Category History/Events

Aug 6 2012

Gargoyles – Glorious Gruesome Grotesques

In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between.

They’re also strange, bizarre, unpleasant or just plain ugly. They have been hovering around our towns and cities for centuries, for so long that it can be forgotten that they have meaning and purpose. Take a tour of the weird world of the gargoyle. VIA: –UNIQUE DAILY–

Aug 6 2012

Toy Butcher Shop from 1840

This is an 1840 butcher shop model. Note the exquisite detail down to the sawdust and blood on the floor. Such items weren’t uncommon and were sold as promotional displays for shops or, yes, as child playlets.

Aug 3 2012

The First Ever Cosplay Photos, From the 1890s

Next time you gear up for a photoshoot in your sexy gender-swapped cosplay, just remember it’s all been done before. As long as there have been costumes,. there have been sexy variants of characters and uniforms. Back in the 1890s, burlesque dancers were dressing up as fairies, magical creatures, and gender-swapped versions of pirates, crusaders and gentlemen adventurers.

Jul 30 2012

Monstrous Victorian Melancholy

Amsterdam-based artist Danny van Ryswyk creates strange, surreal artwork that evokes a sense of eerie melancholy, Victorian portraiture, and monstrous absurdity, using 3D technology.

VIA: http://synesthesiagarden.com/