New skull tooled leather wallet by the Proper Leather Studio

The Proper Leather Studio on Etsy has just remade one of its best selling models, a leather skull wallet entirely handmade. The bi-fold leather wallet is hand-dyed, in shades of dark brown dye and brown Gel Antique on the outside and dark brown and 6 dark brown side pockets for credit cards on the inside. The item is made of high quality veg-tanned leather,  subsequently protected with several layers of acrylic finish. Polished and waxed edges.

Natural leather wallet for men, skull wallet, handmade EDC leather, boyfriend husband gift, European card holder, Goth hand-tooled wallet

Outside: 1.6-2.0 mm (4 to 5 oz) single bend European hide
Inside: 1 mm (2.5 oz) calf hide
Folded measurements: 12 x 9.5 cm / 4.7 x 3.7 inches.
Slim enough to enter into your pocket.
Due to the high-quality leather and craftsmanship, this wallet will last good years of use. Nevertheless, do not submerge it into water and avoid acids and corrosives. Leather is not a waterproof material and if submerged, it absorbs water and might deform of loose some of the color. Cared for, it will only look better in time. Also, it needs to soften through wear a bit, to reach its optimal functions. 

 See the other wallets available - hooded skull and bucranium.

The studio is a family business, with me making the designs, transfers, cutting, and dyeing, and my husband managing the measuring, cutting, and sewing of the products. We like to make thing properly, thus every item has been cut, incised, tooled, dyed, sewed, and finished entirely by hand. We take our time in carefully crafting every single item so that it is both artistically pleasing and durable.

Vintage prints from Transylvania

The Transylvanin Trove on Etsy sells some original vintage prints from this special province of Central-Eastern Europe. The more valuable item is a 2014 imprint after an 18th century plate from the collection of the National History Museum of Transylvania, a Baroque depiction of flowers with a tiny view over the city of Targu Mures. Under the central floral composition one can see on the left a small city vedutta (probably a view of Targu Mures, in Transylvania) and the engraver's name and year: Josephus Vasarhellyi (in Latinized Hungarian meaning Joseph from Vasarhely=Targu Mures) 1772. According to the name, the author was a Hungarian master from Transylvania. Etching, numbered in pencil 9/I. Material: sepia typographic ink, printing paper. See the etching on Etsy HERE.

Heart flowers, original vintage etching print after an eighteenth century plate, small view of Targu Mures city, Transylvania, Baroque deco

The second, but more recently added, is a beautiful original engraving on handmade paper, depicting a jumping stag against a field of flowers and small leaves in a circle. The circular depiction is surrounded by the inscription "Handmade paper & print by Natura Paper". Materials: black typographic ink, beige handmade paper. Dimensions (total): 18 x 13 cm (7 x 5 inches). Unique vintage print, only one copy vailable, ready to send. See this print on Etsy HERE.

Stag engraving on handmade paper, original print by Natura Paper from Transylvania, etching deer and flowers in circle, vintage printmaking

 

Apothecary uses of tobacco

Soon after the introduction of tobacco from America to Europe, during the 16th century, it became famous as the miraculous plant from the new continent, that healed all afflictions. The recreational use of the plant spread during the 17th century, conquering the entire world, but the medicinal use of tobacco continues until today. The toxic properties of tobacco were identified early on, but many other plants sued for healing were also toxic in certain concentrations.

Vintage botanical depiction of Nicotiana - the tobacco plant

In time, tobacco has been recommended against a wide array of symptoms, among which the most common were the ulcers and various lesions of the skin, wounds, and rheumatic pains. Tobacco infusions were recommended for their emetic properties and tobacco snuffing caused one to sneeze, a reaction deemed healthy for purifying the body. Entire treatises have been written on the medicinal properties of the plant and how to prepare it and there are, for example, several works entitled "Tabacologia".

Tabacologia : Hoc est Tabaci, seu Nicotianae Descriptio Medico-Chirurgico-Pharmaceutica

Lugduni Batavorum, Isaac Elzevier, 1626.

