Monday, March 19, 2012

Friday, March 2, 2012

old is new


Beginning in the 1880's up until World War Two, hoboes placed markings on fences, posts, sidewalks, buildings, trestles, bridge abutments, and railroad line side equipment to aid them and others of their kind in finding help or steering them clear of trouble. Usually, these signs would be written in chalk or coal letting others know what they could expect in the area of the symbol...Today hoboes communicate with cellular phones, and e-mail...




The hobo nickel is a sculptural art form... essentially resulting in miniature bas reliefs. The nickel, because of its size, thickness, and relative softness, was a favored coin for this purpose...



Due to its low cost and portability, this medium was particularly popular among hobos, hence the name.

The abundance of nickel in Earth's crust is 90 parts per million...In meteorites, however, its abundance approaches 13,000 ppm. Much of the world's supply of nickel is found in Ontario, Canada, where it is isolated from the ores pentlandite and pyrrhotite. Other large deposits are found in Australia, New Caledonia, Cuba, Indonesia, and Greenland.