The Vital Chapter – Missing!

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The case of the missing chapterThere is a mystery in the library: The Case of the Missing Chapter.

As you may recall from Chapter 3, Josephine had secretly summoned Harvey, her ailing husband’s younger brother, from his enterprise in the Congo.  Her hope was that he would be able to lift Algernon’s spirits.

Certainly something of note happened during Harvey’s visit – but what?

The pages have been carefully removedAlas, dear reader, you will have to make up your own mind on this subject, since a person or persons unknown have neatly removed this vital chapter from the book.   If you head over to my Facebook page, you will be able to scroll down to a brief video of the library.  Perhaps you may spot a clue or two… 

When you encounter Algernon in Chapter 5 (which, thankfully, remains intact) you will discover the most profound changes in his fortunes and – indeed – those of the entire city of London.

 

If you are left pining for some enjoyable reading material, as a result of this sorry state of affairs, may I perhaps point you in the direction of the July edition of a periodical by the name of Dolls House and Miniatures Scene?  On page 22 of this magazine, you will find an article about this very blog, penned by my own stained and glue-coated hands, which may be of passing interest.

The Case of the Missing Chapter

Posted on by janonlife

It all started with The Case.

You see I make mysterious 1/12 scale room settings in little cardboard carry cases and I had decided to turn one of them into a library.  A friend suggested it should be called The Case of the Missing Chapter, so I set to work writing a very small book, with a chapter missing.

I’ve never liked dolls’ house books with no writing.  They make me feel cheated.  Consequently my books are written in a very small font, but they would make perfect sense if you could read them!

This book, I decided, needed to have a story that started one way and ended somewhere very different because of a surprising plot development in Chapter Four.  However this vital section would be missing, so the mystery would be to work out what had happened in the main character’s life to change things so completely.

How could anyone know this, when the text is too small to read without a good magnifying glass?  Obviously, people need to follow this blog, where the whole test will be printed!

At last the room box, along with various books including the mystery volume, was complete and available for purchase.  Please use the contact form below if you would like more details.

The thing is, I became caught up in the mystery I’d created.  Yes, it started as a prop for the library, but it got under my skin.  I kept thinking about the main character, wondering why the Peacock Affair had affected him so deeply, wondering what part his clever and ingenious wife had played, wondering whether the balloon flight had taken place and – if so – just how it had affected him…  Most of all, I wondered how such a sad, downtrodden character could turn – in the space of one chapter – into a most remarkable hero.  Finally I realised that this storybook character had developed a life of his own; he had to be created!

I searched in my stock box for the most insignificant and unhappy-looking male doll I could find.  Here he was.  It would take all my skill to transform this sad little man into someone splendid, but I love a challenge!

The first job was to make a wig and add some appropriate facial hair.  Now that rather weak mouth was hidden beneath a bristling moustache and the eyes defined by bushy brows, I could see a new determination begin to take hold in his features.

Next a smart uniform, befitting his new status.  Why, he positively swaggered as I pinned that medal to his chest!

Of course he wasn’t finished yet.  A few more items were needed, but I don’t want to give all his secrets away just yet.

Who was he?

What did he become?

To find out, you’ll have to read the next post, where you can read the text of the book that started this character off.

If you would like to find out more about the Steampunk – Shrunk characters, room cases and other items, follow this link to my son’s online shop, where many of the characters are available for sale worldwide: www.etsy.com/shop/SteampunkDollsHouse

Alternatively, fill in the contact form below and we’ll get back to you with any details you request.

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The Case of the Withdrawing Room

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It’s a tiny room – just 8 inches wide by 6 inches high, and a mere 3 inches deep when the case is closed.  As it’s at 1:12 scale, that equates to the same number of feet in our measurements.

That suits her ladyship very well, though.  She can withdraw to this secluded space and make her plans in private.

As her songbird warbles mournfully above her and the light of her lamp flickers on the table, she puts down her parasol,  loosens her corset, sits on the leather-upholstered chair and takes up her journal and pen.

Her ladyship has a dream.  She wishes to become a tinkerer.  Certainly there are social mores which frown upon such behaviour from a lady in her position, but she finds following her husband and his acquaintances around the grounds, while chatting politely to their dull little wives, incredibly tiresome.

She has persuaded one of the gardeners to tutor her in the rudiments of welding and metalwork, and by patiently dismantling clockwork machinery, she is teaching herself to build simple gadgets.  The lamp was one of her first.  It’s simple, but effective, switching on when the attached clock shows that dusk has fallen.

Her latest invention sits on the shelves beside her chair.  It is a jewel-encrusted mechanical insect which scuttles about the room.  Certainly it isn’t yet perfected, but the one thing her ladyship’s life has taught her is endless patience.

There is a short video tour of the room on my Instagram feed.  Can’t load it here, for some reason.

The room has attracted considerable interest and several people have expressed a wish to buy it.  If it doesn’t sell, it will be on my craft stall in Glastonbury on June 17th, as will copies of her ladyship’s journal.

