[dusty places]: Poste, télégraphe, téléphone, caisse d’épargne
useful
Postal services combined with telegraphs and telephone is a classic association. However the alliance of a post office with a savings bank is neither rare and can be found in Europe and the United...
[weekly trash]: Old walls
What does these old tapestry and colors tell us? The images presented here were taken at the very old castle at Chaumont on the Loire river. We would like to make a carbon analysis to explore the ...
[weekly dust]: One meter
Measuring length is still a mostly analog matter. A basic tool of wood, plastic or metal calibrated by an official length keeper is all what is needed to have precise measurements. Place found: Gen...
[weekly dust]: Faber Polygrade Blei
Writing instruments were not always so omnipresent as today. Especially industrially engineering and design changed the availability of pens and pencils as we can read in the excellent book o...
[dusty places]: Le phare de Nividic
Signalization plays an important role in communication. A lighthouse gives visual signals to ships passing by to help navigation and avoid accidents. A lighthouse can give additional acoustic si...
[dusty places]: graineterie
useful
There are some kind of shops that have disappeared in the last fifty years and been integrated mostly in a larger structure, a big general store or a super market. Think of the cordonnier who merge...
[dusty places]: Hospital demolition
useful
The architecture of an hospital has changed very much in the last 50-100 years. And this on a micro and macro point of view, concerning interiors to urbanism. The answer for the new needs on both...
[weekly trash]: The rolodex filer
A classic of the obsolete things these days is the Rolodex paper file system. Simple lines and good usability but no real remaining value in digital times. We read on the web1, that: In 1954, Hil...
[weekly dust]: A letterpress: WAM model B
A letterpress is one of those objects which make the transition of a craftsmen utility to an artist tool. To revive analog over digital, to resist plastification etc. Indeed only few objects ke...
[dusty places]: Aérotrain
bizarre
While traveling by train between Paris-Austerlitz and Blois on the Loire border on IC14041 we were puzzled by a viaduct like construction longing the rails nearby. I first suspected an industrial t...
[dusty places]: Central station
useful
Bruxelles Central is one of three big downtown located train stations of the Belgian capital (the others being Midi and Nord). Despite its desolated look the station is still deserved by all norma...
[weekly trash]: Dictaphone
The c60 standard cassette made in USA was still used for recording in our hospit until last month. It’s the size of an iPhone and records 60 minutes of analog audio. Still it’s full nam...
[dusty places]: Tangential movement of boats driven by water
useful
The river Rhein has a perpetual flow of water which can be used for transport, electricity and mill work (entre autres). Transport using water flow is supposed to be unidirectional following the ...
[dusty places]: Bureau Fiscal
bizarre
A relict from strict borders between Switzerland and connecting countries, the bureau fiscal is the French office for tax affaires of the passing by citizen. Before Schengen, a contract between Swi...
[dusty places]: Sky lines: traces of communication
bizarre
In analogy to our skyline article, we focus this time on lines in the sky. Traces of communication, digital or analog, combining house to house and uniting in the hub. The melting-pot of communica...
[dusty places]: Skyline considerations (Liege, Belgium)
useful
Much later after taking this photograph in Liege, Belgium, I thought about the ephemeral state of certain skylines. As we can read on Wikipedia: A skyline is the artificial horizon that a city̵...
[weekly dust]: Bicolor pencil
Is there still a place for pencils? Certainly. And for duo tone pencils? Has there ever been? The need to have blue and red colors in one hand is linked to some professions. School teachers corre...
[dusty places]: Industrial farmhouse in the Dombes area
historical
This old farm is part of a monastery. The place is that big that the brick buildings are very industrial looking. location: Le Plantay, France Time:06/04/2014 Psychogeography (Chtcheglov): Historica...
[dusty places]: Charcuterie in Toulon sur Arroux
useful
The charcuterie business is still anchored in the countryside village life. Going to the specialist (say charcuterie) and not to the generalist (say supermarket). Personal contact and confidence in t...
[dusty places]: Cayeux sur Mer, Casino; 50s in northern France
tragic
This small balnear station in the picardie departement is a fabuleux example of post war architecture in france. Belle epoque style vanished largely to make place for a modern, no pretentious architec...
[dusty places]: Clermain / la Garde (Burgundy, France)
sinister
Along the N79 long distance national road connecting Macon and Moulins, nostalgic restaurants and hotels can be found. L’autre fois important places for routiers to have a break, meal or comfort...
[weekly dust]: Milano Toast Roma
This vintage toaster from italian brand MilanoToast is the classic panini toaster. Easy but functional design. ...
[weekly dust]: Santos coffee grinder
This is a vintage style coffee grinder still seem frequently in French bars and cafés. Lyon based Santos continues to build this heavy but beautiful grinder. Quality is very good. A beautiful juicer ...
[headache]: What a Cirque!
Is it still useful to have big events like a cirque, a fun faire etc. in the center of a town? Geneva paid a high price to have its centrally located place “plainpalais” renovated ...
[weekly dust]: hp 41C (RPN) with moon rocket lander
This RPN calculator satisfies our standards for built quality, interface design and functionality. It even has a magnet card reader (on this picture with the game (!) moon rocket lander. For all my li...
[weekly dust]: Sony ICB-350W
Weekly Dust starts with communication. Here is a vintage (1970s) talkie walkie on cb frequencies. Few is known about the device on the Internet but beside its great look and timeless design the device...