Auctiva Emporium: sandtique

The Weirdest Antique Prints That I Have Ever Seen ! I have been in the business of buying, selling and collecting prints for over 30 years and just recently I acquired the weirdest set of antique prints that I have ever seen. They came from a delapitated book called "THE BOOK OF WONDERFUL CHARACTERS, MEMOIRS AND ANTECDOTES OF REMARKABLE AND ECCENTRIC PERSONS" by Henry Wilson and James Caufield. It was published in London in 1869. The book was full of cartoon portraits of actual wierd people that lived in Europe in the early 1800's. There are several pictures of vagrants who walked the streets. Example are Margaret Finch; The Queen of the Gipsies and Thomas Hudson; remarkable for his Misfortunes. There are small people such as Joseph Boruwlaski; The Poish Dwarf, and Matthew Buchinger; The little Man of Nuremburtg. There are also big people like Daniel Lambert; of Surprising Corpulency. There are people that are almost unbelievable such as Thomas Parr; Who Died at the Age of 152 years. My favorite is Barbara Urslerin; The Hairy-faced Woman. (above) Several of the wonderful characters probably were in a circus. For example Jacob Hall; The Rope Dancer and Daniel Cuerton; and his Asonishing Feats (above). Several of the vintage prints are of people that had interesting eating tendancies. There is Francis Battalia; the Stone-Eater, and Eve Fleigen; Who Lived on the Smell of Flowers. For me it is intersting for someone who has heard stories of one of these persons passed down through the family from generation to generation, to be able to find a 142 year old characterature of that person. Framed and hung in the family room, it would be the talking point for family gatherings for years to come. There were 60 unique, antique, portrait prints available less the 7 that sold within two hours of my listing them. Sorry, Barbara, the bearded lady is gone. _________________________________________________________________ About the Author: SANDTIQUE is one of the largest sellers of Antique Prints and Rare Maps on E-Bay with over 7,500 listings. Sandtique specializes in chromolithographs and hand-colored engravings and has antique prints in 40 plus categories. Check us out at www.sandtique-rare-prints.com.

Why California Was An Island For 250 Years From the early 1500's when it was first discovered until the middle of the 1700's, California was thought to be an island by many people. In fact, some of the most noted cartographers published maps showing "The Island of California". Some of the exploration voyages sent out to determine if California was indeed an island, returned with the news that "The Island of California" was an Atlantis-Like paradise inhabited by large, dark-skinned women (no men). Obviously, they were misidentifying the Baja California Peninsula as the island in their reports. Determining the truth should not have been so difficult. You place a marker on the land and then take a boat and circle the island until you see that marker again. If you don't come to the marker again then - no island. Some of the possible reasons responsible for the "Island or No-Island" controversy are: • The explorers sent out to check if California was an island were drinking too much of that ship's rum. • Why take the time to find out - who is going to check, so tell them what they want to hear. • They were paid more for discovering an island versus an extension of mainland. • Apparently, the island rumor was started by Juan de Fuca - He should have stuck to his straights. The issue was finally settled beyond all dispute in about 1776, the year of the "Declaration of Independence". One of the Many "Island of California" Maps Owning a map with California as an island would make an interesting conversation piece. You could hang it on the wall next to your square map of the world. _________________________________________________________________ About the Author: SANDTIQUE is one of the largest sellers of Antique Prints and Rare Maps on E-Bay with over 7,500 listings. Sandtique specializes in chromolithographs and hand-colored engravings and has antique prints in 40 plus categories. Check us out at www.sandtique-rare-prints.com.