Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Great Gab Mystery, or How I Discovered the Art of Heinrich Vogeler.


Yet another oddball vintage Made in France item found while treasure hunting today.  
 
Who is the large man featured on the front cover? He reminds me of a Texas oil man circa the 1950s. I flipped it over for clues.
 
 
The wooden notepad decorated "a la main" by Gab presents a fun mystery…Who the heck is Gab? When did he make this little souvenir in Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes? According to Wikipedia Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes had a population of 333 in 1962.
 
 
An even greater mystery…was the previous owner's name Lee or did someone visiting the thrift store want to test out their pencil?

 
More baffling still…who is Bettina Muller-Vogeler? I found this tag tucked away between two sheets of the notepad. Searching her name led me to her mother, Martha Vogeler, muse and model for painter Heinrich Vogeler.  

 
And that, my friends, led me to this gorgeous painting from 1897, Frühling”, which all good German students should remember means Spring.


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