How's it hanging?

A new thread here for us to share info. about displaying and caring for our Gordon Lightfoot memorabilia/collections. May be a great way to get helpful hints, new ideas and just share stories.

Of course, don't feel like you have to come out of the closet with everything you have...a detailed inventory will suffice (no sah, just kiddin ).

Where/how do you hang/display your memorabilia and/or store it? For those with extensive audio, photo and or news media collections...how are you caring for them? Is anyone cataloguing their collections and if using a software program...what are you using?

[geodeticman.5]

Podunk:

By coincidence, in the autograph bent the Avery Hall thread was taking, I mentioned in a short post at the end just what you are asking here - sorta. I have a canoe paddle I bought new for autographing by Gord - as he is as I am sure you know formerly, primarily, a big trekker in northern waters...

I asked him to sign this on my 40th birthday after a day of canoeing... He did, and in keeping with your thread, the way I display it is, no photo yet, I hang it (its new and shiny with spar var) over the desk in my den/office (too!) , as a fond memory. Right beside a great collectable Coleman Lantern Anniversary Blanket - emblazone with 12 diferent historical types of well-known ( amongst the illuminati ? arh arh) lanterns over the years.. by the fireplace. Merry, in the past, called the decorating police when I asked her about hanging in the living room....Er.....no...lol.

Good thread idea.

~geo steve

[jj]

ah, the decorating police, lol...I am busted on a daily basis...mainly cos I keep putting an old portrait of our Queen (a very young Liz) over the fireplace...the other half has French roots and hold some sort of grudge...anyhow, it's not hanging at all here, I have no Gord

love the canoe paddle, steve (I have a few old canoe design posters in my back room)...pam, love the wood framings and the replica radio and especially Liona in red...wish you had posted higher res pics, lol

[geodeticman.5]

jj - cool. I'd love to see photos of the oars; paddles, as they are antique, especially. I'd direct you to Old Town Canoe's home website - and into accessories, and collectables specifically. There, you'll see, and probably freak over - three antique repro's on metal of old Old Town Canoe catalogue covers - the 30's, 40's, 50's - man they are great. - @ www.oldtowncanoe.com

I wish I had my old decorating police around.....

So jj you , in an effort to be a good subject of the Queen . are having to move the painting... is the French grudge thing the Canadian French vs. anglais thing I read about, although of course your reference was all in fun, I know... but to understand the humour better....

I had a painting of a young teenager I bought when Mamie was about 13, and the girl in the photograph was an astounding dead-ringer for Mamie, leading a brown Appaloosa, just as Mamie was being given lessons on ... eerie... and we hung it over the fireplace then, in complete agreement........with the decorating police - Merry lol. Now that, she is gone (and I do NOT mean to be morose sounding, but today is hard...her birthday would have been this coming Monday, and.. well I am sure you guys understand, and I do not wish this subject to proceed me at all......) Mamie is taking me out to dinner that night to jointly celebrate or rather commemorate, her Mom's birthday.)

Anyway, now that she is gone......we have taken the picture we simply called of Mamie, and Mamie and I hung it over HER home's fireplace Mantle, fitting..... as I had moved out of the house Merry and I were in together, rash move but it was too hard too be in that 3,000 square foot house alone....and look at the couch....I should stop there to be more polite. Anyhoo, the painting - is "hangin' " just great , Podunk and jj, and Mamie is now the heir-apparent to the status of home decorating police.... actually that would be more than heir-apparent, it would be de facto heir decorating police - of her and Chuck's house. And so it goes on.....

Sorry to stray a bit off of thread Podunk. Thought jj would like to know about the Old Town collectable wall-hangings - sorta on-thread, but not of Gord. Yes, my paddle is my prize Gord-thing, hanging rustically on the wall by virtue of three strategically-placed hard-cut old-fashioned nails for atmosphere upon close inspection. However, I would add for functionality, wall hanging items of three-dimensionally odd size - such as my signed Paddle, the hard-cut (aka old-style horseshoe nails as well) work great.

More commonly used nail by the old boys for 3-tab and other asphalt roofing, they have a great asymmetrical shape on one axis of the head of the nail viewed as a planar surface, and symmetrical on the other axis cross-wise on the head. This is noteworth only because when hanging the odd 3-D items, the long axis at the head of the nail makes a great lip that things won't slide off-of at the foot of the item. I also used these to hang, on a royal-escutcheon-shaped wood plaque , a pair of incredible late 17hundreds (18th century) dueling pistols - flintlocks, they are, with removable dual barrels, pulling out a rusty old pin allows the barrel to be removed for - cleaning, I suppose. Dad brought those home as a grand-slam gift from Toledo, Spain, where he got my brother a pair of amazing dueling broadswords, in a gold family-crest family logo -covered metal "pouch" for the criss-crossed swords to slide in and both be visible.

Dad had gone to Europe, Germany specifically, as an Ambassador and technical liason both to Germany in the joint German-American space-program's spacecraft-to-the-sun project called H..E.L.I.O.S. - a greek word I believe for our sun, in acronym form , NASA's common convention of naming inter-planetary spacecraft, and especially rockets... by ancient Greek mythical and real names - eg Apollo, Centaur, Atlas,etc. Of the swords, I was jealous..... but later learned ( not that THAT is what matters at all in a gift) the value of the dueling pistols was so high I went out and insured them that week.
Thush endeth Shwords for two-hundred dollars Alexsh (SNL Sean-Connery game-show skit).

Podunk:sorry to hear about the monitor problem you are having too. Sucks. Mine has no speakers, and da**ed if I will go out and buy two mini speakers while the flat-screen wonder with littlel "Harmon Kardon" speakers would tweet away.... is supposed to be covered under warranty. OF course, best buy says its a software/CPU problem - I say - um duhh,, it would not work on my old CRT now if thats the case....and so it goes... lol

~geo shteve

[jj]

what a read that was...great canoe site, thanks...i got my posters from here http://www.peterboroughcanoeco.com/products/index.html but he doesnt seem to have the old design sketch on anymore, I'll try snap a shot of it

i love the soundsticks (the harvey korman one...err rather, harmen kardon) I have and their usb rather than minijack connection...the woofer adds such fullness...can't believe yours went on the fritz

i know what you mean by those old nails...all that's missing in an old barnwood background...sounds like a great ambience you'e got

i dunno what is with the queenie grudge and i doubt she does either but i think she was raised that way, she's part native indian too and genetically still pissed in general about the white man and specifically that crowned white woman, lol...it's not like I've got a painting of charles or fergie (or whoever he's with) up there

have a fine dinner, try find as much joy as possible amidst the sorrow

[geodeticman.5]

thank you jj, that was very kind of you to say. As far as the great ambience I've got, I dunno, like MandoAnn I think it was in the bar near Massachusets, I have trouble with my ambiences they just won't quiet down anough for me to hear my song ........

++++++++++++++++++++! (RIMSHOT !) arh arh arh .... followed by (sound of dog barking in the distance.... no laughter in the room... -sigh- I tried lol

Yes jj, I have always enoyed being able to take great liberties in my den/office with "decorating", lol guys often don't really "decorate" they more like... "hammer stuff" onto the wall, or take note with pride the weight-rating in great overkill of the painting hanger hook "yesirree, this 100-pound baby ought to do the job,"sniff" (sniff of guysounds to do with the nose, or "thumbing the nose, as in boxers) for something weighin, oh likely not more than 15 pouns at the most. lol

