PUBLIC COLLECTORS

Today would have been the birthday of a friend, Matt Hanner.

Shortly after his completely unexpected death, I borrowed two boxes of Hanner’s ephemera and mailed art from Anthony Elms - a longtime friend of mine and a close friend of Matt’s. Here is a particularly sweet postcard - addressed to Jackie Terrassa - postmarked February 23rd, 2000.

Matt Hanner had a Tumblr blog:  http://matthanner.tumblr.com/. He updated it until one month before his death and it gives an expanded sense of the way he was in the world. More Matt Hanner material on Public Collectors here.

Estate sale rare book score! Though I did not succeed in finding a nice old coffee table, I did find the 1969 softcover edition of The Americans by Robert Frank, published by Aperture / MoMA. One dollar! If you live in Chicago and have a coffee table of equivalent quality, I will consider trade offers.

A detail of a hand-painted sign on Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood.

Some delicious hand-painted Mexican pastries, offered on Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. Cupcake? Cheese cake? Strawberry shortcake? 

Some delicious hand-painted Mexican pastries, offered on Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood.

A photocopy of a drawing (circa 1990) by Jaime Sanchez. Sanchez was incarcerated in Arizona at the time that this was sent to me by a fellow prisoner from the same institution.

A photocopy of a 1990 drawing by Jaime Sanchez. Sanchez was incarcerated in Arizona at the time that this was sent to me by a fellow prisoner from the same institution.

A page from R. Crumb’s Head Comix, by Robert Crumb, published by Fireside Press in 1988. Aside from the cover, the entire book is in black and white, however here (and on another page) the previous owner decided to treat this like a coloring book. Not a bad idea!

Nails with problems (with a notation from the previous owner to “Know” them because they’ll probably be on the test). From the Standard Textbook of Cosmetology, published by Accredited Schools of Beauty Culture, Inc., Bronx, NY, 1967. Illustrations by Warren Meek. More here.

An illustration of facial types, from the Hungarian guide book Emberek (Which I believe translates to groups of people) published in Budapest in 1980.

An illustration of facial details, from the Hungarian guide book Emberek (Which I believe translates to groups of people) published in Budapest in 1980.

A sample 2-page spread from 17 Indian Books, a beautiful little photo ‘zine by longtime friend and tireless photographer Oscar Arriola. This was published by Fotoflow Press in 2010 and consists of color reproductions of book covers spotted at the library where Oscar works. Be sure to also check out the over 12,000 photos on his amazing Flickr page: Fotoflow

A sample 2-page spread from 17 Indian Books, a beautiful little photo ‘zine  by longtime friend and tireless photographer Oscar Arriola. This was published by Fotoflow Press in 2010 and consists of color reproductions of book covers spotted at the library where Oscar works. Be sure to also check out the over 12,000 photos on his amazing Flickr page: Fotoflow

One last bit of Cryptic Slaughter ephemera: another merchandise sheet with a note from their bassist Rob Nicholson. The note about an “int” indicates that I must have asked if I could interview the band for my fanzine. Unfortunately that never materialized. More Cryptic Slaughter posts here.

A letter from Rob Nicholson of Cryptic Slaughter that I received in around late 1987 or early 1988. More recently, Rob has been playing with Ozzy Osbourne, which he discusses here. More Cryptic Slaughter posts here.