Antique Rubber Stamps

For the last few weeks I've been staying temporally in my Sisters house. I haven't had the space, or time to make my own stamps, but I have purchased quite a few stamps off the net. These are antique stamps from the 1960s, and 1970s. I've managed to find some great bargains from the USA and around the UK.

My niece and I have been trying them out, making mail art, get well soon cards and other things.

STAMP shops in Japan

In researching Japanese railroad rubber stamps, I came across this amazing looking shop.
It's featured in a blog called TOOTHPICK NATIONS who have gone about exploring the design & stationery shops in Tokyo.

They say "DB in station ( Ecute Shinagawa 2F, 3-26-27 Takanawa Mintoku) - D-Bros is one my favourite Japanese stationery brands and this is their only retail outlet inside the JR Shinagawa station. The shop sells a range of unqiue and fun stationery as well as their DIY Stamp it collection where customers can customise their own stationery or greeting cards," and it seems all sorts of other things as well.

It looks fantastic!

(Muji seems to do something similar , will research and find out more)

Japanese Railroad Rubber Stamps

Another great book from the Arnolfini bookshop - Japanese Railroad Rubber Stamps 

This is what it says on the back of the book; 

Rubber stamps are installed at railroad stations throughout Japan. As many as 5,000 such stamps are in use today.Each one is unique, bearing the station name along with specially designed patterns that convey the uniqueness of the locality via images of sightseeing spots, specialty products and other aspects of the region. Just looking through these stamps makes one feel like going on a trip. This volume contains approximately 380 imprints of such stamps selected from all over the country and representing various periods, drawing from the compilers collection of around 70,000.

 

A link to an article on Japanese Rubber Stamping: https://denshadejapan.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/the-eki-stamp/ 

Illustrations Of The Strange, Mysterious And Bizarre For Kids Of The Showa Era

Another interesting find in the Arnolfini Bookshop, featuring some great and somewhat disturbing illustrations inside.

"The occult fad of the 1960s-70s in Japanese comics, magazines, films and popular culture produced countless bizarre tales and creatures. Many of these tropes, from leviathans and zombie hordes to monstrous insects and terrifying ghosts, laid the foundations for themes which carry on to this day, both in Japan and the West. This book offers a huge collection of illustrations by Shigeru Komatsuzaki, Gojin Ishihara, Takashi Minamimura and other master illustrators who appeared in a variety of media. Presented in five categories – psychic, unexplored regions, grotesque, cold-blooded and savage, and hysteria and insanity – it is a legacy of rich imagination to be enjoyed anew".

Follow this link and take a look inside the book:

http://www.ideabooks.nl/9784861524561-illustrations-of-the-strange-mysterious-and-bizarre-for-kids-of-the-showa-era

Cryptozoology in American Men's Adventure Magazines

I've just found out about this new publication: 

Cryptozoology Anthology: Strange and Mysterious Creatures in Men's Adventure Magazines (The Men's Adventure Library)

"Cryptozoology - The search for and study of animals whose existence or survival is unsubstantiated or in dispute, such as Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, fish with human hands, the Yeti, the Thunderbird, the Ape-Man Monster of Tennessee, and the 'Thing' at Dutchman's Rig. For three decades, when American men had questions about the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and other weird beasts from the strange world of cryptozoology, they found answers in the hard-hitting pages of men's adventure magazines. Now, collected here for the first time ever, are samples of sensational period reporting and wild, "true" accounts of savage, fist-to-claw duels between man and Sasquatch, man and fishman, man and monster! "

These articles fuelled Blue-Collar american's imagination and interest in all things cryptozoological,and like the magazines readers these accounts and ideas where seen as outsiders in relation to society and science. 

One of the editors is David Coleman author of the brilliant THE BIGFOOT FILMOGRAPHY, and includes contributions from Sir Arthur C. Clarke and John Keel.

Here are some of the great illustrations featured in the publication.

   

Hot off the press - Limited Edition 'Cosmic Forces' Artist Book Now available !

‘As Shakespeare said, you can call spirits from the vastly deep, but will they answer?’ 

Mr. Franklin. Hound of the Baskervilles. 20^thCentury Fox 1939

Stephen Fowler explores his fascination with American B movies of the 1930’s & 40’s fascination with Spiritualism, séances and Mediums in his Artist Book, Cosmic Forces. 

Throughout the period these cheap and quickly made films often employed the paranormal in highly effective ends, creating scary and haunting atmospheres to chill the cinema audience. 

Introducing and utilizing the props of Spiritualism such as darkened rooms, ouija boards, floating spirit hands and voices and ectoplasm was an economical means to convey the strange and ‘other’. Another was exploiting the suspicion of the outsider in casting brilliant Eastern European and Asian character actors as Spirit Mediums. Scriptwriters drafted eerie, eccentric and sometimes profound lines and for these actors to speak,

‘those beyond, they know, they told me death would come among us’ 

   

Mrs. Walters. Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise, 20^th Century Fox 1940

     

I made this book by printing a selection of my hand cut rubber stamps.

I stretched the paper and painted it with some very old antique red drawing ink, then I printed/stamped with thick strong bleach, oil and water based ink. 

I'm pleased to announce that a limited edition pressing of the concertina book has been made and is available via my email. sngfowler@yahoo.co.uk 

Rubber Stamp & Roller Printing Classes at Shepherds/Falkiner Fine Paper.

I'm pleased to announce,I've been invited to run two workshops at Shepherds, the Book Binding and Paper specialist shop based in Victoria, London.

Classes commence at 10am & finish at 4pm
each class cost £50

RUBBER STAMPING - Saturday 31st January 2015 
Tickets:http://store.bookbinding.co.uk/store/product/11875/Rubberstamping-course-31-Jan/

ROLLER PRINTING - Saturday 28th March 2015
tickets:http://store.bookbinding.co.uk/store/product/14216/Roller-Printing-Course-28-Mar/