As Mad As A Hatter
...and what on earth do a beaver and a top hat have to do with job-related illness?
"He's as mad as a hatter..." Those of you who were blessed with a British granny may have heard this expression before. Perhaps, while reading Lewis Carol's Alice In Wonderland, you wondered why the character in his book was called the "Mad" (meaning crazed or crazy) Hatter health .
The innocent seeming beaver in the photo above, was, in fact, the cause of much unintentional anguish, as was the equally innocent but possibly more culpable top hat.
As a Canadian familiar with my country's history, I realize we owe much of the initial exploration of this land to the early fur traders, in search of riches to send back to Europe. The ubiquitous beaver provided such a wonderfully thick pelt, and was so readily available, it soon became the mainstay of the fur trade.
The main use of all those furry little beaver pelts was in the making of the popular beaver topper. No gentleman, nor any who wanted to be perceived as a gentleman, would be caught out of his doors without a stylish beaver top hat.
In much of Europe during the period 1550-1850, hats made of felted beaver fur were all the rage. The soft, yet resilient material could be easily shaped to produce a wide variety of hat shapes. The pelts took the usually earth-toned dyes beautifully, and were absolutely the best for shedding water, as well.
Until finally replaced by the silk top hat in the late 1800s, nothing would "do" except a genuine beaver top hat. Some were prized family possessions, and handed down from father to son.
In the 19th century, when beaver top hats were all the rage, mercury compounds were used in the felting processes, in the making of hats.
The chemicals were applied to the prepared pelts to dissolve some of the keratin scales on the fur to make them interlock more easily in the felting process. health Then the steam which was applied as part of the felting process released mercury fumes into the air.
These fumes would then be inhaled by the hatters, causing serious damage to their nervous systems. The damage in part caused them to tremble and appear insane. According to modern toxicologists, mercury poisoning is known to cause aggressiveness, mood swings, and anti-social behavior. To this day, mercury poisoning is still referred as 'Mad Hatter's disease'.
* Baron Hats - The Top Hat
Is there any more eloquent creation to put on ones head than the Top Hat? From the dawn of man, when cave dwellers put animal furs on their heads for the purpose of protecting them from the elements -- to the twenty-first century, where men wear base
* Gentlemans Emporium -- Victorian Clothing for Men and Women
Gentleman's Emporium, Authentic Victorian Clothing. We carry Frock Coats, Town Coats, Tail Coats, Morning Coats, Top Hats, Waistcoats, Cravats, Victorian Dresses, Blouses, Parasols, and Victorian Theater costumes.
Wood Cut and Tools
Screen Printing
Well-Ventilated Studio
* Open Studio
OPEN STUDIO, Canada's leading printmaking centre, is dedicated to the production, preservation and promotion of contemporary original fine art prints. Open Studio is a comprehensive artist-run centre for contemporary printmaking practice, providing m
* Malaspina Printmakers Society
Malaspina Printmakers is a non-profit artist-run centre that supports the development of printmaking as a contemporary art form and promotes and preserves traditional print practice. The centres main objectives are to advance knowledge of printmaki
* NontoxicPrint.com | Nontoxic Printmaking
A web site on nontoxic and innovative printmaking dedicated to the dissemination of recent research into alternatives to the toxic hazards of traditional printmaking
* New Directions in Printmaking
Safer and environmentally friendly Printmaking processes using common materials available in every community
Printer's Disease
I first heard about printer's disease, or printmakers' disease when I took my first studio course in the art of making prints. Though printmaking is no longer a strictly male domain, I have included it here because few women worked as print-makers until modern times.
Often what we refer to as a "print" is a work of art that has been reproduced from an original work by photographic or mechanical means. Strictly speaking, these are,health in fact, called reproductions.
Printmaking is a form of reproduction, true, but one that relies on the artistry and technique of the print-maker to achieve its end result. In the art of printmaking, prints may be a one-off item - one that will never be reproduced. Most often though, the original is meant to be reproduced, and has been created specifically to be reproduced in print form. The true art of printmaking relies on the artist's ability to reproduce the work, down to the last tiny mark, as exactly in the first print pulled as in the last.
