E. L. Moore's Legacy in the 21st Century: The lost schoolhouse is found
As well as its formal beauty, one of the more interesting aspects of this E. L. Moore project is that it was the subject of one his articles that remained unpublished at his death and was 'lost' until quite recently. A few weeks ago I was contacted by a gentleman who mentioned that he owned the lost manuscripts, but due to legal restrictions could not circulate copies; however, he could say one was about a project that could be built as either a schoolhouse or church. After a little emailing with the gentleman and the owner of the collection of E. L. Moore built originals, it was clear that this schoolhouse was the same as the one described in a lost manuscript. This was an exciting development.
The owner informs me the model is missing the flagpole and flag, but it's likely mixed in with the packing materials used to store it. Like the large cabin, this model was on display at the North Hills Hobby Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina for a number of years.
It has a fully detailed interior complete with desks, pupils, piano and a teacher. The owner says he added the light strung to the rafter to better show off the insides.
This looks like the teacher is reading the lesson.
But it appears that someone isn't paying attention. That wooden prop modelled to hold up the lower part of the double-hung window is a nice touch.
This looks very similar to the little country church I'll be scratchbuilding at Pinto on the Ocali Creek. Any chance that article is available for view somewhere? I know that's a long shot or slim chance, but I had to at least ask. Barring that possibility, is there another of Mr. Moore's articles that demonstrates similar techniques? Thanks,
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Unfortunately there apparently are legal restrictions on the article that prevent it from being circulated. I'm working with the article's owner to see if anything can be done about them, but I think it'll be a long process. The building seems rather similar to one of his cottages and the roof uses the wood-burning tool technique to scribe the shingles. I need to look over some of the published articles to see which one might be closest to this project. I'll post an update here when I find something that might be suitable.
DeleteFrom E. L. Moore's later published articles (like Bunn's Feed and Seed and Cal's Lumberyard) he used commercial clapboard siding for walls like those on the school, but still used the 'paint in a ruling pen' technique for windows - it looks like he used it on the schoolhouse. As I mentioned yesterday, the roof continues to used his shingle scribing method. Although his roof looks good, and it quite neat and competently done, an update using commercial shingles would help a modern version of this project.
DeleteThanks for the reply. The church I want to build, located in Caples, WV, has not only nice gothic arched windows, but some fancy muntin work above the main doors, and a neat little round window in the front wall/tower with more fancy carpentry. I have a lining pen, but have never used it. Seems like I'll have to practice a while first before trying anything too fancy, but I also think, apart from buying grandt or tichy stand-ins, it is the only way I'll get such unique windows.
DeleteThanks again for this terrific series on Mr. Moore's life and work. Very interesting reading.
Thanks for kind words. Back in December I was thinking that there was only 1 or 2 posts left in the series given the things I wanted to do. But, in early January things changed dramatically and this will likely go a little while longer.
DeleteFor those windows, maybe on of those 'cutting printers' that one can buy for a PC might be of use. I've seen others get good results from them and have been thinking of buying one in the spring. If you do choose to use a ruling pen, they aren't too difficult to use. One thing I found that once the paint is flowing properly, I need to proceed to keep lining at a brisk pace until the paint runs out or the tip gums up a little with drying paint.
The cutter I was thinking about is the Cameo Cutter. I learned about at his post: http://iainrobinsonmodels.blogspot.ca/2015/01/building-signal-box.html at Iain Robinson's blog. The build in the post is 4mm scale, but HO isn't that different, so the methods might be equally applicable.
DeleteThe walls might be 18'x32'x13' with a roof height of 24'. The cupola might add another 10', with all the 4x8 windows 3' off the 2' foundation. That roof pitch looks 45 degrees. But I could be wrong about it all... these are educated guesses....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information! I suspect with the various types of image processing software available, an industrious person could create some elevations from photos.
DeleteFunny thing is, I was giving dimensions right off ELM's plans but I couldn't share the files yet. So I was making "educated guesses". LOL
DeleteVery cagey :-)
DeleteAlthough at the moment I have only done the two (Bunn's and Rube's), I intend to build the rest of them (from laser-cut if I get a cutter sometime, or scratch if not), I'd be happy to collaborate with you on some form of publication on this topic. Retirement comes for me in 1-2 years, after which point this becomes a feasible project. I'll be doing CAD work all along...
ReplyDeleteI didn't see Rube's Rubarb Plant in the collection. It might still be in existence somewhere out there. If anyone has it, and is reading this blog, I'd love to see a photo. Publication of a E. L. Moore retrospective hasn't finalized yet - alas, I'm still many years away from retirement, so I'm not sure what the future holds.
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