These two elephant chaps, sit reading The Times. Are they horrified or amused by what they read? They are part of my latest acquisitions, found while traveling in “The Near Mid-West.” Come into the shop to see them—they should be ready for sale New Year’s Eve—or find them in the on-line shop in a week […]
Another new find: this pair of French Art Deco spelter squirrel bookends. I found them in the south of England, perched atop their marble plinths, just as you see them here. Click on the photo above to learn more about them. More new items in days to come…
All Hallows’ Eve—also called “Hallowe’en”—is celebrated each year on the night before “All Hallows’ Day” (or “All Saints’ Day”). The noun “hallow” refers to a “holy or consecrated person,” and “Hallowe’en” is a contraction or “Hallows” and “Eve.” The origin of the holiday is thought to be a Christianized version of an older, Pagan Celtic […]
I seem to have tapped a nautical vein on my most recent buying trip—to the Midwest, of all places! Here’s a pair of highly-sculptural, cast iron bookends, the ship’s prow plunging into the roiling sea before it. One can almost feel the motion. Click on the photo to learn more about them.
The pelican has a long and interesting history in folklore and symbolism. The Ancient Egyptians associated the bird closely with death, the afterlife, and as a mode of transport from one world to the next. In other ancient mythology, it was believed that, during times of famine, a mother pelican would strike her breast—thus drawing […]
The year was 1918 and World War I was underway. U.S. Army corporal Lee Duncan was sent ahead to the French village of Flirey, recently-cleared of German occupiers, to find a suitable air landing strip. What he found was a bombed and abandoned German kennel, recently used to provide dogs for the German military. Most of the […]
Happy Birthday, Harvard! On this day in 1636, Harvard University was founded by order of the Massachusetts legislature, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is arguably the most prestigious school in America and amongst the most important in the world. Named after its first benefactor, John Harvard (an […]
Summer’s end is nigh, the dog days come and gone. But it’s been cool in LEO Design where these French Art Deco Great Dane bookends wait patiently. Come visit them and see our new shipments—arriving in mid-September. Click on the photo to learn more.
Lions are among the most-widely used creatures in heraldry. After all, “The King of the Forest” is associated closely with royalty and—for centuries—we have invested him with the traits we wish to see in our leaders (royal or otherwise): strength, bravery, majesty, beauty, beneficence. Lions often are viewed as strong and gentle—at the same time—something […]
