#Mike Ashworth Collection

[monkeyssalad-blog]

Cold Cookery : cold recipes : booklet issued by The British Electrical Development Association : London : nd [c.1937] : cover by mikeyashworth Via Flickr: One of the many publicity booklets issued by the propoganda arm of the electrical industries in the UK, the British Electrical Development Association, to help consumers both choose electrical equipment and use it. The EDA had been formed in 1919 and it survived through nationalisation of the industry in 1948 until its various functions were taken over, at different times, by the Electricity Council. The promotion of domestic appliances, such as refrigerators, was much increased in the 1930s as efforts to sell the domestic use of electricity, especially to new suburban families, developed. Much of the publicity issued at the time was specifically aimed at a more female audience both in terms of the influence on the purchase of 'time saving appliances' as well as assisting in the use of them. The latter was often a case of when new 'modern' householders no longer had access to a more traditional domestic help. The booklet states that it was "issued for the convenience of owners of electric refrigerators" and inlcludes advice as to the use of the 'fridge and recipes that required refrigeration to prepare or store. The colourful cover sadly is uncredited and no printer is shown. The titles are set in the German designed Corvinus Skyline typeface that was available in the UK through the London agency of Soldans Ltd.

[dinnickhowellslikes]

[girlflapper]

London & North Eastern Railway - Belgian Coast for the Holidays, 1928; design by Fred Taylor by mikeyashworth

"I say - steady there old girl! The Belgian Coast has possibly never seemed quite so alluring as in this LNER brochure from 1928. The LNER are publicising their sailings from Harwich and Hull (Summer only) on their own ships. They promised Rest & Quietude, Sunshine & Laughter and History and Romance - I wonder which scene this illustrates! Fred Taylor was a regular in the LNER's acclaimed stable of commercial artists. As a company they had very high standards of design and publicity."

[oldadvertising]

<strong>Antiquities at the British Museum; poster issued by London Underground 1932 - artist Austin Cooper <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/">by mikeyashworth</a></strong>

Commissioned by London's Underground from Austin Cooper in 1932 this was one of a set of British Museum posters. Of interest is that it names British Museum station (on the Central London Railway) that would be closed the following year with new platforms forming part of an extended Holborn station allowing interchange with the Piccadilly line.

[chadwellheath]

Collapsible Shelters : advert issued by John Smith & Co (London) Ltd : in Highway Engineers Reference Book, 1950 - 51 by mikeyashworth Via Flickr: It used to be the case that alongside most road works and repairs you would find a similar canvas structure designed to allow the workforce to have a break or a cuppa, or shelter in the most inclement weather! These days I suspect a van does the job. There were, of course, numerous companies who made similar collapsible shelters but this advert was issued by the London based concern of John Smith's whose main works were in Chadwell Heath, Essex. Smith's were manufacturer's of tarpaulins - waterproofed canvas sheets that would have been used to create the shelter in the days before plastic materials - and they were major suppliers and hirers of 'tarps at the London Docks, just down the road, and other major ports, etc.

[dummy-kanji]

Guide to Japan issued by the Japanese Railways, 1925 por mikeyashworth Por Flickr: The majority of the old guides to Japan I have are issued by the then national Japanese State Railways such as this example. By the 1930s much of JNR's publicity used a fascinating blend of Japanese traditional art and modern graphic design - these earlier versions seem more 'traditional' - this elegant view of a landscape dominated by snow capped mountains with stylised trees and lakes is very soothing.

[beautifulcentury]

<strong>Schweppes Table Waters advert, 1913 <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/">by mikeyashworth</a></strong>

A very fine double spread clour advert for the old established company of Schweppe, the London producer of such waters and carbonated drinks as can be seen on the posters displayed in this high class didning room redolent of the hotels mentioned here; the Savoy, Claridge's and the Berkeley. Schweppes is still of course available and is a major world brand.

[japonesices]

Japanese poster - Toyoko Department Stores by Natsuo Ishikawa, c1958 by mikeyashworth

Presents abound in a c1958 poster for the Toyoko Department Stores. The poster was reproduced in a UK design yearbook.

[krispyweiss]

Virtual Concert Review: Steep Canyon Rangers from Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts, Boone, N.C., March 26, 2021

The second of two Steep Canyon Rangers webcasts in 15 days was actually the first performance - recorded just before the band’s March 11 livestream - and broadcast March 26.

Such is what passes for normal in an entirely abnormal year that’s slowly - one hopes - improving. In the two weeks between Rangers streams, Sound Bites received his first dose of COVID vaccine and witnessed his first indoor concert in a year - a socially distanced affair in Chicago with Todd Rundgren and 29 similarly stir-crazy, out-of-state fanatics.

The Sound Biteses were back on the sofa in Ohio for this second SCR streaming affair - a similar but stronger performance from the sextet with Fireside Collective’s Tommy Maher on resonator guitar filling in for quarantining fiddler Nicky Sanders. Maher’s fully integrated into the sextet and newcomers would never know he’s not a full-time Ranger; however, the guitar-heavy arrangements make the band sound like an entirely different animal, given Woody Platt is a strictly rhythm guy.

