04 September 2017

Humble objects

These "nice old things" emerged from one of my boxes-needing-sorting - an old-fashioned natural-bristle nailbrush, and a rather ancient pencil sharpener.

The nailbrush and its bristles set into holes in wood reminded me of a video about making brushes that I'd seen a while back, but rather a lot of fruitless hunting for it didn't find it, and I now wonder if I was remembering an article or other format. Never mind, brush making was a tedious and repetitive process, all those bristles to set in. Such a humble object with hidden complexities.

The sandpaper board comprises a rough paper and a finer one, and would have been used to keep a pencil - sharpened with a knife - very pointed. "A.W. FABER  51/2  GERMANY" it says, and I wonder if it dates back to Tony's apprentice days in the 1950s. Well, I like to think it does - and it looks like a left-handed person used it. Another humble object, this time with a hidden history.

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