John Pettie (17 March 1839 – 21 February 1893) was a painter from Edinburgh, Scotland. His painting Vigil (above) was completed circa 1884. According to the InfoGalactic Wiki, Pettie: “…spent most of his career in London. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1866 and a full academician in 1874.
As an enthusiastic amateur musician, he helped the career of the young composer Hamish MacCunn by organising concerts for him in his own studio. MacCunn, who would marry Pettie’s daughter Alison in 1889, also served as a model for many of his paintings and sketches in various distinctive occasions.
John Pettie was born in Edinburgh, the son of Alexander and Alison Pettie. In 1852 the family moved to East Linton, Haddingtonshire. Initially, his father objected to him taking up art as a career, but this was overcome when he saw a portrait by Pettie of the village carrier and his donkey.
When he was sixteen he entered the Trustees Academy in Edinburgh, working under Robert Scott Lauder with William Quiller Orchardson, J. MacWhirter, William McTaggart, Peter Graham (1836–1921), Tom Graham (1840–1906) and George Paul Chalmers. His first exhibits at the Royal Scottish Academy were A Scene from the Fortunes of Nigel, one of the many subjects for which he sought inspiration in the novels of Sir Walter Scott, and two portraits in 1858, followed in 1859 by The Prison. To the Royal Academy in 1860 he sent The Armourers; and the success of this work and What d’ye Lack, Madam? in the following year encouraged him to settle in London (1862), where he joined Orchardson.
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With the recent rise in the silver market, I have raised our silver price divisor at Elk Creek Company to a whopping 24.7 times face value. That is the most that we’ve ever allowed for silver, in trade. Here is how it works: Just pick out the gun or knife you want, click “Add to Cart”, then take the total (including postage) and divide that by 24.7. So, for example, you choose a Mauser rifle that sells for $425 plus $55 postage. The total would be $480 if paid by check or credit card. But if paying in 1964 or earlier circulated U.S. silver coinage (dimes, quarters, or half dollars), then your total would be just $19.43. That would be rounded down to $19.40. Just be sure to triple bag those coins, put them in a very well-padded sturdy box, and mail it to us, insured.
Here is another example: An Old Timer Schrade Two Blade Folding Knife, priced at $110, plus $15 postage. (Total of $125, divided by 24.7 = $5.06. When rounded down, that would be just $5.00 face value in 90% silver coins. So mailing us 20 silver quarters would buy you that knife.)
As you can see from that example, as a nation we have been collectively robbed by both inflation and currency debasement. The real tangible VALUE of a knife or a silver coin has not changed much since 1964. It is just the paper Federal Reserve Note “dollars” that gradually have had less and less purchasing power.
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Today’s feature article was written by SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christianson.
Read the full article here