Bracket tale

I will spare you the long story of how I got these 4 brackets but I will show you what I have done with two of them, so far.    Once I read in Victorian Splendor that walnut was the preferred wood of the mid-to-late Victorians because of its ease of carving, I decided to go ahead with my plan for them.

I painted them with acrylic paint (Burnt Umber) and this took about a week in order to get all the nooks and crannies.
Then I applied 1 coat of water-based poly-urethane very carefully since it can disturb the paint.

When finally dry I was quite pleased with the result, just what I hoped for.

I put the first pair up in the hallway to hold some of my brass items (which badly need polishing).   They are flanking my Perfect Nonsense.  What is that you may ask?  It is by Samuel Foote and was illustrated by Walter Crane in a book that floated about during my childhood and which mystified me no end. 

"So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage-leaf to make an apple-pie; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street, pops its head into the shop. "What! No soap?" So he died, and she very imprudently married the barber; and there were present the Picninnies, and the Joblillies, and the Garyulies, and the grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, and they all fell to playing the game of catch-as-catch-can till the gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots."

I have just learned that this was actually extemporized by Samuel Foote in the mid-1700's in a mock lecture which makes it not officially Victorian.  But it is Victorian in spirit and thanks to those wonderful illustrations - I wish I knew the name of that book.....