#disston

[paraparaparadigm]

Finding Lost Florida Art at the Chicago Century of Progress, 1933-1934

January 2, 2015 by Fred Frankel

Imagine how you might feel if national icons like John Trumbull’s painting of The Declaration of Independence or Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware were lost. On a state level, that’s exactly what happened in Florida. In 1931 the state sponsored an art competition to find six artists to paint large murals depicting important events in the states history for the Florida building at the Chicago Century of Progress. The murals, eventually to be placed in the capitol in Tallahassee,were commissioned, painted, exhibited and then lost. This is the story of those lost paintings and the recent discovery of works submitted for the competition.

It was a difficult time for Floridians: the Florida land boom ended in 1925 when real estate prices crashed; the hurricane of 1926 flattened Miami, and the Depression straight lined tourism.

When the state legislature met in 1931 they wanted to stimulate tourism. They learned that Chicago planned to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of its incorporation with a World’s Fair: the Chicago Century of Progress. All states were invited. Florida and eleven others, including California and Georgia, decided to participate in a great central quadrangle, the Court of States. Here was a unique chance to tell the country about the Sunshine State.

In 1931 Florida was still a relatively small state with a population of 1.5 million and, with the exception of Osceola and the Seminole Indian Wars, unfamiliar with the national stage. That would change in Chicago. The state would go all out: even minting a small coin that proclaimed: “Florida where summer spends the winter.”

The Florida exhibit included a half acre orange grove, dozens of palm trees, an outdoor garden with wild orchids, a lily pond, and a Seminole village. Inside, the two floored pavilion designed by Phineas Paist, the architect of Coral Gables, featured a Spanish courtyard, its sky crossed by a flight of ibis, dioramas of state industries, the sculpture, Spirit of Florida, by George Ganiere, professor of sculpture at Stetson University, paintings of the sky lines of the larger cities, and six murals, each ten by ten feet, depicting the states’ history.

It all began in September of 1931 when the state legislature authorized a Florida exhibit at the Chicago fair. Governor Doyle Carlton appointed six senators and six representatives to the Florida Century of Progress Commission with Senator W.C. Hodges as chairman,

The commission began a statewide campaign to raise $250,000 for the exhibit and appointed a Florida Century of Progress Jury to find artists of recognized ability to execute paintings of important episodes in Florida’s history. The jury consisted of Mrs. Eve Alsman Fuller, of St. Petersburg, chairman, Mrs. Doyle Carlton, Mrs. Cary Landis, wife of the Attorney General, Senator Hodges, and sculptor C. Adrian Pillars of Jacksonville and Sarasota.

The state of Florida commissioned Pillars for sculptures of Confederate General Kirby Smith and John Gorrie, the inventor of air conditioning, that represent Florida in the United States Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. Pillars’ sculpture, Life, a memorial to Florida’s dead in World War I, stands in Memorial Park in Jacksonville.

Eve Fuller was president of the Florida Federation of Art (FFA) and director of the Florida Art Project (FAP) sponsored by the Federal governments Works Progress Administration (WPA). The FFA, with both amateur and professional artist members, had clubs in almost every major city in the state. During the Depression the FAP put unemployed professional artists back to work.

Mrs. Fuller invited all artists working for the FAP to enter the competition. Members of the FFA were notified and invited to participate. On August 10, 1932 Senator Hodges issued a press release that appeared in newspapers around the state the following day with, “An invitation to all artists who live in Florida or who paint Florida scenes to submit paintings for use in the states exhibit at the World Fair in Chicago next year.”

Paintings were to be submitted in categories: Discovery, Exploration, Christianization, Colonization, Seminole War, and Reconstruction. Artists could enter one painting in each category. The paintings were to be of uniform size, 30 by 30 inches, in simple frames, and signed on the back by the artist.

The jury met at the Ringling Museum of Art in early November 1932. Mrs. Fuller as chairman of the jury expressed pleasure at the interest in the contest by so many of the artists throughout the state and in the character of the work submitted.