Heart of Glass – Part 2

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Hello.  It is me, Bjørn again.  I was telling you in the previous post how my life was saved by Dr Oskar Kopp and how I started to work as his assistant, while secretly wishing to study and become a great man like the Doctor himself.

One day I was brave enough to tell him of my dreams.  He sat silent for some time and then a strange expression crossed his face.
“Bjørn, my boy,” he said, slowly, “you have not the heart, or the brain, for greatness.  To do work like mine you need a strong, strong heart.  You need a keen, keen brain.  You are a good boy, but alas, you have neither… as things stand.”

Those last three words hung in the air, as if they held a promise.

“If you ver villing, though, zis could be altered.  Wat if I ver to offer you a new heart and a new brain?  You have seen ze marvels I can do.  It would be ze most glorious experiment, in ze name of Science!  If you ver villing, you could become a showcase of mein art!  Your mechanised brain and heart on display for all to see ze vunders of ze clockverk body.  You could achieve anything once zese adjustments had been made.  You’d be as great as me.  Maybe greater…”

Eagerly I agreed.  My weak heart, which had almost killed me once, would be replaced with a dependable clockwork mechanism, encased in a glass dome, so that all could wonder at its strength, and at my master’s skill.  I would be a walking advertisement for his abilities.  He explained less about the alterations to my brain, but I was led to understand that my ability to learn, to reason and to imagine would be considerably enhanced.

With a delicious sense of anticipation, I lay on the slab, allowed him to cover my face with a cloth soaked in some sleep-inducing substance  – and later awoke as you see me now.

Certainly now my mind and heart are stronger, keener than they were.  I can work harder, faster, better and I hold information and make deductions at lightning speed.  All this, the Doctor expected.  Perhaps he feared it slightly.  Yet he found a way to maintain his dominance.

Clockwork must be wound.  Each day my heart must be wound up or I will cease to function.  The winding mechanism has been set into the centre of my back – where only he can reach it.  In this way,  he ensures that I remain his servant.

Oh yes!  I can’t blame him.  He could not risk creating a monster who would overpower him.  Each day I must stand meekly before him while he winds, and winds, and chuckles gently to himself.

I am grateful to Doctor Kopp.  Yet I must think of myself too.  Am I destined to be subservient to him for the rest of my life?  Also, he is an old man.  Who will wind my heart when he is gone?  I must make plans.

It is indeed fortunate that in my ‘adjusted’ state, I no longer require sleep.  That secret room, the alchemist’s study, with its ancient spell book and equipment is my domain while he sleeps.  There are spells in the grimoire he has barely glanced at – spells that could create my freedom…

Bjørn is available at the Steampunk Dolls’ House.

 Steampunk Dolls House online Etsy shop

 

Flying into the Sunset

Posted on by janonlife

Finally the day arrived!  My dear guardian, Uncle Razzy as I call him, has allowed us to celebrate our wedding in his glorious cliff-top mansion.   Not only that; he gave us two wonderful presents, both invented and built by himself.

He knows I’ve always loved the stars and planets, so he made us a clockwork orrery, encased in a glass dome.  He also knew that my dear husband (how strange it feels to use that word!) is fascinated by the idea of remote communication, so his second gift to us was a telephonic device – also clockwork, naturally – that will enable us to speak to him from anywhere in the world.  My Beloved insists that this is just the start and one day everyone will have one of these devices and be able to talk together from all corners of the earth.

I dare say you’re longing to see our wedding finery, so here’ is a picture of us about to enjoy a goblet of Uncle Razzy’s finest wine after the ceremony.

It was just at this point in the day that my Dearest drew me across to the window.  As you’ll see from the picture, I was too busy posing for the camera to notice what was approaching!

When I looked, I simply couldn’t believe my eyes!  The most beautiful airship you can imagine was coming closer and closer.  At first I simply thought it was a happy coincidence that the pilot should choose that very moment to fly past our window.  But no!   My wonderful husband assured me that we were due to embark on this exquisite vessel and fly off together into the sunset.  This was the honeymoon surprise he had been teasing me with over the past few weeks.

So we bade fond farewells to Uncle Razzy, my sister Grace, and all our other guests as we stepped into the ship and rose into the evening sky.

I am happier than I can possibly convey in words alone.  Wish us well on our adventure!

 

The Case of the Steampunk Wedding – containing the bride, groom, their gifts and other details – is currently on sale at Rune Smith of Glastonbury, as is another room from Professor Erazmus’ (Uncle Razzy’s) mansion.  Grace and many of the other wedding guests can be found at the Steampunk Dolls’ House. 

 

Alchemy

Posted on by janonlife

Vell I ask you, if you were to come into possession of an ancient grimoire vhich contained (along wiz ze normal recipes for creating ze philosophers’ stone und cures for varts) a spell entitled ‘How to Traverse Time’, vouldn’t you be a little intrigued?  Vouldn’t you give up a successful career to explore ze secrets it offers?

