Obsolescence Project

Day 313 – Soap Dish

Soap Dish

Brass Soap Dish. Procured at garage sale. Used for quite a while, hence all the soap scum traces. But then abandoned when the bathroom was renovated last year as the new counter top is a hard, solid and unforgiving material, and they didn’t seem to like each other.

Soap Dish

Despite the corrosion, I love the turquoise patina that has appeared.

Soap Dish

Status: Dare I try to clean it and re-purpose to hold blue or green candies?

Kill-ratio: 36: 3 / 12: 1

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 313 For Letting Time Have Its Way.

Posted on by Deanne in Objects

Day 312 – Glass Ashtray

Glass ashtray

Glass Ashtray. Vaguely art deco in feel. Not sure of actual vintage. A garage sale find.

This is here for the smoking as no longer practiced (possibly obsolete overall?) status, not because it has no use. It is used for holding pencil sharpenings. I’ve been getting back into drawing (frightened into submission by  Jenny Holzer’s Truism “People who don’t work with their hands are parasites”) and right now am using watercolour pencils, which wear down quickly due to the constant dipping in water. Hence frequent sharpening occurs and this ashtray gets quite a bit of use. It’s also “on display” so admired, not hiding in the closet clutter.

It does have a flaw — a chip, which was not there when purchased, but is one of those things unfortunate things that can happen when you have beautiful things “on display”.  It remains beautiful in my eye however. I love the chunkiness of it and the form.

Glass ashtray

Glass Ashtray

Status: Write short mystery set in the 1920s wherein it is featured as murder weapon. The glamourous thin girl with the cigarette holder did it.

Kill-ratio: 26:3 / ~9:1

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 312 For Reflecting Upon Dust

Posted on by Deanne in Objects

Day 310 – Ashtray

Ashtray

Ashtray from The Marine Room, Olympic Hotel, North Vancouver. From between the 50s and 70s.

The hotel was demolished over 20 years ago.

Olympic Hotel - From City of Vancouver Archives

Olympic Hotel – From City of Vancouver Archives

Olympic Hotel - From City of Vancouver Archives

Olympic Hotel – From City of Vancouver Archives

This photo must pre-date its apparent reputation as a biker bar, more details of which can be found on Sparkling Apple’s page. A band I just learned of searching for pix of the Olympic Hotel.

Ashtray

Is smoking obsolete? Sometimes it seems so in this frontier town.

Status: Invite friends who smoke over to smoke on the balcony.

Kill-ratio: 26:2 / 13:1

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 310 For Exhaling The Good Ole Days.

Day 20 featured another tobacciana item, a Zippo lighter.

Posted on by Deanne in Objects

Day 308 – Eyeglasses

Eyeglasses

Eye glasses. Old fashioned bi-focal ones. You can see the oval ridge where the script changes.

Looking through these is a dizzying experience, even for someone with myopia. Not 100% sure of the vintage of these puppies. They kinda look 1950s, but then again they could be from the 70s. The fabulous lady who wore them has long since passed on (RIP) and she was a thrifty type, who kept things for a long time, so I lean towards the earlier decade.

Letter

Artied up (by me) letter by Benjamin Franklin
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/franklin-home.html

Good old Benjamin Franklin was apparently the inventor of bi-focals. 17 points in favour of this argument are offered up at the antique spectacles site.

Reason No. 5: “.”I cannot distinguish a letter even of large print; but am happy in the invention of double spectacles, which serving for distant objects as well as near ones, make my eyes as useful to me as ever they were: If all the other defects and infirmities were as easily and cheaply remedied, it would be worth while for friends to live a good deal longer…..”

 

Eyeglasses

Status: Sell. I tried them on, they are too small for my face, even though I love their retro feel.

Kill-ratio: 18:2 / 9:1

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 308 For Splitting the Difference.

Posted on by Deanne in Jewellery, Objects

Day 307 – Lyon Pocket Flash Gun

Flash Kit in Case

Lyon Pocket Flash, Type B.C. Made in Japan.

Can’t find any info on this – but guessing it’s from the 50s, based solely on the colours.

Flash Kit

When I lifted it out of the box, although I was delicate and tender in my handling,  the plastic wrapping the electrical cable began to disintegrate. I saved up the little chunks, which are now sitting at the bottom of the leather pouch.

Lyon Flash Kit

Flash Kit Case

Status: Keep

Kill-ratio: 42:4 / ~10:1

Alt-title: Untitled Object No. 307 For Reflecting Upon Electricity

Posted on by Deanne in Photography