Some of the preliminary paintings for the competition have survived and illustrate the mural work done by the winning artists and those awarded honorable mention.

The winning artists were:Addison Burbank for Discovery: Ponce De Leon taking possession of the land for Spain. Burbank was born in California, the son of W. F. Burbank, founder of the Oakland Tribune. In 1926 after art study in Europe he had a solo exhibition of his paintings at the Ferargil Galleries in New York City. Burbank later moved to Miami. The St. Augustine Record, January 13, 1933, quotes Burbank on his visit to St. Augustine, “Through your courtesy Mrs. Burbank and I had the pleasure of visiting the Arts Club (of St. Augustine) Friday evening and viewing the splendid work of yourself and fellow members. We of the Miami Art League envy you your beautiful home and splendid facilities for study and play. St. Augustine is a mine for artists, and we hope the Arts Club will prove the nucleus of a famous art center. Our visit to St. Augustine was in search of material for the mural of Ponce de Leon’s discovery of Florida, for which I received the first award in the state competition held in November. Mrs. Underwood of the Historical Society gave me great help. Mr. Burbank is painting the murals for the Florida exhibits in the Century of Progress Exposition.” Burbank’s mural is lost.

Max Bernd-Cohen for Exploration: DeSoto explores the west coast of Florida. In 1931 Max Bernd-Cohen was one of the first instructors at the Ringling School of Art. Before coming to Sarasota Bernd-Cohen spent two years as a guest lecturer at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, England. He taught at the Imperial University, Sapporo, Japan and was chairman of the art department at Florida Southern University in Lakeland. Art lovers from nearby cities attended his popular lectures at the Ringling School, and he was in demand as a speaker throughout the state of Florida. In 1955 he was honored with inclusion, in the Ringling Museum of Art exhibit, Fifty Florida Artists.

Wallace W. Hayn for Christianization: the Spanish building of the first missions in the state. Hayn, like his art, has been lost to history.

Chester J. Tingler for Colonization: Andrew Jackson taking over Florida for the United States. Chester Tingler was an important Miami muralist. Born in Sweden, he grew up in Buffalo, New York where his drawings for the Albright Art Gallery won him a one year art scholarship. After study at the Art Students’ League in New York City, Tingler was employed for some years as scenic and costume designer for Broadway shows produced by Flo Ziegfeld and the Schuberts. In 1917 he received the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney award for mural painting. Tingler moved to Miami in 1922 and was later employed by the WPA and the FAP as supervisor of the mural art project for the Miami district. Tingler did murals for the Miami High School library, the Clewiston Airport, Shenandoah Junior High and Ponce de Leon High School. Tingler was named Artist of the Year in 1944-1945 by the Miami Women’s Club and the American Artists Professional League. He was an art instructor with the Terry Art Institute and a regular exhibitor at the Mirell Gallery in Coconut Grove and the Washington Art Galleries of Miami Beach.

Eleanor King was just twenty-three when she painted General Jackson Besieging Media de Luna of San Carlos for the state competition. One of the youngest artists to enter, she did not win, though her painting made the finals, where King lost to Chester Tingler. The Pensacola Journal noted, “Miss King is in receipt of a letter from Mr. Tingler asking her to help him with his painting in the matter of uniforms and accoutrements, both of American and Spanish soldiers. . . . In response . . . the young artist has made it clear that, should she assist in this work, she would expect recognition. She spent many months over her painting, and had the personal assistance of Julian Yonge, authority on Florida history. . . . It was never clear to Pensacola how it could be possible to present Florida historically without giving Pensacola a leading place in portraiture. . . . Is Mr. Tingler to paint a picture of Pensacola’s past? And if he is, will this young artist assist him? Pensacola will learn of this with interest, and every effort should be made to assure that both she and Pensacola are properly recognized in the painting that is to depict the early history of Florida.”

The Pensacola Journal of April 6, 1934, “Eleanor King, young Pensacola artist, is rapidly gaining more than local distinction. This scene was painted in competition for art work to be placed in the Florida exhibit at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago and received special mention. Miss King has exhibited in New York at the National Academy, and in Birmingham, Alabama at the annual exhibit of the Southern States Art League, her work attracted much attention….”

