Jon Crispin's Notebook

Willard Suitcases / Rodrigo L.

Willard Asylum Suitcases Rodrigo L ©2015 Jon Crispin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Rodrigo was an extremely literate man.  His collection of books was so interesting.

Willard Asylum Suitcases Rodrigo L ©2015 Jon Crispin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

He was a writer as well, as this editorial from his Salt Lake High School yearbook illustrates.

Willard Asylum Suitcases Rodrigo L ©2015 Jon Crispin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Rodrigo’s collection of books tells us so much about his view of the world.

Willard Asylum Suitcases Rodrigo L ©2015 Jon Crispin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

From reading his writings, I got the sense that he was a bit lonely, and deeply spiritual.

Willard Asylum Suitcases Rodrigo L ©2015 Jon Crispin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The autographs page of his yearbook had only his signature.

Willard Asylum Suitcases Rodrigo L ©2015 Jon Crispin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I love the logo for Oliver R. Meredith’s Trunk Factory.  I looked for information online about the business, and didn’t find much about the company, but did come across this great gallery of photographs of trunk manufacturers.

Willard Asylum Suitcases Rodrigo L ©2015 Jon Crispin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

From time to time I like to post a nice photo of Peggy Ross, whom I can never thank enough for her help throughout the years that we have spent documenting the collection of suitcases.  I literally could not (and would not) have done this work without her help.

Thanks for following.  Check out all of Rodrigo’s collection here.  Moving on to Michael B. tomorrow.

Willard Suitcases / Herman G

Willard Asylum Suitcases
Herman G
©2015 Jon Crispin
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Herman G was featured in the 2004 New York State Museum exhibit on the suitcases.  His story is interesting in that he was a patient at the “Craig Colony for Epileptics” before he came to Willard.  I had posted about him around the time we photographed his box of photo gear and correspondence in 2015.

Willard Asylum Suitcases
Herman G
©2015 Jon Crispin
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I have just uploaded the complete edit.  You can see the collection here.

I’ll start work on Rodrigo L. tomorrow.  His story is amazing.  Thanks for following.

 

Leaves

Posted in autumn, Dogs, Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, walking in the woods by joncrispin on 06/10/2017

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I took a break from the computer earlier this afternoon to take Olive up into the woods.

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Somewhere deep in my memory lives the idea that I have seen something like this before.  But I find it quite amazing and wondrous that I saw two different instances of  leaves attached to what appears to be a thin strand of spider thread floating in midair and moving with the light breeze.  This made me really happy.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Willard Suitcases / Margaret D / 17 June 2015

Willard Suitcases Margaret D ©2015 Jon Crispin

I am pretty sure that this was the last day we photographed any of Margaret D’s things. It is possible that as I move through the editing process I will come across more of her possessions, but I think this is it.

Willard Suitcases Margaret D ©2015 Jon Crispin

It was a mixed bag of items that we saw on this day.

Willard Suitcases Margaret D ©2015 Jon Crispin

Here is more of her work with a needle and thread.

Willard Suitcases / Margaret D

This little button caught my eye.

Willard Suitcases  Margaret D ©2015 Jon Crispin

I did a quick internet search for “TU-TEE” and found nothing.  This almost never happens anymore.  A commercial product with an interesting concept and zilch!  “This game is something different, and enjoyed by old and young alike.  It is replacing progressive card games in many sections of the country.”  Apparently not in that many sections of the country or there would be some evidence of it.  (Edit.  As I was reading this post once it was public, I realized that the type face on the TU-TEE box looks exactly like the one I use for all of these posts.  It is Palatino, and I’ve been using it for years.  What a strange coincidence.)

Willard Suitcases  Margaret D ©2015 Jon Crispin

This cup and saucer are so delicate and lovely.

So, that’s it for Margaret.  Hers is the most complete collection of household and personal items in all of the cases that I shot, and in a funny way, it is difficult to move on to other Willard patients.  Up next though is Herman G, whose story is fascinating in its own way. Thanks for following.  You can see all of the cases here, and all of Margaret’s here.  (Don’t forget to click on the “500” button at the bottom of the page, as I think the default page only shows the first 25.  And as there are over 600 photos in her collection, you have to click on the “next” button to see the rest.)