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Skeleton Veteran user Germany 318 Posts |
Thank you all so much for sharing these pictures - looks absolutely fascinating!
Just a little question - how do you manage to keep all this stuff tidy? I only have a very small percentage of what you all have and I am fighting a battle against dust all the time, but I am always loosing...
To infinity, and beyond!
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
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On Nov 22, 2022, Skeleton wrote: Dust always wins. |
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gregg webb Inner circle 1564 Posts |
This thread is the greatest. I have Guillermo Del Torro's book. I think I like your collections better! The only thing I think I could impress you with is my story of being in a movie theater and when the show ended and the lights came on, I was sitting next to Rod Serling. Anyway, great collections guys. I'll come to this thread to look often. Thank you both.
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gregg webb Inner circle 1564 Posts |
Just in case anybody didn't realize you can zoom in on these pictures by moving your fingers apart. I just happened to try it and viola'. Probably everyone else knew this. I'm a dinosaur.
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Dr Spektor Eternal Order Carcanis 10781 Posts |
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On Nov 22, 2022, Skeleton wrote: Dust and webs can add to the charm
"They are lean and athirst!!!!"
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weepinwil Inner circle USA 3828 Posts |
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On Nov 22, 2022, Skeleton wrote: Sometimes you want a dusty look. I have been known to sprinkle baby powder or corn starch on my suit to give a dusty effect when performing as Weepin' Willie.
"Til Death us do part!" - Weepin Willie
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Some more?
the Golem and friends Crosses from an unusual grave the Witches Trunk Cieri (moon eclipse) the triple crystal ball |
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Bernardo Rodriguez Loyal user 233 Posts |
Never did I imagine I’d see this much awesome stuff! I’m beyond glad I made this post now hahaha. So from all of the amazing things you peeps have… What item has your favorite story to tell? Bonus points for a synopsis and why haha.
Thanks again for showing! |
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
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On Nov 23, 2022, Bernardo Rodriguez wrote: Alas, all the stories/synopsis are in French. But you can Google-translate them. https://www.surnateum.com/#intro |
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
More treasures? Remeber that everything is used in performances.
A werewolf musket from the early XIXth century The oldest known written curse (Egypt VIth dynasty) Yes, a real one. A unique Yombe nkisi for a king (fetish XVIIth century) An astronomical compendium circa 1760. |
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Mind Circus Regular user Northern California 127 Posts |
Wow, inspiring thread!
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 23, 2022, Bernardo Rodriguez wrote: It has already be publish before but it's worth republishing it. It's one of my favorite treasure at the Surnatéum. A link for a video in English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZeJHpoNk70 Link for the story in French https://logs.surnateum.com/aramitama/ Aramitama Voyage of the Andelana (thanks to Carl Gibson for the translation) November 24, 1891 A Cape Horn swell, a freshening gale from out of the heart of the Antarctic, a British clipper rolling with reefed topsails over the swollen waters, the captain holding on to a backstay aft, and aloft two seamen, both Japanese, struggling to pass a sea gasket around the mainsail, the sail having blown loose. The ship was pitching heavily and her deep windward rolls kept the dangling seamen swinging back and forth, far out over the sea, and then back again until the sloping deck was underfoot. The crew was composed entirely of Japanese, twenty-three men in all forward of the mast. A half dozen active fellows sprang into the rigging to try to aid their comrades by dropping a bowline from the mainyard, but before that could be done, Sakaturo, one of the men, let go his hold and shot through the air, striking on a pile of spare spars lashed on deck, and falling across them on his back. A moment later, Genrio Sasakura, the other seaman, relinquished the gasket and plumped heavily against the forebrace block, rebounded and fell into the sea. Captain Gillis rushed to the side and flung a life buoy toward the man, and at the same time ordered the ship hove to and the life boat lowered away. The man rose to the surface hardly twenty feet away, looked straight at the captain, who was eagerly peering over the side, and smiled at him. That smile from the drowning seaman, Captain Gillis says, haunts him yet. Sakaturo, the man who had fallen on deck, lived forty-four days. His back had been broken. He died on the evening of January 7. The body was brought aft and placed on the main hatch, and that night the Japanese crew asked permission to hold funeral rites over the dead.