wandered over to a shelf displaying a row of unusual-looking frames and boxes made of layered and carved wood. “I’ve seen these before in some magazines. They’re called hobo work or something like that, aren’t they?”
“The official term is tramp art, but examples that Joseph collects are ones specifically made by German immigrants. We dealers refer to their craftsmanship as chip-work or edge-carved,” Rachel said. “Since this is Joseph’s particular area of expertise, I’ll let him tell you about it.”
“My wife is being diplomatic. She’s heard me complain too often about how maligned tramp art has become in the last fifty years,” her husband said. “The pieces I collect were made by traveling German immigrants and are unique to the Pennsylvania area.”
“They appear to be made out of little bits of wood,” Allan said as he studied a picture frame.
“Edge-carved pieces are almost exclusively made from scraps of wood and from cigar boxes made of wood. Those pieces were very popular during the period after the Civil Warright up until the Great Depression. That was also a period when cigar smoking was very fashionable. Often itinerant workers would trade finished pieces for food, lodging and discarded cigar boxes from which they could make more items.”
“That must have been tedious.” Despite his observation, Max seemed truly interested. “How did they use the cigar boxes?”
“The carver would cut down the old cigar box wood into thin strips, which he would glue together in layers, in a pyramid fashion.” Joseph took the lid from one trinket box and held it up to the light. “Once he formed a solid object, he would use different methods of carving to further define and decorate the edges, and to give an illusion of depth. Edge-carvings are some of the oldest examples of American folk art.”
“I love these miniature crèches,” Edwina said, admiring the tiny Nativity scenes that the Holzmanns had displayed on the mantel above the fireplace. “What did they use to get such fine details?”
“Edge-carvings were simply made by hand with a whittling knife,” Joseph told her.
Ted bent to look at another shelf. “These look like toys.”
“Animals and other children’s items, which we call whimsies, were almost as popular as picture frames and treasure boxes,” Joseph acknowledged. “Noah’s ark was afavorite theme.” He picked up an intricately carved cane resting against one shelf. “Walking canes were another specialty. I have a client who collects only edge-carved canes.”
“I think it looks too busy.” Laura pursed her lips. “I’ve seen better.”
Although that made Louise take in a sharp breath, Joseph didn’t take offense. “A lot of people think of edge-carvings as too gaudy or kitschy. Since a small amount of it was made by anonymous hobos who used the railroads to travel the country, many antique collectors consider it cheaply made, but this is a misconception.”
“Is it?” The interior decorator seemed amused by this. “What makes it so special?”
“The majority of edge-carvings were made by immigrant itinerant workers and
wanderburschen
, or traveling apprentices, men skilled in the art of wood carving.” He turned over a picture frame to show her where the slivers of wood joined in hundreds of tiny joints. “You can imagine the painstaking work that went into fashioning just this one piece. Edge-carving may be a ‘working class’ art form, but it really doesn’t deserve its bad reputation.”
“Why did these men wander around the countryside when they could have settled down somewhere?” Ted asked as he raised his camera to take a photo of the collection.
“Most Germans came to America in search of jobs, butthey found only seasonal work on farms. Single men who didn’t have families would travel quite a bit to search for work. Their craft was often called tramp art, a term that was not considered a derogatory one during their time
“The official term is tramp art, but examples that Joseph collects are ones specifically made by German immigrants. We dealers refer to their craftsmanship as chip-work or edge-carved,” Rachel said. “Since this is Joseph’s particular area of expertise, I’ll let him tell you about it.”
“My wife is being diplomatic. She’s heard me complain too often about how maligned tramp art has become in the last fifty years,” her husband said. “The pieces I collect were made by traveling German immigrants and are unique to the Pennsylvania area.”
“They appear to be made out of little bits of wood,” Allan said as he studied a picture frame.
“Edge-carved pieces are almost exclusively made from scraps of wood and from cigar boxes made of wood. Those pieces were very popular during the period after the Civil Warright up until the Great Depression. That was also a period when cigar smoking was very fashionable. Often itinerant workers would trade finished pieces for food, lodging and discarded cigar boxes from which they could make more items.”
“That must have been tedious.” Despite his observation, Max seemed truly interested. “How did they use the cigar boxes?”
“The carver would cut down the old cigar box wood into thin strips, which he would glue together in layers, in a pyramid fashion.” Joseph took the lid from one trinket box and held it up to the light. “Once he formed a solid object, he would use different methods of carving to further define and decorate the edges, and to give an illusion of depth. Edge-carvings are some of the oldest examples of American folk art.”
“I love these miniature crèches,” Edwina said, admiring the tiny Nativity scenes that the Holzmanns had displayed on the mantel above the fireplace. “What did they use to get such fine details?”
“Edge-carvings were simply made by hand with a whittling knife,” Joseph told her.
Ted bent to look at another shelf. “These look like toys.”
“Animals and other children’s items, which we call whimsies, were almost as popular as picture frames and treasure boxes,” Joseph acknowledged. “Noah’s ark was afavorite theme.” He picked up an intricately carved cane resting against one shelf. “Walking canes were another specialty. I have a client who collects only edge-carved canes.”
“I think it looks too busy.” Laura pursed her lips. “I’ve seen better.”
Although that made Louise take in a sharp breath, Joseph didn’t take offense. “A lot of people think of edge-carvings as too gaudy or kitschy. Since a small amount of it was made by anonymous hobos who used the railroads to travel the country, many antique collectors consider it cheaply made, but this is a misconception.”
“Is it?” The interior decorator seemed amused by this. “What makes it so special?”
“The majority of edge-carvings were made by immigrant itinerant workers and
wanderburschen
, or traveling apprentices, men skilled in the art of wood carving.” He turned over a picture frame to show her where the slivers of wood joined in hundreds of tiny joints. “You can imagine the painstaking work that went into fashioning just this one piece. Edge-carving may be a ‘working class’ art form, but it really doesn’t deserve its bad reputation.”
“Why did these men wander around the countryside when they could have settled down somewhere?” Ted asked as he raised his camera to take a photo of the collection.
“Most Germans came to America in search of jobs, butthey found only seasonal work on farms. Single men who didn’t have families would travel quite a bit to search for work. Their craft was often called tramp art, a term that was not considered a derogatory one during their time
Similar Books
