C. 1840s French Maison Berville Full Box of "Venetian" Charcoal Sticks asian fan and signed Palmer on the

and signed Palmer on the back

with dings and scrapes and some dryness to the wood

Photos don't do justice to the sculptural beauty and emphatic presence of this primitive old wooden stool

No sign that he was ever a doorstop

C. 1840s French Maison Berville Full Box of "Venetian" Charcoal Sticks asian fan and signed Palmer on theThese is a scarce French box of "Venetian" charcoal sticks, distribued by the Maison Berville in Paris and dating to about 1840; I found one box of them just like this in the digital collection of the Huntington Library. I've got a thing for antique art supplies (so romantic feeling, and as embodiments of creative potential) and for French paper labels, too, and what is purer more immediate and essential feeling than a box full of charcoal twigs? Rich