Museum of Forgotten Art Supply

1. SenorMysterioso
   July 13th, 2008 at 4:19 am

   At least half of this stuff is still used pretty regularly

2. davedonelson
   July 13th, 2008 at 4:50 am

   For real ancient artifacts, consider the architect's rule and slide rule.

   Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds

3. MoonCake
   July 13th, 2008 at 7:13 am

   i have inherited all of my mom's art supplies and i totally have those. they were great for arts & crafts when i was growing up, and definitely helped with my creativity today!

4. Carl
   July 13th, 2008 at 7:23 am

   Seriously we use pantone swatch books all the time! And there's still room for burnishers and whatnot in our office. Neat collection nonetheless.

5. Matt
   July 13th, 2008 at 7:49 am

   I'm 30 years old - a relative newbie in the illustration/design field and I still use a lot of these tools along with the computer.

6. DeLuxe
   July 13th, 2008 at 7:56 am

   Just try and draw shapes like that in Illustrator...
   Oh, and why are old photographs so much sharper than our 8+ Megapixel modern snaps?

7. Kate
   July 13th, 2008 at 8:10 am

   I sew, and I use french curves all the time when drafting or altering patterns. Of course, the one I usually use is 2 feet long, but the smaller ones are invaluable for creating curved darts and other interesting details.

8. ted
   July 13th, 2008 at 8:20 am

   Ah the old French curves. Much racier than our staid English curves.

9. Adam Stanhope
   July 13th, 2008 at 8:23 am

   My father was a classically trained graphic artist (RISD '65) and ran a commercial art studio in Boston for more than 20 years. In his world, if you wanted a different font you either had to pick it out of a book and pay a company to "set" the type for you - or you had to draw the font yourself. Tools like those above were the regular playthings of my youth.

10. Prophet
    July 13th, 2008 at 10:20 am

    I wouldn´t say they are forgotten.

11. Polx
    July 13th, 2008 at 10:55 am

    God there's a blast from the past.

    French Curves.

    Well that's what we uised to call them.

    But as has been stated, a lot of that stuff is still in use...I look to my left and see ISOGRAPHS and Rapidographs of mine some which were new whn my Dad bought them in the early 50's and they still work fine.

    I have two full sets of Isographs, one that has only ever known white ink.

    But i now use the computer so much than when I find my slef makign a mistake with a pen I keep mutterign "undo".

12. Dan Smith
    July 13th, 2008 at 11:56 am

    French curves, still used. Neatorama gettin' a lotta flack fer this.

13. Skipweasel
    July 13th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    I bought my ten year old son a set of French Curves earlier this year - he wanted them for drawing sinuous dragons.

14. Kyle
    July 13th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    I'm currently a sophomore architect student and we still use a lot of these tools for the first two years. Its hand drafting until junior year.

    Those Rapidographs are fun stuff. Don't mess up

15. artbot
    July 13th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    Beside the fact that a lot of these tools are still in regular use, many of them have become indispensable to digital artists using the Wacom Cintiq tablets. A standard tablet doesn't let you maintain a consistent orientation of the pen tool on the work, but the Cintiq does, which lets you to use rulers and curves right on the screen. Very nifty, and the reason I bought one.

    As an aside, I was an ID major in the mid 80s (ACCD), and we had to make our own set of ship's curves in the shop. Ship's curves are kind of like French curves, but larger and straighter, and were traditionally used for drawing the section curves on ship blueprints. Making one's own drawing tools is a sweet memory I'm afraid few students get to experience today.

    @Kyle - that's awesome they start you on traditional tools. I was a draftsman, then and industrial designer for years while using only traditional tools. I LOVED Rapidographs and did much of my early personal artworks with them. Sure, there were disadvantages to those "ancient" tools sometimes, but the deep understanding you gain from using these will forever serve you better than any "here's what button to press" sort of "education".

    >>>end of rambling post....

16. pagalina
    July 13th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

    oh sweet coloraid sheet. I don't miss those things at all. I just remember screwing up. drawing letterforms by hand taught me a fine appreciation of letterforms but sweet jesus, that was torture. Let's add, the aforementioned coloraid, guache, and amberlith to the list. bleck. nostalgia is nice but I'll take my imac any old day!

17. Gaby
    July 13th, 2008 at 9:06 pm

    I had a class where we weren't allowed to use a computer to so various projects and it was one of the best experiences ever. It makes you really appreciate a well done job and it sparked my interest on typography

18. Peter Kelly
    July 14th, 2008 at 4:43 pm

    Here is a set of French curves on ebay.
    http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-French-Curve-Set-of-8-Drafting-Drawing-Curves_ W0QQitemZ160259457761QQihZ006QQcategoryZ11784QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem
    They are not mine, I just saw them and thought someone might be interested.

19. Gellner
    July 15th, 2008 at 1:12 pm

    Lol behold the internet! Where ancient people used ancient devices called the "computer" to access now-obsolete "information"!

20. Finding Art Supplies
    July 22nd, 2008 at 1:21 am

    Finding art supplies that are the exact fit for every artist can be a tall order, but at Trekell we are committed to the quality of our products and have been offering our customers the very best in fine art supplies and art brushes for decades.

21. Any Type Of Art Supplies
    August 12th, 2008 at 6:20 pm

    A wide variety of products that cater to all price ranges, ages, and styles of art.

22. Vim
    October 3rd, 2008 at 5:13 am

    I still have stuff like these I use them along with my graphic tablet. Fun

23. ArtBob
    January 25th, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    Yep, I remember the day of drafting by hand in the 80's. There was quite a sense of accomplishment with it, but the artistic expression was slow. CAD and photo shop seam to have done away with the old school style, but there's a quality to the old way that just can't be matched with a computer.

24. Ilyn
    February 12th, 2009 at 12:44 am

    They are not yet forgotten. They are great collection nonetheless.

25. Wally Littman
    June 18th, 2009 at 11:31 am

    Never knew this site existed. I have Zipatone by the carload. Also
    Press type and loads of mechanical pens. Don't know what to do with them. I'd welcome suggestions

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