* (New York Times, February 14, 1896) Early 1898. Richard Hanze was excited. He was finally going to leave the port of Antwerp to begin his apprenticeship as a future first officer on the four-master Andelana. The Andelana was one of a group of six vessels called The Sisters of Workington that were built in Liverpool and carried cargoes ranging from oil to wheat around the world. Captain Gillis and Captain Richards had served as shipmasters prior to Captain Staling. It left Antwerp carrying a cargo of cement and was bound for New York. At the age of 17, the time had come to leave the warm embrace of the family home and travel the world on a grand adventure. He was dead set on working hard, and Captain Staling had made a good impression on him. He soon made friends with two other apprentices: Joe (Joseph d’Haeyere) and Percy (Bradley Buck). Joseph was also from Ostend, while Percy hailed from Blackpool. The son of a trader and the latest in a long line of sailors on his English mother's side, Richard had, in his childhood, devoured such works as Treasure Island, The Flying Dutchman, In Search of the Castaways and Moby-Dick, and dreamed of living the adventures of Jim Hawkins and Ishmael. He carefully kept the treasures given him by travellers arriving from exotic destinations: an engraved nautilus shell from Madagascar, a shark's tooth from Cape Verde, strange cannibal fetishes from Fiji, a harpoon tip fashioned by Eskimos. He kept them all in a box belonging to his Uncle Horace (lost at sea). All he had to do was open the box and his imagination would take flight. But the trip did not start off well. The ship was damaged during a horrific storm that resulted in five sailors drowning and two more sustaining serious injuries. It had to be towed to Queenstown before returning to Liverpool for repairs. It then set off for New York. During the crossing, Richard fell seriously ill. The captain cared for him as if he were his own son for weeks until he was fully recovered. In his delirium, the young man sputtered words in a language that seemed to be Japanese. Once recovered, normal life resumed and his work left him little free time to write to his family. The letters in our possession reveal that he wrote in English to his mother and in French to his family in general. His writing is laced with expressions typical of the Ostend dialect. The boat had pulled in to New York, but the captain strongly urged the young apprentices not to succumb to the demon drink and to avoid the city's seedy dives. The Andelana then left for Shanghai carrying a cargo of oil. In Java, the monkeys and "wild beasts" made a strong impression on the young man. At each port of call, he would send his mother a few souvenirs and local curiosities. But the ship was not necessarily a haven of peace; they were pursued by rotten luck. The Andelana once again got caught in a dreadful typhoon that ripped a mast off and blew away the sailors' belongings. Repairs were effected at Shanghai. And as Percy Buck had no other clothes to change into, his friends lent him theirs. One sailor, haunted by visions, went mad; the boatswain had to take him into custody. Two others fell ill. The captain himself dreamed that water was filling his cabin and drowning him. He swore it would be his final voyage at sea. The sailors – a superstitious lot at the best of times – were sure that the ship was cursed. Richard started to believe it too, but he didn't want to alarm his parents. While on shore leave in Shanghai, the apprentices came across a Chinese palm reader. Just for fun, the young Belgian sailor decided to have his future foretold. The palm reader seemed upset by what he saw in Richard's palm and told him that he was in grave danger: an evil spirit was following him. The palm reader sold Richard an ancient amulet so he could protect himself from the spirit. He said it would repel demons and ghosts and stressed that the amulet must always be kept on his person if it was to remain effective. The amulet is curious indeed. On one side is bears a Chinese zodiac and on the other two crossed swords cover a representation of the Great Bear, a constellation reputed to be a source of very powerful magic. The voyage continued. The empty hold had been filled with the ballast needed to keep it stable. But other incidents disrupted life aboard the vessel. Percy sustained an injury to his face and the wound became infected. He suffered enormously from a painful abscess and the mood on board darkened. Finally, the Andelana reached Tacoma on 6 January 1899 to take on a cargo of wheat. Soon after putting in, 10 of the crew (two officers and eight sailors) left the ship and requested to be paid off. They swore that the ship was cursed and the rumours made it hard to find replacements. Somehow Captain Staling managed to recruit new men and asked them to wait until right before the ship's departure before coming aboard. But the captain, too, was tense. While chatting with his friend, Captain Doly, he revealed that he was having nightmares about drowning and that he planned to retire from the sea and return to his family in Nova Scotia. Since the ship was scheduled to take on a cargo of wheat, all ballast was removed, leaving it less stable in high winds. It was during this period that Richard again leant some clothes to Percy so he could go ashore to the Fannie Paddock mission to get medical treatment. He didn't know it, but the amulet bought back in Shanghai was in the pocket of the trousers he was now wearing. In an effort to lift his men's spirits and lighten the atmosphere, the captain asked Wilhelm Hester, a local photographer, to take a photo of the crew. It was January 13, 1899... a Friday. For the past three days, the ship had been taking on provisions for its return trip and the hatches had been left open. Chains were used to lash the ship to heavy logs in order to keep it stable. The weather turned foul and a windstorm blew across Puget Sound, but nothing to alarm a crew that had seen plenty of storms in their day. And yet, during the night of January 13-14, 1899, the Andelana disappeared. The next day, all that remained was a capsized lifeboat and a few scattered fragments floating in the port; the ship had sunk. The strong winds had caused it to pitch and water had poured into the open hatches. Tugs were brought into to look for it, but the efforts proved fruitless. A diver was sent down to look in the area where the ship had disappeared; but he himself perished due to an accident, making him the 18th victim of the cursed ship. Later, Percy Buck was sent back to Blackpool on the Andrada, another ship owned by the same company. He visited the parents of his friend Richard, told them the story and returned the clothes and amulet. Sailors have a superstition that they should never keep items belonging to a dead man, otherwise they run the risk of succumbing to the same fate. The Andrada sank the following year, not far from the Andelana. *Shinto rites are quite clear: to calm a dead man's violent spirits - the aramitama - the rites must be repeated after 1, 3, 7 and 33 years. If the rites are not respected or are left incomplete, the aramitama will haunt the place he has chosen as his 'home'. One such home might even be a four-master bark … From Wikipedia: Kami are the central objects of worship for the Shinto faith. Modern Shinto began as the various ancient animistic traditional spirituality of Japan, which only became an institutionalized spirituality much later as a result of efforts to separate out influences of other religions brought into Japan from abroad. As a result, the nature of what can be called kami is very broad and encompasses many different concepts and phenomena. Some of the objects or phenomena designated as kami are qualities of growth, fertility, and production; natural phenomena like wind and thunder; natural objects like the sun, mountains, rivers, trees, and rocks; some animals; and ancestral spirits. Included within the designation of ancestral spirits are spirits of the ancestors of the Imperial House of Japan, but also ancestors of noble families as well as the spirits of the ancestors of all people. There are other spirits designated as kami as well. For example, the guardian spirits of the land, occupations, and skills; spirits of Japanese heroes, men of outstanding deeds or virtues, and those who have contributed to civilization, culture and human welfare; those who have died for the state or the community [3]; and the pitiable dead. Not only spirits superior to man can be considered kami, but also spirits that are considered pitiable or weak have been considered kami in Shinto. The concept of kami has been changed and refined since ancient times, although anything that was considered to be kami by ancient people will still be considered kami in modern Shinto. Even within modern Shinto, there are no clearly defined criteria for what should or should not be worshipped as kami. The difference between modern Shinto and the ancient animistic religions is mainly a refinement of the kami-concept, rather than a difference in definitions. In the ancient animistic religions, kami were understood as simply the divine forces of nature. Worshippers in ancient Japan revered creations of nature which exhibited a particular beauty and power such as waterfalls, mountains, boulders, animals, trees, grasses and even rice paddies. They strongly believed the spirits or resident kami deserved respect. Although the ancient designations are still