Nicotine was isolated from tobacco leaves during the 19th century and the medical world became increasingly skeptical towards the plant’s properties as panaceum as it contained a very toxic alkaloid. In carefully dosed concentrations, the independent use of nicotine continues even today in various medical experiments.

The History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca includes a 19th-century jar made of glazed pottery with the printed label inscribed EXTR NICOTIA FOL (Extractum Nicotianae Folium, tobacco leaf extract). The item was included in the collection in 1963 and was once used in the Unicorn pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca.

Apothecary jar for tobacco leaf extract

Listen to the exhibit presentation free online on the museum's izi.Travel profile - tobacco.

Read about it in Romanian on the museum's blog HERE.

For a detailed presentation on the introduction of smoking and early uses of tobacco in Transylvania and Central-Eastern Europe, see my book on academia.edu, free online and to download for those with an account on the website: Ana-Maria Gruia, The Gift of Vice. Pipes and the Introduction of Smoking in Early Modern Transylvania, 2013.

May 14th 2017 - experimental archaeology workshop at Camp Virtus

The cultural project entitled "Labyrinth through time / Labirint prin timp" of Virtus Antiqua NGO from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, will include an initial workshop of archaeology on May 14th at Camp Virtus (in Salicea, 8 km from Cluj). The project is co-financed by Administratia Fondului Cultural National (AFCN) and has several partners: Asociatia Socio-culturala apARTe from Cluj, Asociatia Parinte InFloresti from Floresti, Ziarul Faclia, Orasul Cluj.ro, Cluj.info and Cluj Web Story.

Depending on the weather, the workshop will either focus on the reconstruction of an ancient Roman garden, surrounded with a wattle fence, or on the reconstruction of an ancient bread oven made of clay bricks. There will also be Roman snacks and a proper recipe (Galnum soup) for all volunteers involved.

Partially designed Roman garden at Camp Virtus

Planned reconstruction of a Roman clay oven at Camp Virtus

Glanum soup - an ancient Roman recipe at Camp Virtus

Read all about the workshop in Romanian HERE.

Join the Facebook event HERE.

The Dacian traveler's journal

I have discussed before the first steps in the creation of a linocut journal for explorers of the Dacian civilization, available in my online store Atelieruldeistorie - jurnalul exploratorului dacilor.

Here is the second work stage, when I have decorated both covers and the first page with linocut collages, depictions also inspired by ancient Dacian and Getae artifacts and representations. The inner blank pages contain four printed suggestions on how to use the journal while/after vising museums with relevant artifacts on display, taking part in historical reenactment festival in Romania that often include reconstructions of Dacian costumes, weapons, and fight styles, taking notes after reading historic and popularizing works related to the history of the ancient Dacians, and visiting archaeological sites and digs - suggesting for example the Dacian fortifications included in the UNESCO list. The suggestion sheets are attached with colorful washi tape, giving an idea of how the journal should be used, as the idea is not so common in Romania as yet.

Linocut Dacian elements on the Dacian explorer's journal

First page of the Dacian explorer's journal - with the ancient Draco symbol

Instruction sheets inside the Dacian explorer's journal

The Dacian explorer's journal

The Dacian explorer's journal

 

May 20th - The Long Night of Museums in Romania and a protest

The recent but very popular European event called The Long Night of Museums continues in 2017 in Romania as well, planned for the 20th of May. This year's edition is held under the slogan "People change museums, museums change people", but museum workers are also planning a non-disruptive protest. Inspired by the recent anti-corruption protests in Romania, best known through the hashtag #Rezist, museographers shall wear T-shirts inscribed "I work in a museum, I exist, I no longer resist". Marking the profession's attempt at creating a syndicate, this protest draws attention to the very low salaries of museum workers, among the lowest in the salary grid of culture employees in the country, and to the bad legislation in their field of work.