This was a 90-minute, 17-song set that found the band having loads of fun but feeling “terrified,” as Platt put it, after so many months idle.

The fun was evident in the band’s exquisite two-, three-, four- and five-part harmonies, their intricate, ensemble playing and Grateful Dead-inspired jamming led by mandolinist Mike Guggino. And the terrified was nowhere to be heard as confidence and strong lead vocals from banjoist/guitarist/harmonica player/songwriter Graham Sharp, Platt and bassist Barrett Smith were the order of the evening.

Bluegrass at their core, the Rangers are really just about music as evidenced by Guggino, Smith and drummer (and guitarist/banjoist) Mike Ashworth fashioned a Steep Canyon Rasta intro to “Sand and Deliver,” one of the few older (a relative term) songs of the evening.

The set drew heavily from 2020’s Arm in Arm, an album the band still considers new because they’ve been unable to tour it.

Songs like the gospel-tinged ���Every River,” the folksy “Bullet in the Fire” and the Dead-inspired “In the Next Life” shone in this setting.

And when Guggino and Maher squared off for a call-and-response bit of soloing on the set-closing “Take My Mind,” the return of in-person concerts seemed closer than ever.

Which makes the lack of crowd noise all the more shocking.

Grade card: Steep Canyon Rangers from Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts, Boone, N.C., 3/26/21 - A-

3/27/21

[monkeyssalad-blog]

Amtlicher Kraftpost Fahrplan : Deutsche Bundespost : Oberpostdirektion Düsseldorf : Sommer 1953 : artwork by W. Seelback by mikeyashworth Via Flickr: With the post bus and bus stop flag dominating the cover, the Summer 1953 Düsseldorf area postbus timetable by W. Seelback.

[dinnickhowellslikes]

[midcenturyblog]

<strong>London Opinion March 1950 - cover by Bruce Angrave <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/">by mikeyashworth</a></strong>

A jolly cover to this popular post-war publication by Bruce Angrave (1914 - 1983) whose work included the use of such folded paper and collage techniques.

[girlflapper]

Wincarnis - the wine of life! Poster c1925 by mikeyashworth

"Wincarnis, still available, has a long history dating back to at least the 1880s when it was made by Coleman's of Norwich and then included Liebig's meat extract (in other words OXO). I'm not sure when the blend of meat and port recipe changed but the modern version is a mix of herbs and wine - a veritable tonic! This poster repro dates from 1925 when they were selling the tonic to young flappers no doubt to recover from the wild nights in the West End! It was produced by Publicity Arts Ltd, the blocks by W F Sedgwick and printed by The Jackson Press of West Ham."

[oldadvertising]

<strong>Polaroid double-action day glasses and sunshields - advert issued by Polarizers (UK) Ltd, 1951 <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/">by mikeyashworth</a></strong>

"The famous Polariod sunglasses seen here in a 1951 advert issued by Polarizers (UK) Ltd based in Harlesden, London. The company seems to have existed to utilise the technology patented by the original Polaroid Corporation of America, founded in 1937 by Edwin H Land who developed the use of polarizing materials and lenses. The company was an amazing powerhouse in its time, with Land also developing the famous Polariod camera and film. The advert includes the simple 'test' for polarized materials."

[cinemalerta]

93rd Academy Awards Nominees

BEST PICTURE

The Father – David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi, and Philippe Carcassonne

Judas and the Black Messiah – Shaka King, Charles D. King, and Ryan Coogler

Mank – Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth, and Douglas Urbanski

Minari – Christina Oh

Nomadland – Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Javey, and Chloé Zhao

Promising Young Woman – Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell, and Josey McNamara

Sound of Metal – Bert Hamelinick and Sacha Ben Harroche

The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Marc Platt and Stuart Besser

BEST DIRECTOR

Lee Isaac Chung – Minari

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman

David Fincher – Mank

Thomas Vinterberg – Another Round

Chloé Zhao – Nomadland

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal as Ruben Stone

Chadwick Boseman (posthumous nominee) – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as Levee Green

Anthony Hopkins – The Father as Anthony

Gary Oldman – Mank as Herman J. Mankiewicz

Steven Yeun – Minari as Jacob Yi

BEST ACTRESS

Viola Davis – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as Ma Rainey

Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday as Billie Holiday

Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman as Martha Weiss

Frances McDormand – Nomadland as Fern

Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman as Cassandra “Cassie” Thomas

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7 as Abbie Hoffman

Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah as Fred Hampton

Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night in Miami... as Sam Cooke

Paul Raci – Sound of Metal as Joe

Lakeith Stanfield – Judas and the Black Messiah as William "Bill" O'Neal

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan as Tutar Sagdiyev

Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy as Bonnie "Mamaw" Vance

Olivia Colman – The Father as Anne

Amanda Seyfried – Mank as Marion Davies

Youn Yuh-jung – Minari as Soon-ja

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Judas and the Black Messiah – Screenplay by Will Berson and Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Keith Lucas, and Kenny Lucas

