Okay I respect that you don’t think this is up to snuff, but I loved it.
THOUGHTS:
1. It is UNACCEPTABLE that they don’t have an image of the bat brooch as a tiara. I need to know what it looks like so I can figure out how upset to be that I am not comically wealthy.
2. I didn’t know about the Westwood horns and now I want some.
3. I refuse to look up any details about the conflict between Yeats and Crowley, this version is canon. Two GROWN MEN, one a RENOWNED POET, screaming magic spells at each other is Peak Victorian. I would absolutely watch a dramatization of this. I like to imagine Crowey’s voice breaking periodically. I don’t know if you ever followed the Twitter threads about The Midnight Society, which imagined conversations between horror writers, but this is just… straight out of that and I love it.
Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it - I really did feel like I was letting down the side a bit with this one. But I'm especially thrilled that you were as delighted by the Yeats/Crowley battle as I was, because it's so ridiculous. The "wickedest man in the world" booted down the stairs by a spindly poet. There's no absurdity like High Victorian absurdity.
And YES the Midnight Society is my favorite thing in the world! Thank god they're on Bluesky. That recent thread of Lovecraft drawing Pickman's dog ruined me because of course you immediately have to go google the drawing and it's EVEN WORSE than anyone could imagine. Talk about canon - they've all assumed those roles in my head now and I love them even more for it.
Monicaaaaaaaaa! Thank you for another lovely newsletter. That owl! Your honor I love him! I want everything you've highlighted here tbqh. I aspire to be a collector of vintage charms, but alas I am not very good at it yet. And that devil is just too spendy, but he's adorbs.
Victorian mysticism is another one of my obsessions, so I was particularly delighted by this. I'm also grateful that you linked to your earlier work because it's a spectacular one. JAR!! That delightful inkwell! The sweet little pup! Thank you thank you thank you!
Thank you! You can have all of it except for the owl; I love him unreservedly.
Oooh, also - the charm reminded me to tell you: If you sign up for the Butter Lane newsletter, you'll get early access to their yearly "make an offer" sale, where you can literally make them an offer on whatever you like in their inventory, and they might just take it. Plus the newsletter is worth it by itself, even though it'll break your heart on a weekly basis.
RIGHT?!?!!! Talk about a record-scratch moment as you scroll through all the huge jewels. I'm literally so annoyed that she has posthumously made me like her for having owned it.
Thank you. It's a drag because they're such a likeable team - I really wanted them to win because their joy and love for the game and each other is so apparent. Damn.
I AGREE. Unless it's in a Victorian hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands, I'm out. (I'd still expect somebody to be creatively murdered in the lodge, too, but I'd stay for the tea.)
Found this through a mention by Edith Zimmerman who is substitute-teaching Jason Kottke's site for a few weeks. A lovely serendipitous discovery! I will enjoy reading here.
If you're fond of Victorian photos of people with ectoplasm leaking out of them (*ectoplasm looks a lot like butter muslin), I recommend this: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300111361/the-perfect-medium/. (Hopefully your local library can get a copy on loan -- it's a tome, and it's a hoot!)
And thanks, as always, for a terrific read, Monica!
Oh wow, THANK YOU. I definitely need to get my hands on that. That whole multi-decade obsession with the occult was a fascinating period of history -- I love to make fun of the emo Victorians, but it got so much more dark and sad later, with charlatans preying on grieving family members post-WWI.
Okay I respect that you don’t think this is up to snuff, but I loved it.
THOUGHTS:
1. It is UNACCEPTABLE that they don’t have an image of the bat brooch as a tiara. I need to know what it looks like so I can figure out how upset to be that I am not comically wealthy.
2. I didn’t know about the Westwood horns and now I want some.
3. I refuse to look up any details about the conflict between Yeats and Crowley, this version is canon. Two GROWN MEN, one a RENOWNED POET, screaming magic spells at each other is Peak Victorian. I would absolutely watch a dramatization of this. I like to imagine Crowey’s voice breaking periodically. I don’t know if you ever followed the Twitter threads about The Midnight Society, which imagined conversations between horror writers, but this is just… straight out of that and I love it.
Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it - I really did feel like I was letting down the side a bit with this one. But I'm especially thrilled that you were as delighted by the Yeats/Crowley battle as I was, because it's so ridiculous. The "wickedest man in the world" booted down the stairs by a spindly poet. There's no absurdity like High Victorian absurdity.
And YES the Midnight Society is my favorite thing in the world! Thank god they're on Bluesky. That recent thread of Lovecraft drawing Pickman's dog ruined me because of course you immediately have to go google the drawing and it's EVEN WORSE than anyone could imagine. Talk about canon - they've all assumed those roles in my head now and I love them even more for it.
Thanks for the tip - following!
OMGGGGGG I didn’t realize they’d made it over Bluesky!!! Immediate follow! And also that art is so embarrassingly bad. Like… just wow. Wow.
Monicaaaaaaaaa! Thank you for another lovely newsletter. That owl! Your honor I love him! I want everything you've highlighted here tbqh. I aspire to be a collector of vintage charms, but alas I am not very good at it yet. And that devil is just too spendy, but he's adorbs.
Victorian mysticism is another one of my obsessions, so I was particularly delighted by this. I'm also grateful that you linked to your earlier work because it's a spectacular one. JAR!! That delightful inkwell! The sweet little pup! Thank you thank you thank you!
Thank you! You can have all of it except for the owl; I love him unreservedly.
Oooh, also - the charm reminded me to tell you: If you sign up for the Butter Lane newsletter, you'll get early access to their yearly "make an offer" sale, where you can literally make them an offer on whatever you like in their inventory, and they might just take it. Plus the newsletter is worth it by itself, even though it'll break your heart on a weekly basis.
Done! And it has already broken my heart. I don't have that kind of money Monica!!! What have you done to me???
I know, I don't either! But I treat it like a little museum exhibit every week. They really find some wonderful things.
Can you imagine finding a battered suitcase in a creepy old attic and opening it up to discover THAT???!!!!!!
Oh, and the Palace of the Golden Wang... hahahahaha!
*shudder*
I was not aware of these horns!!!!!!
Keep any eye out for them when you're doing your etsy rounds!
I am HAUNTED - no pun intended - by that chafing dish!!! - J
RIGHT?!?!!! Talk about a record-scratch moment as you scroll through all the huge jewels. I'm literally so annoyed that she has posthumously made me like her for having owned it.
Another thoroughly entertaining and informative post! Happy Halloween!
Thank you! And Happy Halloween right back to the Queen of the Season!
Twinkle twinkle little bat / How I wonder what you're at!
Sorry about your Phillies - I wanted them to win too.
Thank you. It's a drag because they're such a likeable team - I really wanted them to win because their joy and love for the game and each other is so apparent. Damn.
I cannot imagine walking into a room that has this as a chandelier: https://redmile.com/categories/antler/antler-chandelier-tall-detail
...and not IMMEDIATELY exiting stage right.
I AGREE. Unless it's in a Victorian hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands, I'm out. (I'd still expect somebody to be creatively murdered in the lodge, too, but I'd stay for the tea.)
Found this through a mention by Edith Zimmerman who is substitute-teaching Jason Kottke's site for a few weeks. A lovely serendipitous discovery! I will enjoy reading here.
https://kottke.org/23/11/a-media-diet-of-media-diets
"early 20th century Georgian-style silver-plated warming stand with chicken legs and the face of a tiny satyr"
An astonishing piece; thank you for sharing! As if Baba Yaga was moonlighting as a suburban caterer --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yaga
So interesting but I have to say there is something creepy about the chicken warmer that was Barbara Walters
If you're fond of Victorian photos of people with ectoplasm leaking out of them (*ectoplasm looks a lot like butter muslin), I recommend this: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300111361/the-perfect-medium/. (Hopefully your local library can get a copy on loan -- it's a tome, and it's a hoot!)
And thanks, as always, for a terrific read, Monica!
Oh wow, THANK YOU. I definitely need to get my hands on that. That whole multi-decade obsession with the occult was a fascinating period of history -- I love to make fun of the emo Victorians, but it got so much more dark and sad later, with charlatans preying on grieving family members post-WWI.