Later King married Lawrence Salley and moved to Tallahassee. Mrs. Salley was in New York City in 1939 for the New York World’s Fair. A letter home to her family is quoted in the Pensacola Journal, May 2, 1939, “The Montross Gallery on Fifth Avenue is going to handle my work all the time and plans to open their season in the fall with a one man show of my watercolors, thirty of them.” The Ferrigil Galleries on 57th Street carried her oils, landscapes, and seascapes. King did portraits of many prominent Floridians including historian Caroline Brevard, hung in the school named for her in Tallahassee; a portrait of Chief Justice Fred Davis, hung in the Supreme Court in Tallahassee; and a portrait of William Sheats, who for twenty years, was state superintendent of schools in Florida, hung in the education room of the state capitol.

Mark Dixon Dodd for Seminole War: Osceola driving a knife through the peace treaty at Moultrie Creek. Mark Dodd moved from New York City to St. Petersburg in 1925. He soon became a prominent member of the city’s art community. Dodd opened the Mark Dixon Dodd School of Art on Beach Drive in 1930. In 1936, as his reputation as an artist and teacher grew, Dodd designed and built fifteen homes on Coffee Pot Bayou. In each he placed one of his paintings, usually anchored to the wall above the fireplace. Dodd later became head of the art department at St. Petersburg Junior College.

George Snow Hill for Reconstruction: Governor Bloxham, Hamilton Disston and the Florida Land Sale. George Snow Hill and his artist wife Polly Knipp were two of the most talented artists to work in Florida. Hill was the son of Captain George R. Hill, a longtime resident of St. Petersburg. After graduation from Syracuse University, George and Polly Knipp met, and were married, in Paris. The couple spent several years painting in Europe. On their return home both were acclaimed as among the most brilliant of young American artists, with an invitation to exhibit at the 1932 Olympic International Exhibit in Los Angeles. Competing against 1,100 paintings from thirty-two countries, George Snow Hill won honorable mention for his St. Petersburg, Florida scene, Surf Fishing. Hill worked in the tradition of American muralist Thomas Hart Benton. He should be remembered as one of Florida’s premier muralists, his work evoking and caricaturing the innocence and joy of life in Florida.

Denman Fink, chairman of the Department of Art at the University of Miami, was awarded a commission for “Lunettes” showing the skylines of Florida’s larger cities. Denman Fink made important contributions to art development in Florida. An illustrator and muralist, Fink was head of the art department at the University of Miami for twenty-five years. Fink first came to Miami in 1920 to complete a series of paintings on Florida subjects for a volume of verse by his nephew George E. Merrick. He moved permanently to Miami in 1924, joining Merrick in his development of Coral Gables. With Phineas Paist, Fink helped design plans for the city, its entrances, fountains, plazas’ and the Venetian Pool. In 1938 Fink won a federal competition to paint a large mural for the court house in downtown Miami. The mural, Law Guides Florida Progress, depicts the development of Florida from the days of the Seminoles to the evolution of law. When he died the Miami Herald, June 8, 1956 noted his passing, “Coral Gables is Fink’s Monument. Denman Fink has folded up his easel and laid aside his design board for the last time… the community has lost one of its outstanding citizens.”

Honorable mentions were awarded to Bernd-Cohen, Mark Dodd, Wallace Hayn, Chester Tingler, Emmaline Buchholz, Polly Knipp Hill, and Phillip Schlamp.

Emmaline Buchholz was instrumental in founding the Gainesville Association of Fine Arts in 1923, and in 1927, the Florida Federation of Art. She was the Federation’s first president and the first lady of Florida art. Buchholz remained an important figure in art appreciation and development in Gainesville, and throughout Florida, for many years. Her painting of George Washington, after Gilbert Stuart, hangs in the Florida House of Representatives chamber in Tallahassee.