Of course you vould.  Just as I did.

I had a huge laboratory, back in zose days.  Mechanical construction vas my bread-und-butter.  Alvays zer ver young men vanting automatons, adjustments to zer contraptions and votnots.  Fraulein Vorzington, my young assistant, vas quite excellent at such sings.  I left her to it.  For me, reading ancient texts vas far more important.  I had zis strong feeling zat vun day, I vould discover zat for vich I searched.  Und here it is – ein dusty old volume, standing on my small table in my tiny, dark garret.  Viz zis book, I vill conquer time itself!

Doctor Oskar Kopp and his alchemist’s study is one of my favourite 1/12 scale creations.  It started as a simple cardboard case, less than the length of a 12 inch/ 30 cm ruler, but now contains his glass and copper still (much distillation goes on in alchemy), arcane diagrams and jottings, a shelf filled with dusty jars of dubious substances and a table which holds his microscope, apparatus and more bottles.  Then, of course, there is the doctor himself, with his plasma- and aether-sensitive binocular eyepiece, not to mention the infamous grimoire.  Yes, it does contain that spell, although you might have difficulty reading it, since the pages are less than 2 x 3 cm.  I’d also advise caution, should you manage to read it.  The ancient book uses Roman numerals, you see, so if you were to attempt to consume one hundred and eleven of the mushrooms, for example, rather than the specified three, the results could be catastrophic.  In fact, even three is pushing things rather…

The Case of the Alchemist’s Study will be on display on my stall at the Glastonbury Craft and Vintage Fair on Saturday 29th April, 2017.  Other Steampunk – Shrunk figures, rooms and accessories are available at Rune Smith of Glastonbury, at 1 Monarch Way, off Glastonbury High Street and online at the Steampunk Dolls’ House (where you can find Dr Kopp’s erstwhile assistant, Lucy Worthington and one of her automatons).  The jar labels, posters and cover for the spell book are courtesy of the wonderful Betsy at Chocolate Rabbit Graphics. 

Mr Pettigrew’s Apothecary Shop

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Good day, Sir and Madam.

You are most welcome to my humble establishment and, may I add, you are indeed my very first visitors, since the shop was only opened this morning.  I had intended to be up and running at the end of last week, but unfortunately there was a problem obtaining leeches.  As you see, though, there are now plenty in the jar, so all is well.

I have to say, I’m delighted with my small emporium.  Don’t you just love the medicine cabinet?  It was a generous gift from my dear friend Lady Grace and is ideally suited to my storage and display needs.  Oh, pray do not touch the scales, Madam.  They are most carefully balanced with a potion I was preparing for her ladyship when you arrived.

I’m very pleased, too, with my counter, which I put together myself from some iron and wood my cousin Amelia had left over from building a steam engine.

Now, how can I be of service to your good selves?  I notice – if I may be so bold as to mention it – that you have a slightly windblown appearance and are both somewhat pale of countenance.  Would I be correct in assuming that you have recently travelled in the dirigible just in from foreign parts?
Ah, I thought as much.
And would I also be right to suggest that Sir and Madam are perhaps feeling the effects of motion sickness? I understand that it was quite an eventful flight, one way and another.

Allow me to prepare you a tincture, Sir, which will have you restored to your accustomed vigour in no time. And for Madam – perhaps a small bottle of Mrs Mayhue’s Bitters. It is a most efficacious blood purifier and will return the bloom to your cheeks within a matter of hours.

No, no, the pleasure is all mine.

Is there anything else I can get for you?

Not wishing to alarm you in any way, my dear lady, but as you are newly arrived in this town, you may not yet be aware of the foul beast from the dark realms that roams the streets after nightfall.  It can break through solid walls and seems quite unaffected by the weaponry our citizens have at hand.

I have concocted a rather powerful substance which, when sprinkled around your dwelling place, proves highly effective at repelling this monstrous apparition.  It may be prudent to purchase a small vial for use during your stay.  I certainly sleep easier knowing that I and my home are protected in this way.

Certainly.  I’ll mix you a potion straight away.  And perhaps some smelling salts for Madam?

 

Ralph Pettigrew’s compact apothecary’s shop folds into a small case, complete with carrying handle, measuring just 25cm by 17cm and only 9cm deep when closed.  However there is ample room for customers when the front is folded down. (That’s 10 x 7 x 4 inches for those who use such measurements.)
Should you be in Glastonbury, Somerset on April 29th, do call into the Town Hall, where you can meet Ralph and inspect his premises for yourself.

Many of the advertisements and bottle labels displayed in the shop have been purchased from the excellent Chocolate Rabbit online shop, for which the link is here:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/chocolaterabbit

As always, many other OOAK steampunk characters and accessories are available from: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SteampunkDollsHouse , including the delightful Lady Grace and Ralph’s cousin Amelia.