Archive for May 3rd, 2007

Antikamnia: memento mori in advertising

Antikamnia+calendar+1900+jan.feb+francais.jpgAntikamnia+calendar+1897+ebay.JPG

Illustrations for Antikamnia Chemical Company Calendars, 1900 & 1897
Louis Crucius, ~1890

BibliOdyssey turned up this wicked advertising campaign by turn-of-the-century pharmaglomerate Antikamnia Chemical Company. The calenders were targeted at medical professionals, not the average consumer, for whom I presume a baby skeleton in a christening gown would be a slight turn-off.

I like the little pharmoompa-loompas the best. I wish I’d had some in grad school. Or for grading exams. . .

By the way, this is exactly why illustrators need skulls as references. Crucius must have had access to a newborn’s skull as well: note the broad, thin mandible and the diamond-shaped fontanel (soft spot) on top of the head. It’s a fairly accurate drawing.

5 comments May 3rd, 2007

The gig’s up!

Skulls found in man’s apartment | Chicago Tribune

Uh-oh. I seriously hope the authorities aren’t going to start confiscating skulls, because I have one too. And yes, I boiled mine on my stove. That’s what you do to get a skull clean, respectable and Yorick-esque. If you’re lucky, the ear ossicles will fall out in the process, and you’ll have a delicate little malleus, incus, and stapes - perhaps even two sets.

I suppose law enforcement has to check out a report of a guy boiling skulls on his stove. But between anatomy students, medical illustrators, artists, anatomy professors, doctors, and nostalgic former Hamlets, there must be a LOT of old human skulls in private hands. Is this even news?

It might be news if the skull was studded with diamonds, and worth fifty million pounds. (Apparently Damien Hirst is a bigger joker than Yorick.)

2 comments May 3rd, 2007

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