My liberties of den ( Iwonder where ehat word got connected to guys offices at home - and more of course,,,, guy-space..... sports memorabilia, walnut panelling with mullion if you are well-to-do ( not me), or "barnwood" if you are into rustic, as am I , but jj you would not believe how much "real "salvaged" barnwood goes for OMG, I ca't afford it either, but you're right, the hard-cut pig-iron-looking black horshoe nails (old-style, last time our farrier took winter "snowshoes" off of one of our horses, and put regular style on, he used, and commented on a new-fangled "high-tech" horshe-nail. I asked if they worked better, and he laconically, er..ratjher bucollically replied "don't know...ppfttt....but they cost more..." I allowed as how that made sense....and replied - won't be long before they have "digital" horseshoes , huH? he he he..... hmm. Helooked at me as if it were time for my medication, and said something like "what the sam-hell does that mean?" "I uh..I was just kiddin', Pete... no harm..." He skeptically loaded up his anvil from the tailgate, and tools, and gave me a bill roughly twice that of the last shoeing job...I did not complain, greatful of having higher-tech horseshoes....

oh - I checked out the PeterBorrough Canoe site - and their stuff is great - you're right.
I'm gonna get a t-shirt, even though I have never rowed their brand - or Chestnut et al.

Gotta say I like the steel Old Town Canoe repro catalogue covers though, if just for fake-authenticity?! Thanks jj


~geo steve

[Peter Bro10]

Great little thread here....
So I'll throw my two cents worth in.
My memorabilia ala autographed pix and tix stuff would pale in comparision to must of you guys, but I do have my 2006 autographed ticket stub framed and on display in my "DEN" (Yes Geo Steve, it's a guy thing.... or at least I think it is...) I have 3 other autographed items, ticket 2008, a GL postcard, and random photo... all awaiting proper framing and hanging on the wall. Like with most things with me, it's a work in progress!
I did manage to get an autographed 8x10 for my mom, that I made a special Photoshop mat and a pretty nice frame. It hangs in a prominent spot in mom's family room. I'll attach a snapshot of that one later if I get the chance... it's worthy of space here I think.
Thanks, Pam, for starting this thread... nice stuff there for sure!!!

[Jesse Joe]

Hey cousin Pam I have that same poster of Liona Boyd when I saw her here in concert at The Capitol Theatre... 10/09/2002 !



Had to scan it to try and place it here !!!

[jj]

pam, I do have ticket stub so it's not a total shoutout in my household, lol....I have a CPR poster and that's kinda my tribute to gord and the railway that runs out back here...navvies were here, lol

also, the Queen on the mantle has been moved to another room by the design police...she did it quietly in the night (in Santa Claus fashion) and place it too low so that my chair might crack the glass when I lean back, I'm sure that was the strategy... I did assure her if Charles became king that I would be ordering a king size portrait so she had better learn to enjoy the Queen while she can, lol

btw, anyone interest in those old CP posters can find them online or visit a CP shop (headquartered out west but I got mine in the shops located beneath the Royal York)...maybe Fairmont will soon take over the CP railway too....hey, did you know Willaim Van Horne was also an artist, you can find some of his doodles online also...useless trivia

[charlene]

James- that's the picture that hung in all classrooms when I was in elementary school..didja abscond with one when you departed?
lol
Here's a pic of an old CPR train at the Pier 21 entrance in Halifax, Nova Scotia..pretty much where the railway started I imagine and where the immigrants of yesteryear entered Canada on the east coast.. http://www.pier21.ca/

[charlene]

From a few years ago - the fireplace mantle 'shrine'...

room has been re-decorated since..Lightfoot stuff is stored for the time being..Lots of stuff needs to be framed yet..

[Jesse Joe]

Great looking stuff on that fireplace Charlene ! I like what is written on that cup, "And I still cant face the day." Does the other side say, "My second cup of coffee" ?

What is the 45 single ?

[geodeticman.5]

Char - is the big framed picture of Massey frontage; and what are the books, if of GL ?

