Interesting Posters and Prints

I have been going through some of the stuff that my mom left to me. I know I had seen these posters or prints when I was growing up and when I added them to some of the things I had but it had been years since I had really looked at them. For the first time I decided to do some research on the paintings and artist. This one of the 2 deer and the fishermen really caught my eye. It is titled "Let's Go?" The second print by the same artist is titled "So Soft". They were done by artist. R. H. Palenske. To the back of each print was a small paper that looks like a Christmas card from a business. The business was J. E. Trodden & Co, Buckskin Specialists, Napa, California (written out, not abbreviated as we do now. I can understand the Buckskin part as my mom made leather jackets, gloves, and fur coats for a while. She may have had dealing with this company. This would have been some time about 1945. Computer research shows that Palenske, born in 1884 and died in 1954, was a well known pen and ink artist. He was known for doing wildlife, western life, and if what I found is right he did some of the famous race horses, Man O War, and Whirlaway.

 The next 3 prints are of wild horses by the artist Bucky Nimy. I couldn't find out near as much about him. I know that back in the '40's through the '60's you could frequently find ads to get prints of painting for just a few dollars. You could then frame them and hang them in your home. I think that my mom got these prints that way. I know I got some for my self by different artist when I was a teenager. I have no idea where those might be.  I couldn't find out about what they might be worth on the internet, if anything. These have faded quite a bit and almost look more like drawings. I would thing the original paintings might have be more colorful.

 This is one of my finds. I had a rental house for a while back a few years and a renter left this and a bunch of junk when he walked out on the rental agreement. This is a Mexican folk art painting by Roberto Benitez. I did find photos of some of his work on the internet but nothing about him. This looks like something maybe from the 1980's or 1990's. Any way I like it.

These 2 prints of Navajo Indians I know more about. They were done by Eugene Bishoff. Mr. Bishoff and his wife, Kay lived next door to my parents when I was about two years old. This was when telivison first became available in homes. The Bishoff's had one, when very few people did. They were the only people my parents knew who had one then. That would have been in 1953. They would take me over to watch it with them. I really don't remember that but was told the stories many times by my parents. Eugene Bishoff was well known for his paintings of Native Americans or Indians as we still called them then. These are prints of 2 of this very large paintings. He like to do paintings that were about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. He even did one of my grandfather that my aunt has. My mom got these from Kay Bishoff in about 1960 when we visited them. Eugene had died by then but Kay was a good friend and was know as Grandma Kay to me and my sisters.

 Not these 2 horse paintings are very interesting. The first is actually a painting on a canvas board. It is signed Patterson. The second is not another photo of the first. It is a print on a piece of cardboard. I can't decide if they are the same or not as there seem to be some slight differences to them. These were some my mom had, too, and I am sure she had them from some time in the 1940's. I was unable to find out anything about the artist.

This is probably the oldest of the prints I have. This is a print or poster of the harness race horse Dan Patch. He was born in 1896. He won most of the races he was entered in and broke lots of harness track record. He won so much that other owners refused to race their horses against him. The owner then put him on the road as a drawing card for his company, and doing exhibition time trails at race tracks. This poster was offered for sale to hang in your home or office in 1911 by something called Breeder and Sportsman. My grandmother got one after seeing Dan Patch some where as a child. Or maybe her parents got it. Which would have been strange for them as they were very poor. Or maybe someone gave it to them. My grandmother was a bit younger than the house being born in 1898 I think. I am sure this isn't worth anything as it is torn and you can see it rolled for many years before someone tried to flatten it. Probably my grandmother.  

This poster is still rolled and there are none of the marks on it. It is torn slightly in one corner but not into the actual picture. This is of the race horse Assault. Assault was born in 1943 and won the Triple Crown in 1946. He won lots of races, was retired at the age of seven and died in 1971. He lived a long life but never fathered any foals. He was born and died on the well known King Ranch in Texas. I bought this poster at a garage sale a few years ago for a small amount. Knowing me, it was for less than a dollar. I couldn't find out anything on what it might be worth.

Amaryllis Bulbs

Amaryllis Bulbs are such amazing plants. A lot of stores sell the bulbs in the fall right before the holidays. I have had them before but the one I have this year has out done it's self. The bulb usually comes already planted in a small pot. With in days it starts to grow a flower stalk with a few leaves following. Usually within a month the flower stalk will have 4 trumpet shaped flowers that last for several weeks. That is what I expected this one to do. I bought 2 bulbs but one has flowered much sooner than the other that I am still waiting on. I thought I was buying a bright pink one and a red one. Boy did I get a surprise when the first one was white. Not only was it white it was a double or maybe you call it a triple.

This is what the pots and bulbs looked like when I bought them on December 19, 2018. The flower stalks are just starting to emerge.

I took these photos on December 31.

I took these photos on January 4, 2019.

And I took these photos on January 7. You can see the flower talk has the large part where the 4 flower buds will come from. The strap like leaves can be seen lower down. At this point is was 13 inches tall from the top of the pot to the top of the flower bud.  As you can see the second pot isn't growing as fast.

This is the first flower to start opening on January14.

This is how it looked by the next day, January 15. It was one of the most beautiful flowers I think I have ever seen.

You can see I had to stake the flower when it opened as it seemed really top heavy. I used an old metal curtain rod and some string. If you do this be sure to not tie the string to tight as it could cut into the flower stalk. There is a second flower stalk to the side of the first one. At this time it was 21 inches from the top of the pot to the top of the flowers. Once the flowers have died off and the leaves really come out you have a nice houseplant for the rest of the year. About July or August you should stop watering it and let the leaves die back. Take the bulb and let it 'rest' in a dark, cool, place in the house. Don't let it freeze or get to hot. After 6 weeks in the dark bring it out, replace the old soil with new and start watering. It should bloom again in about another 6 weeks. I have kept the for several years and have heard of other people keeping this a lot longer. Now I am waiting to see what the other one will look like when it blooms. I'll let you know.