Three Curiosities Respecting the Arts

Here are some new selections from The Cyclopedia of Wonders & Curiosities:

Whitehead’s Ship. —George Whitehead, an Englishman, made a ship, with all her tackling, to move itself on a table, with rowers plying the oars, a woman playing on the lute, and a little whelp crying on the deck, —says Scottus, in his Itinerary.

Scaliot’s Lock, &c. —In the twentieth year of Queen Elizabeth, Mark Scaliot, a blacksmith, made a lock, consisting of eleven pieces of iron, steel, and brass, all which, together with a pipe-key to it, weighed but one grain of gold: he made also a chain of gold, consisting of forty-three links, whereunto having fastened the lock and key before mentioned, he put the chain about a flea’s neck, which drew them all with ease. All these together, lock and key, chain and flea, being weighed, the weight of them was but one grain and a half.

Praxiteles’ Venus. —Praxiteles, who was an ingenious worker in imagery, made a statue of Venus for the Cnidians, so much resembling life, that a certain young man became enamoured of it to such a degree, that the excess of his love deprived him of his senses. This piece of art was so eagerly coveted by king Nicomedes, that, though the Cnidians owed him an immense sum of money, he offered to take the statue in full satisfaction for his debt; but was refused.

—The Cyclopedia of Wonders & Curiosities, Chapter LXXIII, Curiosities Respecting the Arts (Continued.)

Wonders & Curiosities: Ancient Modes of Mourning

“Amongst the ancient Jews, on the death of their relations or intimate friends, mourning was expressed by weeping, tearing their clothes, smiting their breasts, or lacerating them with their nails, pulling or cutting off their hair and beards, walking softly, i.e. barefoot, lying upon the ground, fasting, or eating upon the ground….

The Greeks, on the death of their friends, shewed their sorrow by secluding themselves from all gaiety, entertainments, games, public solemnities, wine, and music. They sat in gloomy and solitary places, stripped themselves of all external ornaments, put on a coarse black stuff by way of mourning, tore their hair, shaved their heads, rolled themselves in the dust and mire, sprinkled ashes on their heads, smote their breasts with their palms, tore their faces, and frequently cried out with a lamentable voice and drawling tone….

The tokens of private grief among the Romans were the same as those among the Greeks….

Each people assign their reasons for the particular colour of their mourning: white is supposed to denote purity; yellow, that death is the end of human hopes, in regard that leaves when they fall, and flowers when they fade, become yellow; brown denotes the earth, whither the dead return; black, the privation of light; blue expresses the happiness which it is hoped the deceased does enjoy; and purple or violet, sorrow on the one side, and hope on the other, as being a mixture of black and blue.”

—The Cyclopedia of Wonders & Curiosities, Chap. LX., Curiosities Respecting the Customs of Mankind

Wonders & Curiosities: The Halo

“We now proceed to describe The Halo, or Corona; and similar Appearances. —An Halo is a luminous circle surrounding the sun, moon, planets, or fixed stars. Occasionally these circles are white, and sometimes they are coloured like the rainbow. Sometimes one only is visible, and at others several concentric halos appear at the same time….

Similar, in some respects, to the halo, was the remarkable appearance which M. Bouguer describes, as observed on the top of Mount Pichinca, in the Cordilleras. When the sun was just rising behind them, so as to appear white, each of them saw his own shadow projected upon it, and no other. The distance was such, that all the parts of the shadow were easily distinguishable, as the arms, legs, and the head; but what surprised them most was, that the head was adorned with a kind of glory, consisting of three or four small concentric crowns, of a very lively colour, each exhibiting all the varieties of the primary rainbow, and having the circle of red on the outside…. Similar to this curious appearance, was one seen by Dr. M’Fait in Scotland; who observed a rainbow round his shadow in the mist, when he was upon an eminence above it. In this situation the whole country round seemed buried under a vast deluge, and nothing but the tops of distant hills appeared here and there above the flood. In those upper regions, the air, he says, is at that time very pure and agreeable.”

—The Cyclopedia of Wonders & Curiosities, Chapter LXVIII, Curiosities Respecting Various Phenomena, or Appearances in Nature

The Blue Book of Crime

A mysterious package arrived in the mail recently. It contained nothing but a slim hardcover volume, blue with black lettering: The Blue Book of Crime: Finger Prints, Secret Service, Crime Detection.

It is, if you will, a kind of Manual of Detection, only it was published in 1936 by the Finger Print Publishing Association, and authored by the esteemed Mr. T. G. Cooke, F.P.E., Director of the Institute of Applied Science, formerly Director and Official Editor of The International Association for Identification.

F.P.E., in case you’re wondering, stands for Finger Print Expert.

The usefulness of this book is immediately apparent. It contains information on the history of the fingerprint profession and on the life and work of the average “secret service man,” as well as descriptions of some real cases. Furthermore, it exhorts us to “PROTECT THE INNOCENT; CONVICT THE GUILTY.” I think anyone lucky enough to possess a copy of this book will feel inclined to do just that, and may even want to study with The Institute of Applied Science, which, according to the last page of the book, has been “training students by mail in the profession of secret service and identification continuously since June, 1916.”

Why do I call this package mysterious, apart from its contents? For this reason: the sender is unidentified. No note, no name in the return address—just my own address, written in big block letters which I’m sure would prove resistant to the efforts of all but the most skilled F.D.E. (Forensic Document Examiner).

I have only one clue to go on: an Atlanta, Georgia postmark. Assuming I know my benefactor, this narrows the list to several suspects.

• The copywriter. The similarities between the copywriter and the F.P.E. are well documented: both care about the finer details and are concerned with matters of identification. This copywriter also writes fiction, which is very suspicious behavior.
• The poet. The poet is an A.C.S. (Agatha Christie Specialist), so naturally she’s a prime suspect. She moved to Atlanta recently, so might feel inclined to browse used bookstores and send some of the more instructional findings to old friends, to make sure they don’t forget about her.
• The other poet. The other poet, I’m told, is engaged to the previously mentioned poet. Of particular note is the fact that he used to be a carnival employee.

I have little else to go on, so please let me know of any promising leads. And in case you need to identify fingerprints, I urge you to refer to the following illustration: