THE MIGHTY JOHN HENRY

Because it's not only about clothes at the "riveted  HQ" i've decided to pull this one from the shelves and share its great illustrations .

John Henry is a larger-than-life folk hero a "steel driving" man hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock away. 

Bradford's "John Henry" is set in the late 1800's.John is a steamboat roustabout who goes up and down the Mississippi, from town to town, job to job and his run-ins with women, bosses, liquor, cocaine, bad guys and gambling men seem to never end ....

A colorful  cast of characters,including Stagger Lee, Poor Selma, and a character popping up in strange places and referred as "a nigger named Sam" make this a very amusing story and a great read.... A true superhero whose demise comes in an unexpected way. I won't ruin the end for you but if you find this book, grab it ......

 this first edition from 1931 features the woodcuts of J.J. Lankes [1884-1960]

Lankes  is unfortunately almost forgotten today ,he was a talented artist who worked exclusively in the East, and his woodcuts are mostly of scenery and structures. Lankes is arguably the first genuine woodcut artist this country produced.

Close friend of poets and writers,he was commissioned on a regular basis to illustrate books .Lankes is also the author of the first reliable and comprehensive book on woodcutting published in North America.....

INTRODUCING THE RIVETED CHUCKS

Got these today .As i've never been able to find a decent pair of vintage and as Converse has apparently no intention,so far,to reissue them,i decided to take matter in my own hands ....Logged on their site and went for their "custom" section and .....VOILA!!!

MARY MAXIM SWEATERS ...THE CLASSIC COWICHAN STYLE

Been complaining about being cold or uncomfortable lately !?? well ! not anymore with your M.M sweater   .....

Born in the 50's ,from the creative minds of :Willard and Olive McPhedrain Mary Maxim is still the largest privately owned craft /needlework mail-order company in North America. The couple who had been running earlier a wool blankets and socks company called: "Sifton Wool", was trying to expend their horizons and saw possibilities in the hand-knitting market.That's why they set their minds into creating new designs for what was to be their new venture :the Mary Maxim company.

[So who was Mary Maxim? She never really was. She was just a McPhedrain's invention.They wanted for the new company a name like ‘Betty Crocker,’” something with a kinda homy feel to it .They had a maid back then named Mary Maximchuck ,so they settled for it and shortened it to ‘Mary Maxim...]

Sixty years later, Mary Maxim is still an household name with most of their revenue coming from their catalogues and online sales. 

Their classic bulky weight cardigan patterns are based on the Cowichan sweater,but also feature quite a variety of images, which are usually either some type of animal or sports figure. To be honest, I find most of these cardigans "campy". But there's no denying their iconic status among collectors . Japanese and "rockabillies"were in fact the first to put them back on the map.. The most appealing of the Mary Maxim sweater designs to me,are those which are most similar to the Cowichan and can be taken for an authentic Cowichan sweater. 

The Totem Pole Sweater pattern was origionally published in 1957 by Mary Maxim. It was thrust into the spotlight later that year when actor Bob Hope wore it during a visit to Canada

Bob

As featured above :the tweed wools thunderbird sweater 

WHY I'VE BEEN OFF THE CHARTS FOR A WHILE ....

Mark Fisher and myself present :NORSHOR LEATHER