Polly Knipp Hill was known nationally as one of America’s best etchers. Her etchings were chosen for exhibition in the Fine Prints of the Year, an annual collection which showed the 50 best prints made in America. She depicted, with great success, typical scenes in and around St. Petersburg, fishing from the bridge at Johns Pass, picnicking on the beach, local scenes concerned with people enjoying life in St. Petersburg.

A native of Kentucky, Philip Schlamp moved to Miami in 1926 where he and his wife Ethel were active members of the Miami art community. Ethel Schlamp was co-founder of the Miami Art League. The Miami Herald noted, “A portrait and mural artist, Philip Schlamp spent a good many years… studying historical mural painting, portraiture and sculpture. He is probably best known throughout Florida for an 18 by 10 foot historical mural, depicting Ponce de Leon returning to Spain, to announce the discovery of the land of flowers. The mural was painted for the Florida office of a Chicago firm, and was later shipped to Chicago and hung there….”

When the fair ended in October 1934 it was the beauty of the Florida exhibit, its ability to project the warmth of the state, and the art that stole the show. In the Official Guide Book World’s Fair 1938, Florida was the only state with a photograph of its interior court yard. The Official Guide noted, “Mural paintings of the history of Florida surround the gallery. Osceola, the war chief of the Seminoles, is shown driving his knife through the treaty which would deprive his people of independence.” Florida was one of the few states to use original art to enhance their exhibit. That made a difference.

If you’ve been to a great museum like New York’s Metropolitan, or Sarasota’s Ringling, you can imagine what we’ve lost. Six canvases, huge by today’s standard and, from what we’ve seen of the preliminary painting—beautiful–rivaling the work of John Trumbull or Emanuel Leutze. Happily, some of the smaller paintings have survived.

The commissioner in charge of Federal and state participation at the fair, H. F. Miller, sent the following letter to Senator Hodges: “Yesterday we had in the grounds over a quarter of a million people, and of this 12, 000 an hour passed through your beautiful exhibit. This is a big load. If we had not checked the figures from time to time, we could be inclined to doubt the evidence of our own eyes and observation. It simply goes to prove that if you put on a good show people will come regardless of the Depression….Florida has made an outstanding contribution to the success of the World’s Fair.”

Phineas Paist, George Ganiere and the award winning Florida artists had done well. In 1933 over nine million people visited the Florida exhibit. In 1934 over thirteen million came. Florida experienced the best tourist season in years.

[cdchyld]

Just added to the Vintage shop!

~ "Know About Horses: A Ready Reference Guide to Horse, Horse People and Horse Sports" by Harry Disston (1961)

[polkadotmotmot]

Geoff Disston - Night Owl, 2024 - Flashe on canvas

[smytherines]

I hate being a fucking woodworker because I see those beautiful hand saws hung up as decoration at the yellowjackets cabin and its like "damn, you could be making so much shit with those!" Somebody teach these girls the art of the mortise and tenon I stg

I mean there's a hacksaw, two beautiful Disston buck saws, and a bow saw

[that-dinopunk-guy]

FUCK YOU, IT'S MACHETE TIME

I have a lot of machetes, so I thought I'd share some of them. This isn't even half my collection, but it's all the ones I have in the m1942 style.

This one I inherited from my dad. Growing up I'd always kind of assumed it had been issued to him in the Army, but after some research I learned that these S.W.I. machetes are actually reproductions made by Ontario Knife Company. Still good quality blades, but not actual military issue. Also I have no idea if that 1943 is the actual year it was made or if that's just for looks.

That sheath is a recent purchase, because my dad had it in this weird DIY thing made from a shotgun scabbard or something. (I'm not getting rid of it, but I don't like it either.)

This is the first machete I ever bought, back in like 2002 I think. I probably ordered it from Sportsman's Guide or something, and I have no idea who made it, aside from the fact that their factory was presumably located in Taiwan.

Another S.W.I. machete. The edge on this one is pretty gnarly, but it's a machete. That's easily fixed. Again, I have no idea if that year is legit or not.

