Nuove invenzioni e ultime novità

by Gaston Pawlowski (De), Antonio Castronuovo (Curator)

Dove trovare un buon mefistofono bassoparlante? Un estensore senile o una sveglia a petardo? Come fare a rintracciare lo specchio ortottico per vedersi come si è oppure l'ombrello per sigari? Ma soprattutto: dove scovare una cosa ingegnosa come l'equilibratore di tartine che, in caso di caduta, evita che atterrino dalla parte della marmellata? Semplice: a Parigi, servendosi del geniale inventario di Gaston de Pawlowski, che elenca centinaia di utili marchingegni, e di ognuno indica funzione e valore. È del 1916, ma si trova tutto ancor oggi. Basta un po' di fantasia.

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1916

Reviews

[Osiris Oliphant]

New & Recent Inventions

A lawyer by profession, enlightened bicycle rider, Gaston de Pawlowski posed at the beginning of the 20th century as a worthy heir to Alphonse Allais.

Unbridled and visionary humor, caustic absurdities await you.

Editions Finitude bring to our knowledge as many incongruous discoveries as inventive inventions that we would like to have available today. Special mention to the pearl mussel, the mosquito tip guard and the essential balancer of toast.

Published in the midst of the war (1916), this catalog of “inventions and novelties” is above all a mine of wacky humor whose absurd creativity prefigures Pierre Dac and his bone marrow! If the preface announces the general tone, its conclusion is more serious through the dedication of the work:

"It is therefore to my comrades on the front, and to entertain them, that this book is dedicated".

If this little moment of humorous delirium can modestly, today, entertain our caregivers a little and, more broadly, help each and everyone to better experience forced isolation… so much the better!
Only a few excerpts gleaned almost at random from the pages of a particularly abundant work are here. Note that, in a few cases, what seemed like a complete absurdity at the time has become a reality today!

Chapter 01: New Soap
Chapter 02: Reticle adultérin
Chapter 05 : Side entry bathtub
Chapter 06: Morning alarm clock earrings
Chapter 07: Central spittoon recuperator
Chapter 08: Full comb
Chapter 09: Planer for cod heads
Chapter 10: Pearl mussels
Chapter 11: New Pocket Meter
Chapter 13: Salon du daltonisme
Chapter 14: New Road Signs

[Lance Grabmiller]

Silly fun.

[Dylan Rock]

A wonderful witty collection of fanciful made invitations satirizing European society at the time.