Early 20th C. Paper Thin Brass Surveyors/Architects Stencils - Set # Three monkey on ladder toy It was purchased from an

It was purchased from an estate sale that included a wonderful collection of mid-century and contemporary ceramics from Japan

SIgned (a bit faint now) on reverse and dated what looks to me to be Oct

There is a little loss to one far edge of the slide top box

which I take for a first sketch for the crayon drawing on reverse

including for the fact that the verse itself speaks to having empathy and forgiving faults

Early 20th C. Paper Thin Brass Surveyors/Architects Stencils - Set # Three monkey on ladder toy It was purchased from anI find these old brass surveyors architects stencils so beautiful paper thin, finely made, and shining rather like liquid gold in the light. I purchased a lot of them from a seller in England, and have broken them up into smaller thematic groups. These would have been used to annotate blueprints architectural renderings, but as a lover of found language I like them as small, evocative signs of sorts, which could be interesting in all sorts contexts.