Funny story- this was ORIGINALLY going to be a Nakatomi mailing list Exclusive offer, and THEN what happened, is one of the new features of Constant Contact is that it publishes what WE thought was an alert telling people that an email had gone out. But what it does is publishes the email as a webpage for everyone to see! So- once that happened Monday morning, and all the information got out there, we decided, ah- who cares- let every one in on the fun! And so that brings us HERE-
We teased this last week, and here it is in terrifying glory-
“Animalus Wyldapsychosis”
“Monsterous Cookiebanditous”
“Oscarvorus Grouchamaximus”
And what is the amazing story behind these images? Read on, for a tale to turn a man’s blood cold! (And just in time for Halloween!)
“The Study of Species in the Field of those Rare, Wonderful, Fur & Felt. by Prof. J. Maury. 1859”
Professor J. Maury was a rare breed of man- a rugged explorer, a learned biologist, and most importantly- an exacting artist. His field studies of the varied fauna that he discovered on his journeys delighted and amazed readers of the scientific journals of the time, and provided fodder for the “Penny Dreadfuls” and children’s books. Professor Maury rose to almost super-star acclaim, though, after his discovery of the Sesame Islands and the completely unique creatures that populated them. These brand new plants and animals appeared to develop completely on their own evolutionary course, isolated from any of the seven continents. In retrospect, one must consider the veracity of some of Maury’s claims- that of a “shaggy, earless, tuskless, mammoth'” that was invisible until believed in, and singing fruits and vegetables that wanted to teach him about local hygiene customs. The scientific establishment would have easily laughed these new discoveries off, if it weren’t for the Professor’s previously unshakable reputation and the curiously colored pelts that he produced upon arriving back from his travels. He returned with pelts of shaggy green, the most unnatural blue, and even an impossibly two-headed purple pelt.
His speech to the Zoological society upon his return ended with this strange statement: “I have traveled NEAR and FAR, gentlemen, NEAR and FAR. And let me tell you, compared to the animals that I have discovered previously, that not one of these…THINGS are quite like the others. For science’s sake, I feel as though I must go back to the islands, but for my safety I feel I must stay. I truly feel in between, if you know what I mean. I must now go home to my family and deal not only with the monsters of my recent memory, but the monster I now see in the mirror.”
The real tragedy of Professor Maury’s story, however, is that the location of the islands was a closely guarded secret, and all records of the exact directions were lost. Many an evolutionary scholar begged him to reveal the coordinates, and even his contemporary, Charles Darwin was overheard visiting Prof. Maury on his deathbed, whispering into his ear: “Can you tell me how to get…how to get to the Sesame Islands?”
The lasting legacy of Professor Maury is his amazing field studies of the wildlife he found there, and Rhys Cooper has adapted these drawings in a series of silkscreened prints for us at Nakatomi, and we are proud to now present them to you.
Each of these prints are a 16×20 six color hand printed silk screened poster. This is a pre-sale, so edition sizes are not set, but will most likely be capped around 150 each.
Each full set ordered will include this exclusive mini-print set of Prof. Maury’s original field-sketched drawings, printed with metallic ‘charcoal’ ink. This set of THREE 8×10 prints will only be given to those who pre-order the full set.
The Pre-sale Option Expires on Monday, October 25th at Midnight CST. Please make sure you have your order in by then.
The Full set retails at $75 for the 3 prints, plus the 3 handbills. The individual prints are $30. SO…you really should get the full set, eh?
When Will This Ship? This is a massive 3 print set, plus handbills- we will BEGIN printing them on Tuesday October 26th. Expect these to ship within 2 weeks of that date. Good art takes time!
Individual prints and the Full Set are available for pre-order RIGHT NOW in the Nakatomi Store HERE.
-alex fugazi
