In the Pink for Father's Day

I have one more thirties tie to post, but I have to take a break this week to celebrate Father's Day instead. Since, of course, ties are inextricably associated with the occasion, as the standard gift of choice. NPR even did a segment this morning on how fewer and fewer men wear ties to work anymore, and consequently how fewer and fewer ties are purchased as Father's Day gifts.

I'm not a father, but on this day I always think about and remember my own father and in this case, my father-in-law, whose tie this was. He, like my father, is deceased, but I honor his memory today. He was like a musical father to me. My own Dad had no interest in music, thought it was a waste of time.

But Herb Moore, my wife's father, was a fine amateur musician himself. He sang (basso), directed choirs, played the piano, and in earlier years, the tuba and cello. He was a music major in college, although he never completed a music degree. He taught music for a time, before he opted to go back to school and become an optometrist.

Even after assuming his professional career in that field, he continued to be active musically, as a church musician, much like myself. When I first met him, he was living in Houston, Texas, and we had a fine time visiting the Visser Rowland pipe organ factory (now Visser Organs) located in the Houston area, and visiting and playing some of the fine pipe organs in Houston and the surrounding area. He had taken up the organ fairly late in life, and we enjoyed sharing the joys of playing together.

But back to the tie. It's a real beauty! A gloriously gorgeous shade of pink, showing that pink is great for men, especially on a tie! It has a wonderful brocade woven into the fabric, which shows best on the scan of the small end, pointing in an upward direction. It has all of the characteristics of a classic 40's era tie, except for one, it's width.

So, the only possible downside to this tie, if there is one, is its lack of width. It's fairly narrow, a hair under 2 3/4 inches at its widest. Which suggests to me that it comes from the early fifties, rather than the forties, and probably represents the transition period between the gregarious 40's ties, and the more conservative narrow ties that prevailed through much of the fifties and sixties.

The tie has a label, printed directly into the fabric, right at the bottom of the large end inside. So close to the bottom, in fact, that part of the label is folded over, and is almost sewn into the lining. It reads, in a kind of hand-written style, as follows:

An Artist Original
© by Cutter

At least, I think that's the name. It could possibly be Cullen or Culler, but I think the two tall letters are crossed, as "t's" would be. Strangely, way up near the middle, very close, in fact, is another printed in label, which simply has the enigmatic number "3723" repeated twice, one above the other. I have no idea of the significance of this. Anyone with clues about either the number or the artist, please let me know!

And to all fathers out there, let me wish you a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Thirties Tulips

Here's another thirties beauty that I missed the first time around. Or I may have acquired it since then, I'm not sure.

These stylized tulips appear in a lush chocolate brown with copper highlights on the petals, against a richly brocaded, almost iridescent background of ice blue stripes overlaid on a background of the brown, which shows through the edges of the stripes.

Brown seems an odd color for flowers, but they are more stylized than real, so I suppose the color doesn't matter all that much.

The tie has one label, which is sewed into the small end of the tie, which I've shown in the scan. It reads

Fashion
Craft
SN Cravats

I'm sorry no tie got posted last week. For a church musician, such as myself, sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the weekend to get things done. I'm writing these words at almost half past ten on Sunday evening, when I should be in, or at least heading for, bed.