An OKC sawback. For as much searching as I had to do to find someplace that even had them in stock, I kinda hate that finish on the blade and how cheap the handle feels. Then again, it's a machete.

And this is currently my coolest machete:

As near as I can tell, that Disston US 1943 stamp on the blade marks this as an actual WWII military-issue machete, which is really cool. The canvas sheath seems to be the real deal too, though I don't know if it's the original one it came with.

(I've also got another WWII Disston on the way, so I'll probably show that one off too when it arrives.)

And finally, just because:

A Woodsman's Pal.

[relicrescue]

Hand Saw Emblem Crafted by…

H. DISSTON & SONS PHILADA

PAT. DEC 27, 1887

The hand saw this emblem was affixed to was dated from 1888 to early 1890s based on this specific emblem design.

Rescued June 2024

[synthwizardromance]

The Kine of South Western Lateria lack a metaphysical location to store mana (read: souls). Due to this they have evolved an odd ability to physically store mana in red blood cells. Of course the downside is that for the average Kine, even a simple spell can cause dizziness, fainting, or potentially death. As blood is rapidly thinned in the process.

This has led to cultural developments that most other societies on the continent misconstrue

The first is that Kine society puts a lot of significance on heart health especially for their sorcerer class. Cardio is very popular and music from the region is often upbeat as its meant to be listened to while running.

The second is the development of an emergency ritual that is colloquially referred to as "The Syncing". In which a small group of 2-5 Kine artificially connect their cardiovascular systems together with ports surgically grafted to their necks. Every member must enter a meditative state and sync up their heartbeats lest they damage others hearts by pushing blood at the moment.

This allows a Kine Sorcerer access to a greater font of mana. But other cultures have misunderstood, and tell tales of "Kine blood magic" as some disstonic (read: magic from the dissonant frequncy relations) and evil practice.

[carlakennedy]

Austin Patterson Disston Architects

[esgdatainrate]

Hacksaw Blades In-Depth Profiling With Key Players and Recent Developments, Forecast Period: 2021-2031

Hacksaw Blades Market Research, 2031

The hacksaw blades market size was valued at $1,043.9 million in 2021, and is expected to reach $ 1,667.1 million by 2031, registering a CAGR of 4.7% from 2021 to 2031. A hacksaw is a fine-tooth saw with a blade under tension in a frame, used for cutting materials such as metal, wood, and plastic. The hacksaw blades are made of nitrated steel, cast iron, aluminum brass, and stainless steel. The teeth on the hacksaw blades are the key cutting elements. The hacksaw blades are available in 10 TPI, 14 TPI, 18TPI, 24 TPI, and 32 TPI range. These blades are used by professionals for cutting activities in wood & metal industries and by DIY customers. These hacksaw are manually operated as well as electrically operated.The major driving factor of the global market is rise in utilization of hacksaw blades in the process of sawmill manufacturing. In addition, surge in demand for furniture and increase in usage of hacksaw blades in the sawmill production where it used to cut & shape wood are expected to contribute toward the hacksaw blades market growth.

Moreover, rapid industrialization coupled with increase in infrastructural spending leads to construction of new residential and commercial infrastructure where new furniture and cabinets are being used, which, in turn, propels the market growth. However, laser cutting technology and water cutting technology are technologically advanced, consume lower time & power compared to tradition hacksaws, and can achieve cutting complex shapes. Therefore, laser cutting technology and water cutting technology are being rapidly adopted in manufacturing industries is the past few years, which significantly hampers the hacksaw blades market share.

On the basis of consumer type, in 2021, the professionals segment dominated the market, in terms of revenue, whereas the DIY segment is expected to witness growth at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. As per thread per inch, in 2021, the others segment led the hacksaw blades market, however, the 14 TPI segment is expected to exhibit highest CAGR in the near future. By application, the manual hacksaw segment led the market in 2021, in terms of revenue; however, the electric hacksaw segment is anticipated to register highest CAGR during the forecast period. Region wise, Asia-Pacific garnered the highest revenue in 2021; however, LAMEA is anticipated to register highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Competition analysis

The major players profiled in the hacksaw blades market overview includes Apex Tool Group LLC, Chronos, Disston Company, Gedore, HABUR-SAWS GmbH, Klein Tools, Inc., Snap-on Incorporated, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., Starrett, and Thomas Flinn & Co. Major companies in the market have adopted product launch and business expansion as their key developmental strategies to offer better products and services to customers in the hacksaw blades industry.