[jj]

Originally Posted by charlene

James- that's the picture that hung in all classrooms when I was in elementary school

oh, i thought it was this one, lol...(j/k) ok, i will be killed for this


..didja abscond with one when you departed?
lol
Here's a pic of an old CPR train at the Pier 21 entrance in Halifax, Nova Scotia..pretty much where the railway started I imagine and where the immigrants of yesteryear entered Canada on the east coast.. http://www.pier21.ca/

neat, i imagine my four late grandfolks from UK carried their bags right over where you stood...thx for sharing as well as the warm mantle display...the Church of Gord II

[jj]

Originally Posted by charlene

Here's a pic of an old CPR train at the Pier 21 entrance in Halifax, Nova Scotia..pretty much where the railway started I imagine and where the immigrants of yesteryear entered Canada on the east coast.. http://www.pier21.ca/

so neat, i imagine my four late grandfolks from UK carried their bags right over where you stood...thx for sharing as well as the warm mantle display...the Church of Gord II

btw, i obtained the QEII portrait at Freelton antique market the first week I moved here

Originally Posted by charlene

James- that's the picture that hung in all classrooms when I was in elementary school

oh, i thought it was this one, lol...(j/k) ok, i will be killed for this

[Janice]

Originally Posted by podunklander

...I was hanging out with the regulars after work and CRS except I agreed to go to a concert in October at the Iron Horse to see some guy named Rodney something.

That would be Rodney Crowell and you are in for a treat!! He is one of my favorite singer/song writers. May I also recommend the Mark Erelli show October 10th - he's another really good singer/song writer. Actually there are several others I would also suggest, but I don't want to go too far off topic

[jj]

Originally Posted by podunklander

The CPR railroad poster is great..I want one! I do wish though...that I could find some memorabilia/depiction from the Canadian Grand Trunk RR.

ahh, Grand Trunk was CNR (vs CPR)- here's a link:
http://home.primus.ca/~robkath/railgt.htm

and some nice memorabilia photos, pricey though:

http://www.canadianheritage.org/reproductions/20472.htm

http://www.canadianheritage.org/reproductions/20702.htm

http://www.canadianheritage.org/reproductions/20347.htm

and re CPR: many other nice posters here:

http://www.cprheritage.com/photo_gra...hicgallery.htm

just go to the botton right and click on a Trains link...

[jj]

Originally Posted by charlene

Here's a pic of an old CPR train at the Pier 21 entrance in Halifax, Nova Scotia..pretty much where the railway started I imagine and where the immigrants of yesteryear entered Canada on the east coast..

a fitting poster:

[charlene]

Originally Posted by Jesse Joe

Great looking stuff on that fireplace Charlene ! I like what is written on that cup, "And I still can't face the day." Does the other side say, "My second cup of coffee" ?

What is the 45 single ?

The cup says "I'm on my Second Cup of Coffee" on the other side..it was part of the 2001 goodie bag )with the 'logo' of the convention on it - APPT was the theme..I had a huge cake made with the same logo on it) assembled by Jenney. I think it was 10 bucks for the goodie bag of stuff and we got notepad with holder for "The list' (s) and several other items that totally escape my memory..lol

The picture is a pen and ink/watercolour/limited edition done by a Toronto artist. He has given one to Gord as well as a few other artists. Mine has march 1984 dates in the marquee. i attended those shows when i was a week or so away from having my first child..
www.davidcrighton.com

The 45 is my copy of IYCRMM that I bought when I was 15. I had Lightfoot autograph it at Mariposa in Orillia back in July 2000 - 30 years later on my birthday..

[Peter Bro10]

As promised earlier, here's my custom matted (photoshop) framed autographed picture that hangs proudly at mom's house. ( Hint: Grace and Mom are one and the same!! )

[charlene]

hey there Misty! How ya doin? How have you been? I remember you telling me about your Queen Vic stuff!
here ya go:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_25320.aspx

[jj]

great stuff, marypoppins...pop up to Canada in May to celebrate Victoria Day (and catch Gord at Massey, wait, I think that's Nov next go round...the moderator can confirm)

[vlmagee]

This is cheating, as this item came ready for hanging, but it is one of my most precious Gord items.

[Jesse Joe]

It's looking mighty fine Val !

[vlmagee]

Yes, I think so too.