, a carriage driver. Lyons and Sheldon were friends and were talking together. Both parties, it seems, had been drinking and were feeling in exuberant spirits. The discussion drifted to politics, and an argument was started, the conclusion of which was that Lyons snatched Sheldon’s hat from his head. The latter indignantly demanded its return. Lyons refused, and Sheldon withdrew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen. When his victim fell to the floor Sheldon took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away. He was subsequently arrested and locked up at the Chestnut Street Station. Lyons was taken to the Dispensary, where his wounds were pronounced serious. Lee Sheldon is also known as ‘Stag’ Lee.
“This rather comical photo was taken in 1912, and contrary to popular belief on the internet it isn’t a man testing a new prototype of American Football helmet by bashing his head against a wall. The truth is actually more interesting than the myth when it comes to this image. In actual fact the man is British inventor W.T. Warren, and the image is of him leaping against a hanger wall at the flying school of William Hugh Ewen, at Hendon in the UK.
His invention, the Warren Safety Helmet was a spring-equipped pilot safety helmet, which was padded with horsehair. It was designed to absorb an impact as head injuries were the leading cause of death in flight accidents at the time. The helmet saw considerable use during World War I and an example of Warren’s invention can be found in the Imperial War Museum.
The other men in the photo are the flying school’s owner William Hugh Ewen, in the middle, on the left stands his chief pilot Lewis Turner and the man on the right was named A. M. Ramsey. The photograph was published in Aviation magazine Flight on 6th April 1912.”
[Image found here, description from the comments.]
Cat City (2017) by Vewn. “I wanted to portray a world where a character’s experience in the physical world is a reflection of their emotional turmoil. In a way, it parallels my own experience of growing up and leaving home to pursue what I thought was my dream, and then slowly realizing it wasn’t what I thought it would be.”
-Victoria Vincent
Woman Don’t Lie & Somebody Loan Me A Dime – Luther Johnson, with Sonny Thompson on piano (1973). The second [3:50] is a cover of a Fenton Robinson song.
The Last Meal, Hurricane Harry (1956)A singer, pianist and songwriter, Hurricane Harry (aka Earl Burrows, Early S. Burrows, George Stone ,T.T. Tyler, and stage name Jack Hammer) was born Earl Solomon Burroughs (1925-2016). He co-wrote Great Balls of Fire.
He named it after the magnifying device invented 50 years earlier by Charles Stanhope, Third Earl Stanhope (1753-1816). In the late-18th century, Stanhope invented lenses which allowed all sorts of “viewers” to house images in secret. Stanhopes, also called Bijoux Photomicroscopiques, became known as ‘peep holes’, ‘peep-eye views’ or ‘peeps’.
Tacky Raccoons 