Bad reproductions are a disappointment because one might be fooled for a moment, and then expectations are dashed. There is a curious middle ground, however, which speaks more for effort and intent and effectiveness than authenticity. This bicycle below is such an example.
Only the kit bag is authentic. Of the rest only the Lee Enfield is a commercial reproduction. This rifle is a surprisingly effective Spanish creation that I improved by replacing the wooden parts with walnut.
The bicycle itself is a mixing of two old bikes. I've got back pedal brakes so there are no brake cables, and I may yet fake-in some rod brakes. The leather seat with springs is brand new, and everything has been painted black and ridden through a muddy puddle. I've made a leather tool pouch, slung some poorly created Lewis gun ammo carriers over the kitbag, and fashioned some aluminum into fixing-brackets for the rifle. The effect is fantastic, and all the more so because it cost me less than $100. Imagine the cost of an original! And who would ever make a perfect reproduction as a commercial option? The truth is that to create the essence of an original takes a bit of creative engineering and then, by a suspension of disbelief, the effect is convincing.
What I've really got here is reproduction as theatre, which may be what it's all about after all.
Here are some details showing both the rifle brackets and the rifle itself.
The visual details are all taken from the web. The brackets I chose to make were the ones I could most easily form with the materials and tools I had. The saddle instantly speaks of the past and places the bicycle in its moment in time. Ultimately the bicycle becomes a prop for the "actor" in uniform and the play is the evocation of an era. I will use this bike at commemorative events where the fragility of flesh and blood in wool on a bicycle will be in contrast to the highly technological image of modern warfare today. This contrast then becomes the drama, or so I tell myself.
The point is a reproduction doesn't have to be perfect to be evocative, and since we all have a certain knowledge of the past we can grasp a message even if it is put forward as a kind of sketch.
January 20, 2015
My latest addition is a carbide lamp. I kept seeing these lamps in old photos and started looking them up on Google. Of course I began to dream about how to make one as a theatrical prop. And then one day I visited a big antique warehouse. As I left, having bought nothing, I saw this lamp sitting in a corner on the counter by the door. It was mine for $25.
I've cleaned it up, repainted it, and fixed up a small flashlight for effect. Now I must make the calcium carbide and water reservoirs, as illusions of course, and fit it to my bike for the Spring.
The gas mask, below, was made from old fabric, pickling jar lids, plexi glass, cord rings around a rope, and stretchy bandage. The whole was steeped in strong tea.
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