It happens. Poor fellow. Let him have the macarons.

youcantseebutimmakingaface:

simonalkenmayer:

youcantseebutimmakingaface:

simonalkenmayer:

a-love-sponge:

simonalkenmayer:

n. It sounds a bit bawdy, yes? Perhaps some
kind of growth or a sexual proclivity? No.

A manuscript, artwork, or architectural plan that is drawn over another previous manuscript. It can also refer to something three dimensional like sculpture, but the emphasis with this word is the defacing of the previous item.

This is an entertaining word to say. It is Old, to be sure, but I think it is easy to see how and why it’s coming back into use in modernity, as it refers to things from the past being swept over by more contemporary accounts.

Example: “Countless illuminated manuscripts from the 14th century show scraping on the vellum. Forensic analysis can sometimes make previous inking that has been scratched away visible, revealing that many important historical artifacts are indeed palimpsests that can retain twice as much historical significance.” or “The pharaoh head of the sphinx is a palimpsest of the previous animal, usually thought to be a lion; however, I believe archaeological and artistic evidence shows that it was more likely a dog.”

My archaeology professor always related field archaeology to a palimpsest. He said it was as if you were scraping away at the pages of history.

An apt comparison, because half of what you are doing is attempting the least amount of defacement as you try to reveal what was changed. But again, half of archaeology and anthropology as a whole is not only the thing being dug out of the wall, but all the plaster lain over it.

Let me tell you a story.

I’ve been inside the Tower of London. I was not there “officiall invitedy”. But when you’re me and you live beside a secret castle enclosure for almost 200 years, you do a little exploring. There’s a room there that used to house a mint, above the main gatehouse called the Byward Tower. Now I climbed the drawbridge up, but today, you can still enter that way by the a plain door, which is less imposing.

In that Tower, in those rooms, was the mint, as I said, and for a while, the offices of the Exchequer, and also for a bit the housing of certain sensitive royal documents. Call me a scoundrel, but I made it a practice to check in routinely. Now when I saw this room, it was a smooth, plain wall, and remained that way for the entire time I was there, rifling through London’s pocketbooks. Sometimes it was painted. I think at one point, it had some sort of decorative work on it. There were hangings most of the time too.

However, I had no idea (nor did anyone else) that there was a secret behind all that plaster, and history. It was discovered in the 50’s during some sort of renovation and I only heard about it recently, but…the entire wall surrounding the chimney was decorated with a splendid mural done in vivid colors and gold leaf, dating from the 1300’s when the tower was originally built to house the draw bridge and guards.

When I found out, I couldn’t believe it! It was such a lackluster, boring room! Sometimes piled with records, sometimes machinery, and the odd table. I never, ever would have guessed that it was right there, being mutliated by life as it proceeds and more history is piled atop it. Now they’re doing some sort of light acanning thing to it to make the images more visible, and they are preserving it as best they can, but I wish to god, that once upon a moonless night, I’d run a claw down that stupid wall to see what I’d find.

I had a compulsion for a time, in the 70’s..ah, 1870’s, of picking at walls. Peeling paper, lathe and plaster, so forth. It started in Virginia City, because…well, that’s not important, but my point was, I often wish I could have begun it sooner.

They still would have tackled me and cut off my head if they’d found me there (assuming they could catch me) but I could have found the thing earlier and warned them not to hack away at it.

Life is one giant palimpsest.

That is so cool!

IF I had my old phone (never again, Samsung, you bastards) I’d show you pictures from when they re-did the stucco on a series of shops down Laurel Canyon by my parents house. They chiseled off something stupid like 60 years worth of gross paint and stucco and revealed handpainted signage for Vega’s Original Shampoo and something like Tin Soldier Brand Paint. These were clearly from the thirties and were extremely extremely cool.

Do you mean Dutch Boy Lead Paint?

I looked and it’s not quite that, it was either a marching band guy or a tin soldier, advertising paint. I can’t find anything and I’ve messaged The Valley Relics Museum but I haven’t heard back.

It could have been one of those limited ads done during the war. Especially if painted on a building.