adhered to, in modern Shinto many priests also consider kami to be anthropomorphic spirits, with nobility and authority. These include such mythological figures as Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess of the Shinto pantheon. Although these kami can be considered deities, they are not necessarily considered omnipotent or omniscient, and like the Greek Gods, they had flawed personalities and were quite capable of ignoble acts. In the myths of Amaterasu, for example, she could see the events of the human world, but had to use divination rituals to see the future. Traditionally, kami possess two souls, one gentle (nigi-mitama) and the other assertive (ara-mitama). This powerful form of kami was also divided into amatsu-kami ("the heavenly deities") and kunitsu-kami ("the gods of the earthly realm"). A deity would behave differently according to which soul was in control at a given time. In many ways, this was representative of nature's sudden changes and would explain why there were kami for every meteorological event: snowfall, rain, typhoons, floods, lightning and volcanoes. The ancestors of a particular family can also be worshiped as kami. In this sense, these kami were worshiped not because of their godly powers, but because of a distinct quality or value. These kami are regional and many shrines (hokora) have been built in their honour. In many cases, people who once lived can thus be deified as gods; an example of this is Tenjin, who was Sugawara no Michizane (845-903) in life. Within Shinto, it is believed that the nature of life is sacred because the kami began human life. Yet, man cannot perceive this divine nature, which the kami created, on his own; therefore, magokoro, or purification, is necessary in order to see the divine nature. [4] This purification can only be granted by the kami. In order to please the kami and earn magokoro, Shinto followers are taught to uphold the four affirmations of Shinto. The first affirmation is to hold onto tradition and the family. Family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. For instance, with marriages or births, traditions can be practiced repeatedly. The second affirmation is to have a love of nature. Nature objects are worshipped as sacred because the kami live within them. Therefore, to be in contact with nature means to be in contact with the gods. The third affirmation is to maintain physical cleanliness. Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouths often. The last affirmation is to practice matsuri, which is the worship and honor given to the kami and the ancestral spirits.[5] Additionally, Shinto followers believe that the kami are the ones who can either grant blessings or curses to a person. Shinto believers desire to appease the evil kami to 'stay on their good side,' and also to please the good kami. Therefore, as the four affirmations are values that Shinto believers strive to practice daily, they also wear mamori to aid them in remaining pure and protected. Mamori are charms that keep the evil kami from striking a human with sickness or causing disaster to befall him. [6] The kami are both worshiped and respected within the religion of Shinto. The goal of life to Shinto believers is to obtain magokoro, a pure sincere heart, which can only be granted by the kami. [7] As a result, Shinto followers are taught that humankind should venerate both the living and the nonliving, because both possess a divine superior spirit within, the kami. |
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gregg webb Inner circle 1564 Posts |
A great explanation of kami and Shinto.
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Just one more note: in this case, the ghost is specifically a ship sinking ghost: a funayürei.
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Lo Pan Special user Haven't slept in weeks - but I now have 769 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 22, 2022, Wizard of Oz wrote: I’m having the same issue. Can someone PM the instructions. |
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Some of the contains of a zhuazhou box from a Qing dynasty daoshi (taoist magician) - circa 1900.
Once again a magical object and a very unexpected routine. |
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Bernardo Rodriguez Loyal user 233 Posts |
Quote:
On Jan 6, 2023, The Curator wrote: Your collection is truly remarkable! Bernardo |
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Lo Pan Special user Haven't slept in weeks - but I now have 769 Posts |
Here is a link to a brief video tour of my Bizarre Cabinet of Curiosities.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bizarrem......d=W9rl1R |
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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The spooky, the mysterious...the bizarre! » » Cabinet of Curiosities (64 Likes) | ||||||||||
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