Minari – Lee Isaac Chung

Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell

Sound of Metal – Screenplay by Darius Marder and Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder and Derek Cianfrance

The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Aaron Sorkin

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan – Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, and Lee Kern; Story by Baron Cohen, Hines, Swimer, and Nina Pedrad; Based on the character Borat Sagdiyev by Baron Cohen

The Father – Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller, based on the play by Zeller

Nomadland – Chloé Zhao, based on the book by Jessica Bruder

One Night in Miami... – Kemp Powers, based on his play

The White Tiger – Ramin Bahrani, based on the novel by Aravind Adiga

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

Another Round (Denmark) in Danish – directed by Thomas Vinterberg

Better Days (Hong Kong) in Mandarin – directed by Derek Tsang

Collective (Romania) in Romanian – directed by Alexander Nanau

The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia) in Arabic – directed by Kaouther Ben Hania

Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in Bosnian – directed by Jasmila Žbanić

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Onward – Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae

Over the Moon – Glen Keane, Gennie Rin, and Peilin Chou

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon – Richard Phelan, Will Becher, and Paul Kewley

Soul – Pete Docter and Dana Murray

Wolfwalkers – Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young, and Stéphan Roelants

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Collective – Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana

Crip Camp – Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder

The Mole Agent – Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez

My Octopus Teacher – Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed, and Craig Foster

Time – Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino, and Kellen Quinn

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Judas and the Black Messiah – Sean Bobbitt

Mank – Erik Messerschmidt

News of the World – Dariusz Wolski

Nomadland – Joshua James Richards

The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Phedon Papamichael

BEST FILM EDITING

The Father – Yorgos Lamprinos

Nomadland – Chloé Zhao

Promising Young Woman – Frédéric Thoraval

Sound of Metal – Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Alan Baumgarten

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Father – Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom – Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara and Diana Sroughton

Mank – Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale

News of the World – Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan

Tenet – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Emma – Alexandra Byrne

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Ann Roth

Mank – Trish Summerville

Mulan – Bina Daigeler

Pinocchio – Massimo Cantini Parrini

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Emma – Marese Langan, Laura Allen, and Claudia Stolze

Hillbilly Elegy – Eryn Krueger Mekash, Patricia Dehaney, and Matthew Mungle

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom – Matiki Anoff, Mia Neal, and Larry M. Cherry

Mank – Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams

Pinocchio – Dalia Colli, Mark Coulier, and Francesco Pegoretti

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Love and Monsters – Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camailleri, Matt Everitt, and Brian Cox

The Midnight Sky – Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawren, Max Solomon, and David Watkins

Mulan – Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury, and Steven Ingram

The One and Only Ivan – Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones, and Santiago Colomo Martinez

Tenet – Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Da 5 Bloods – Terence Blanchard

Mank – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Minari – Emile Mosseri

News of the World – James Newton Howard

Soul – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Fight for You" from Judas and the Black Messiah – Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas

"Hear My Voice" from The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite

"Husavik" from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga – Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus, and Rickard Göransson

"Io Sì (Seen)" from The Life Ahead – Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini

"Speak Now" from One Night in Miami... – Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth

BEST SOUND

Greyhound – Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders, and David Wyman

Mank – Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance, and Drew Kunin

News of the World – Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller, and John Pritchett

Soul – Ren Klyce, Coya Elliot, and David Parker

Sound of Metal – Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortes, and Philip Bladh

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Feeling Through – Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski

The Letter Room – Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan

The Present – Farah Nabulsi

Two Distant Strangers – Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe

White Eye – Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Burrow – Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat

Genius Loci – Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise

If Anything Happens I Love You – Will McCormack and Michael Govier

Opera – Eric Oh

Yes-People – Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Colette – Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard

A Concerto Is a Conversation – Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers

Do Not Split – Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook

Hunger Ward – Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Shueuerman

A Love Song for Latasha – Sophia Nahali Allison and Janice Duncan

[artdecoblog]

<strong>Blackpool Tower Circus - by Fortunio Matania RI, Souvenir Programme to the Blackpool Tower & Winter Gardens, 1936 <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/">by mikeyashworth</a></strong>

From the 1936 guide to the Blackpool Tower & Winter Gardens comes a rather shaky colour reproduction of a painting by Fortunio Matania RI of the famous Tower Circus in Blackpool. The circus, under the legs of the actual Tower, was opened in 1894 and the current interior as seen here was designed in 1900 by the famous designer Frank Matcham and lavish (even allowing for artisitic license) it still is. The ring is one of the few in the world that can be lowered into a tank and so 'flooded'. Fortunio Matania (1881 - 1963) was an Italian artist who although known for his WW1 subjects is best remembered for his work in Britain for magazines and poster art. His posters for the LMSR of Lancashire seaside resorts, in a splendidly romantic style are amongst some of the most sought after and expensive railway posters of the mid-20th century.