2017 poster of the Romanian Long Night of Museums event

2017 protest of museum workers in Romania

Linocut personalized traveler's journal

Browsing Etsy I have recently discovered the so-called traveler's journals or notebook, a kind of scrap-book documenting one's travels or an activity notebook. I have decided to create a similar project for my online shop, Atelierul de istorie, inspired by the ancient civilizations, especially that of the mysterious Dacians from the present-day territory of Romania. The project thus envisages the creation of a "diary of the Dacians' explorer", encouraging people to research this ancient civilization by visiting museums, archaeological sites, reenactment festivals and events and reading historical publications - and creatively documenting such activities. I have thus adapted kraft notebook with linocut prints and shall add indications sheets inside - as the travelers' journal is not a wide-spread phenomenon in Romania. Here is what I have managed so far:

Linoplate carving

Linoleum plate inked

The first print

First check in printmaking project

Notebook cover with lincout printed title - Diary of the Dacians' explorer

Traveler's journal series

 

10% discount on Etsy for original Transylvanian jewelry and art

The new promotion campaign of the Transylvanian Trove on Etsy is very ...decimal, with 10% discount available for orders over 10$ with coupon code TENPERCENT :) Check out the offer of The Transylvanian Trove and follow its Facebook page to be up to date with all the novelties. The shop focuses on design accessories - mainly vintage jewelry pieces - and collectibles from Transylvania, but it also includes rare 18th-century etchings for example, typical to the historical region part of the present-day Romania, and unique art bookmarks. 

10% discount on Etsy by the Transylvanian Trove

17th-19th century apothecary closets

The furniture collection of the History of Pharmacy Museum in Cluj-Napoca includes four apothecary closets from different pharmacies in Transylvania. The oldest is a rare 17th-century example of such specialized furniture once used in the Black Eagle pharmacy in Sibiu. Each drawer is marked by painted signatures in Latin, indicating its contents - Lap. pumicis (pumice stone), Lap. Haematidis (blood stone), Borax, Vitriol Hungaricum etc. This is one of the oldest exhibits of the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj, part of the National History Museum of Transylvania.

17th century apothecary closet from Sibiu/Hermannstadt, Transylvania, Romania

 Two other such closets date back to the 18th century and their original places of use remain unknown, as they were part of older private collections. One of the closets bears a simple, vegetal decoration, as most of the apothecary ingredients were vegetal in origin at that time, but the second is special through its iconography. It depicts the stages of life, from childhood (a child sitting on a skull, a Memento Mori type scene), youth, maturity and death (a skeleton with a scythe). Though several levels of interpretation are possible due to the details included in some of these scenes (the Wheel of Fortune, snakes, the globe etc.), the primary meaning of this composition was that all people must die but the moment can be postponed by buying drugs from the pharmacy, thus a kind of commercial and a strange Baroque marketing strategy.

18th century apothecary closet depicting the four stages of life

Detail of an 18th-century apothecary closet with vegetal decoration

The final example is a 19th century closet from the old Hintz Pharmacy that currently hosts the museum. This large closet is half open, with shelves currently holding apothecary jars made of wood, and half closed, with drawers with signatures. One of the larger drawers depicted here is marked "Saccharum", sugar, which was sold in loaves and thus required larger storage units.

Read and listen more about the collection on its brand new IziTravel page and feel free to leave a review! We shall certainly appreciate it!

HailCezar on Etsy :)

My art online store on Etsy, the Goddess Gruia, has just launched a new, celebratory discount of 20% with coupon code HAILCEZAR. 

This applies to all 24 items listed, original artworks created in several techniques, acrylic on cardboard, linocut, and mixed media. The promotion is available until the end of July 2017, when baby Cezar is planned to arrive and when the intimate celebration begins :)

Goddess Gruia on Etsy

Here is a thumbnails view of the artworks available at discounted prices - both my own works and two of my father's:

Original artworks available on GoddessGruia

 

Labyrinth through time YouTube channel

You can now follow the reenactment activities we are organizing part of the "Labyrinth through time" project at Camp Virtus via the dedicated YouTube channel. Yesterday we held the first meeting with possible volunteers, presenting the projects, its goals, objectives, and activities, but there was also a history book fair, a Roman snack (consisting of olives with honey, cheese, and flatbread), and plenty of outdoor activities: bow and arrow target practice, gladiatorial training, and kite flying for the youngest of the lot.

Here is the first video documenting this initial meeting, ending with a call for families of volunteers and media partners.

See more photos HERE and HERE and do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to become involved in any way. We appreciate your support and interest!