...and what on earth do a beaver and a top hat have to do with job-related illness?
"He's as mad as a hatter..." Those of you who were blessed with a British granny may have heard this expression before. Perhaps, while reading Lewis Carol's Alice In Wonderland, you wondered why the character in his book was called the "Mad" (meaning crazed or crazy) Hatter health .
The innocent seeming beaver in the photo above, was, in fact, the cause of much unintentional anguish, as was the equally innocent but possibly more culpable top hat.
As a Canadian familiar with my country's history, I realize we owe much of the initial exploration of this land to the early fur traders, in search of riches to send back to Europe. The ubiquitous beaver provided such a wonderfully thick pelt, and was so readily available, it soon became the mainstay of the fur trade.
The main use of all those furry little beaver pelts was in the making of the popular beaver topper. No gentleman, nor any who wanted to be perceived as a gentleman, would be caught out of his doors without a stylish beaver top hat.
In much of Europe during the period 1550-1850, hats made of felted beaver fur were all the rage. The soft, yet resilient material could be easily shaped to produce a wide variety of hat shapes. The pelts took the usually earth-toned dyes beautifully, and were absolutely the best for shedding water, as well.
Until finally replaced by the silk top hat in the late 1800s, nothing would "do" except a genuine beaver top hat. Some were prized family possessions, and handed down from father to son.
In the 19th century, when beaver top hats were all the rage, mercury compounds were used in the felting processes, in the making of hats.
The chemicals were applied to the prepared pelts to dissolve some of the keratin scales on the fur to make them interlock more easily in the felting process. health Then the steam which was applied as part of the felting process released mercury fumes into the air.
These fumes would then be inhaled by the hatters, causing serious damage to their nervous systems. The damage in part caused them to tremble and appear insane. According to modern toxicologists, mercury poisoning is known to cause aggressiveness, mood swings, and anti-social behavior. To this day, mercury poisoning is still referred as 'Mad Hatter's disease'.
* Baron Hats - The Top Hat
Is there any more eloquent creation to put on ones head than the Top Hat? From the dawn of man, when cave dwellers put animal furs on their heads for the purpose of protecting them from the elements -- to the twenty-first century, where men wear base
* Gentlemans Emporium -- Victorian Clothing for Men and Women
Gentleman's Emporium, Authentic Victorian Clothing. We carry Frock Coats, Town Coats, Tail Coats, Morning Coats, Top Hats, Waistcoats, Cravats, Victorian Dresses, Blouses, Parasols, and Victorian Theater costumes.
Wood Cut and Tools
Screen Printing
Well-Ventilated Studio
* Open Studio
OPEN STUDIO, Canada's leading printmaking centre, is dedicated to the production, preservation and promotion of contemporary original fine art prints. Open Studio is a comprehensive artist-run centre for contemporary printmaking practice, providing m
* Malaspina Printmakers Society
Malaspina Printmakers is a non-profit artist-run centre that supports the development of printmaking as a contemporary art form and promotes and preserves traditional print practice. The centres main objectives are to advance knowledge of printmaki
* NontoxicPrint.com | Nontoxic Printmaking
A web site on nontoxic and innovative printmaking dedicated to the dissemination of recent research into alternatives to the toxic hazards of traditional printmaking
* New Directions in Printmaking
Safer and environmentally friendly Printmaking processes using common materials available in every community
Printer's Disease
I first heard about printer's disease, or printmakers' disease when I took my first studio course in the art of making prints. Though printmaking is no longer a strictly male domain, I have included it here because few women worked as print-makers until modern times.
Often what we refer to as a "print" is a work of art that has been reproduced from an original work by photographic or mechanical means. Strictly speaking, these are,health in fact, called reproductions.
Printmaking is a form of reproduction, true, but one that relies on the artistry and technique of the print-maker to achieve its end result. In the art of printmaking, prints may be a one-off item - one that will never be reproduced. Most often though, the original is meant to be reproduced, and has been created specifically to be reproduced in print form. The true art of printmaking relies on the artist's ability to reproduce the work, down to the last tiny mark, as exactly in the first print pulled as in the last.