Tentacled Victoriana by Artist Dan Hillier
London-based artist Dan Hillier is the man behind this tentacled fusion of Victorian engraving and Lovecraftian horror. His “Altered Engravings” bring to mind the surreal collages of Max Ernst:
Dan Hillier sells his prints from a stall at The Sunday (Up) Market in London (which is where author Cory Doctorow recently purchased one), but if traveling there is geographically prohibitive, you can purchase prints or commission work using the contact information on Hillier’s Web site.
If getting mentioned on Boing Boing kills Dan’s Web site temporarily, he has the obligatory MySpace profile where you can view some of his work.
Intricate Wood Case Mod
This intricate wood PC case mod was carved by talented Ukrainian woodworker Valery Zhuk. He calls the piece “Virgilius” after Dante’s Virgil.
The first time I saw this case, I was awestruck by the spectacular artistry. I don’t know if Zhuk sells his case mods, but I’m sure I’m not the only one coveting them right now.
View more of his astonishingly beautiful work at ModNews.
via Gizmo Watch
17th Century Skull and Crossbones Automaton Timepiece
This breathtaking brass antique is nearly 400 years old and puts every clock I’ve ever owned to shame.
Crafted in 1610 by German designer Nicolaus Schmidt der Junger, this skull table watch sits atop a pair of crossed shin bones mounted on a tripod. The automaton jaw opens over the course of three minutes, then quickly bites down, and a snake darts out of each eye socket twice a minute. The clockface is revealed by popping open the hinged brass skullcap.
This impressive piece of steampunk worthy craftsmanship recently sold for $135,000 USD. The above photo of the clockface is from the Symbolic Collection site, where it appears to be available for sale (at an undisclosed price.) If you’ve got an astronomically high credit limit, they happily accept Visa, Mastercard, and AmEx.
Pin-up Paraphernalia
Think you’re into pin-up art? Brenda has you beat. Her lust for pin-up paraphernalia has transformed her apartment into a veritable pin-up girl museum.
In addition to the expected pin-up calendars and coffee table books, Brenda has pin-up trading cards, letter openers, shower curtains, toilet seat covers, pillow cases, salt and pepper shakers, plates, shot glasses, bottle openers … you get the idea. She has over 500 items, easily qualifying her as a finalist in the apartments.com Possession Obsession contest.
But Brenda doesn’t just track down vintage pin-up collectibles – she really knows her stuff. Her blog, Brenda’s Babes, is full of beautiful scans and detailed posts chronicling the history of pin-up girl art and collectibles. She started posting to the Brenda’s Babes blog to promote her entry for the Possession Obsession contest, but hopefully she’ll continue even after the results are in (which should be any day.)
I’d urge you to vote for Brenda’s contest entry, but unfortunately, I’m late to the game and voting is closed. Instead, check out her blog and see if you don’t develop a lust for pin-up paraphernalia.
Vintage Halloween Postcards
Flickr user “riptheskull,” aka Dave, has photographed an amazing collection of more than 1,000 vintage Halloween postcards. Antique postcards are huge among collectors, and these samples of Halloween ephemera are some of the most gorgeous I’ve seen.
Spend some time enjoying Dave’s vintage Halloween postcard set on Flickr.