Full Report With TOC:-https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/hacksaw-blades-market-A08264

[wearedmnd]

Austin Patterson Disston Architects

[positiveshine1]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Vintage Hand Painted Hand Saw, Mallard Ducks, Henry Disston & Sons Saw, 28".

[drakurniaa]

$20.0 Only! ~ Vintage Disston Saw, Collectible Hand Saws, Vintage Hand Saws Check This Out!

[salkosafic]

Tip: Kerfing without a Kerfing Plane

Here is another short video of me with my funky hairdoo using a grooving plane also known as a plow plane or the English version plough plane, to plane a kerf or essentially a narrow groove. I’m using a 1/8″ iron, which is still too wide for my frame saw and my Disston rip handsaw. With the kerf or groove being so wide, it creates a small step which then you can push the blade of the saw against…

[polkadotmotmot]

Geoff Disston - Night Harbor, 2024 - Flashe on canvas

[transgalactic-woodworker]

I don't really care about the defense industry, but I've seen how this process has transformed/devastated woodworking.

Companies like Stanley produced a huge quantity of top quality steel tools (like hand planes), but the quality took a nosedive during the collapse of the US machine tool industry. Stanley planes from the 1910s are still used and sought after. I could buy one now on ebay or a tool auction, and it would be a perfectly useable tool.

Stanley planes from the 80s are junk, partly due to poor quality control and cheap designs. A hand plane is a tool that requires extremely high precision and quality control in its manufacture, or its nearly useless. For example, the sole needs to be completely flat, with a tolerance of 0.001 inches.

The same with saws. A Disston saw from 100 years ago is still a great tool. But if you go to a hardware store, or even a contractor-supply store, the hand saws they have aren't going to be as nice.

To a certain extent this process was exacerbated by the rise of power tools, but less than you'd think. The period of high quality Stanley tools overlaps with the period when what we think of as modern power tools (jointers, planers, bandsaws, etc) were used. And mill-powered versions of those tools go back to the 19th century at least. In fact, the machine tool collapse also affected the quality of power tools. Old drill presses are often better quality than modern ones

In good news, this is changing (at least in woodworking). In the last couple decades, many small companies, such as Lie Nielson, Veritas, HNT Gordon, etc have done well by manufacturing extremely high quality tools. A modern Lie Nielson hand plane is as good as an old Stanley one, and advances in metallurgy mean the steel in these modern planes is actually better.

And in power tools, there are companies like SawStop that mfg in the US and are doing innovative stuff with their tools.

Being able to manufacture machine tools is often considered an important capability for an industrialized country. Not only does this provide ready access to the latest manufacturing technology, but it ensures production of munitions and other military equipment won’t be bottlenecked by a lack of machine tools. This isn’t a hypothetical concern: American production of artillery shells for Ukraine has been held back by a lack of machine tools. The military has thus historically paid close attention to the machine tool industry and the availability of machinists. For most of the 20th century, the US was unrivaled in its machine tool technology, and as late as the early 1980s it was the largest machine tool producer in the world.. But almost overnight, the industry collapsed: annual machine tool shipments declined by more than 50% in 2 years, hundreds of machine tool companies went out of business, and the US slipped from the largest producer in the world to the 4th or 5th (depending on the year), roughly where it remains today.

[appalachianaxeworks]

Disston Machete US 1943 now available in our Etsy Shop , link in our profile. #WWII #vintagemachete #disston #machete #wwiiknife #1943 https://www.instagram.com/p/B4hzW2ZDqML/?igshid=1x5myrrxthewq