Unusual British art

[Anthony Bennett]

I am not as good as Bruce being able to spot fantastic glass gilding but I have found a couple of unusual(to me) pieces that are worthy I think of sharing.
The pub (Bar) I go to on the odd occassion on a Sunday (for my sunday dinner)has these pieces hung up along with loads of other stuff like stuffed and varnished fish caught in 1901 by a 9 year old angler, entertainment posters from pre first world way germany, old cooking vessels and things of a similar vein.
I am not so sure that the English Pub is understood by those who don't live in the UK but basically some pubs in the UK are part of the historical need for a place to go for an alcoholic drink with people who live in your local community. Other pubs are really what used to be coaching houses on post roads, where the mail rider could get a change of horse and the passenger in the carriage could get food/drink and in some case a bed for the night but does not fall into the description of Hotel.
My local, The New Inn in Farnborough, Bath is a copy of the later type of hostelry in that it's history starts around 1900 as a Pub.
These two pieces are something I have a mind to make copies of. I think they are all wood with clock inserts and they are 3d in as much as they are painting but with three dimensional figures making up the piece.
I don't know if there is a particular name for this type of art form but if anyone knows I would love to be told.
Here's hoping you find these pieces as interesting and unusual as I do.

[DAVE SMITH]

Hi Anthony.
I used to buy these signs from a company in France. They are all made on mass mate.
The top sign was at the time around £85 to buy ,They had about 30 to 40 different signs for sale along with furniture etc all made to have a nostalgic feel.
Most of it I know was made in China as some of the Items had a chinese stamp on them but still very nicely made and did fit well in some pubs.
I found the site but no Idea how to find the signs now,it was 15 years ago when I had bought and sold around 50 signs. Still might be worth checking onlne else where..
or have a go and make a few.....goodluck with that..

http://www.countrycorner.com/en/brand.html

[Anthony Bennett]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. China eh!
I didn't realise these were mass produced. In the pub they are placed in a position that you cannot get a close look at them.I do find them interesting and whilst the top one's clock is painted on, the bottom one's clock has metal hands (they are bent back) and I did wonder if it was a working clock at some time.
I had a good look around the site you posted and could not find them, maybe the company has moved on in 15 years.
I do wonder if making onein reverse on glass, in a wooden frame maybe, with a working clock might be fun. Learning to make the 3d parts ond attaching them to glass will be the hardest part for me I think.

Anyway, thanks again for the steer Dave and if anyone else knows anything else about this style I would love to know more.

[Billie DeBekker]

Anthony to expand on what Dave was Saying, Back in the 80s and 90s Most of those were Cast in polyurethane resin. There was a decent size company called Verlinden that did a lot of that casting in Europe. I think all they do now is Hobby Related Products.

In my life before signs I had a Resin Casting Company and we had done a lot of this type work for other clients. (My Primary focus was Military Models for the Hobby Industry and Hollywood) but we did a fair amount of Sub work also.

All of our masters were handcrafted then Molded and then Cast.. Then with the Advent of Computers and China most of us went by the wayside as We couldn't compete. I still have a few molds left. (No Signs though) Here are few Copies of some mid 1800's German Christmas Decorations.

[Anthony Bennett]

William, Thank you for this information. I am up to speed with resin casting and have a dvd on making molds, I once wanted to see if a resin molded part could be cast using metal powders (from Bentleys) for electroplating purposes.
Anyway, I thought the two items would have been a wood composite but thinking about it they must have been cast in a mold to get the 3d effect. Shame you don't have any of the sign molds left, it would have been different to see one made up with one of the new clock inserts they have nowdays.
Still, I am doing a crazy erik here and thinking obtusely...I could reverse paint the scene on a pice of glass using a feint wash, then antique gild it as Bruce just showed then drill a 23mm hole somewhere in the piece and fit a sealed clock unit....It's a thought

[Billie DeBekker]

Anthony That is a very Interesting Idea. I'm not sure if you could get enough Powder mixed with the resin as to make it conduct a charge since the resin has to surround the powder to bond, That is something that I might have to try.. I have a few pounds of Bronze Powder for Cold Cast bronze.

I just checked my Bronze Powder and it would not create a circuit when I put in my probes from my ohm meter directly into the powder. I don't have any Alum or copper powders here to check those. But I did test some pieces I have that have been coated in Luminore Spray metal coating and they would not conduct.

[Robare M. Novou]

Here is a site that might add to the intruige.

http://www.lifesize-models.co.uk

RMN

[Anthony Bennett]

William, It will work. Your thinking is a little off. Remember bronzed baby boots and gold plated roses?
The metal powder is painted onto the surface of the mold and then the resin poured. It will take a couplke of days for my addled old brain ( wait...I recal Silver Spray is the conductor) to remember but I will revisit the experiment. I do remember it is too expensive to be viable.

Robare, Thanks for that, my idea was intended for A4/A3 but maybe this company has some pointers for non life size mouldings...and they are about an hour south of me

[Billie DeBekker]

Wow Robare.. Those are very Reasonable priced.. For the amount of work that goes into them.