I'm kind of an old guy, and was friends for many years with Roy Squires--who, as you probably know, was CAS's executor. We would often talk about CAS, and I was very privileged to be able to see a number of CAS's sculptures and other memorabilia, which were then in Roy's care.

Roy gave me two mementos of CAS: one was a postcard that had been handwritten in ink by H. P. Lovecraft to CAS in HPL's inimitable and cryptic writing style (I eventually "translated" it!), and the other was a poem that had been typewritten and signed by CAS.

Sadly, I didn't know the proper way to preserve such items at the time, and both were lost to me. I had framed both the postcard and sheet of poetry, but had not taken into account the A) effect of the sun on the postcard, and B) the possibility of a silverfish invasion on the paper of the poem.

Enough said; I weep.

Ouch! :(

I feel your pain -- I really do. :(

Bless you, Martinus!

[Shudder!!]

I'm going to have to dig out those old three boxes of
comics, pulp, and PB's plus other miscellany and see.
This is making me nervous,...

Cathexis

cathexis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >
> I'm going to have to dig out those old three boxes
> of
> comics, pulp, and PB's plus other miscellany and
> see.
> This is making me nervous,...
>
> Cathexis

You mean the three boxes you left out in your garage? The ones covered with mildew?

Shudder, indeed!

LOL

Quote:

You mean the three boxes you left out in your garage? The ones covered with mildew?

Ha, ha, ha!

Or was it the ones I keep my open cans of motor oil on top of ??
No,no - it was the ones the Wifey Yard-Sale-ed long ago & didn't
tell me about !
[Not really].

But ain't life that way sometimes?

I feel your loss and wish you the Best,

Cathexis

Same to you, Cathexis!

Ah, I feel your loss. I've been there.

Since there's so many poetic CAS passages commenting on the transitory nature of things and the lamenting of things lost I went looking for an appropriate quote. But I couldn't find one that fit.

It's really worth doing some research on archival materials and the safest way to store or frame valuable and sentimental items. Once you lose something you understand.

There's sites that specifically sell archival materials and give info on how best to go about preserving such valuables.

All these things will eventually be dust. But I want to try to preserve them as long as possible, especially for the CAS lovers who come after me.

There's that quote about us being just temporary custodians ...


Sorry to hear of your loss.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 15 May 11 | 12:18PM by Tantalus.

Thanks, Tantalus!

I'm sure that there was a good CAS quote on the transitory nature of things, too, as I am sure that we can, indeed, only be the temporary custodians of earthly treasures.

I should have been fired as a "custodian" back then, I'm afraid! LOL

I have since learned the proper ways to preserve archival materials, but--alas--it's too late for those that I lost along the way, and I certainly can't afford the collector prices that similar items might bring today!

Oh, well . . . live and learn.

I can't dig up a quote quickly for you but the very early childhood poem, "The River of Life" on page 101 of "The Sword of Zagan", shows Clark's early concern for the transitory nature of all things - Ah, mutability!, or as in the Schmaltzy old student beer drinking song from Bavaria, "Oh quae mutatio rerum" (from "Oh Alte Burschenherrligkeit" -

@ calonian: I'll have to find that CAS poem. I don't have it in my collected works. As for your Latin quote, I'm not too sure what you are saying--although it definitely appears to be a comment on the transitory nature of things. A partial translation might be "Oh which change . . ," but rerum doesn't seem to be a valid Latin word!

Thanks for the comment!

I think he meant, "Redrum, Redrum!"


Just Kidding,

Cathexis

@ Cathexis: Good one!

MarshallO Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @ calonian: I'll have to find that CAS poem. I
> don't have it in my collected works. As for your
> Latin quote, I'm not too sure what you are
> saying--although it definitely appears to be a
> comment on the transitory nature of things. A
> partial translation might be "Oh which change . .
> ," but rerum doesn't seem to be a valid Latin
> word!
>
> Thanks for the comment!

It is student Latin from the song and means "Oh how thing (rerum) have changed" - the translation of the song is for old guys remembering their student days - "Oh old time good-old-boy's fellowship, where have you gone = O Alte Burschenherligkeit, wohin bist du entschwunden..."
rerum is merely in the accusative case -

@ Calonian: Abo tibi gratias!

small note - in singing old german "Studentenlieder" use Church Latin pronunciation - ie - kway mutahtsio for Quae mutatio

@ Calonian: Sane! LOL

MarshallO Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @ Calonian: Sane! LOL

Ave! atque Vale! to this thread -

"The king should have sent his embalmers," opined Grotara.

Okay, you wise guys! Picking on a poor, bereft CAS collector. LOL

Marsh, I feel your pain. I have a huge Lovecraft, Barlow and CAS collection (Letters, post cards, etc.,) and I wouldn't know what I'd do if I lived to see one fall. I leave my collection in acidic free slip covers with acid free backing. I store them in a cool, dark plays and keep them out of sunlight always. And to be doubly sure I put them all in a museum quality box. Your local art store should sell all these items.

@OConnor,CD: I should have known, but I was young and foolish (a not wholly undesirable state).

Goodbye, cruel world!

BANG!



(NOTE FROM MODERATOR: There is now a new opening for membership in this Forum. Please contact me for further details.)

Being German and a former Waffenstudent myself, I am familiar with the song you quoted from. Actually, "rerum" is genitivus pluralis of "res", meaning "the thing" but sometimes also "the cause". "Res publica", the public thing or publc cause, is, of course, the Latin word for "republic", i.e. a democratic state).

Thus, "Oh quae mutatio rerum" can be translated as "Oh, how things have changed".

"Jerum", however, is believed to have derived from "Jesus" or "Jesu". "Oh jerum" can be translated as "My oh my", invoking but not actually saying the name of God in a slightly inappropriate situation.