Wednesday, May 17, 2006



I remember the first time I saw a Von Dutch baseball cap and was surprised how that name had became a brand.

On Ebay the fantastic Von Dutch's, [originator of hot rod pinstripping], paint box just sold for a whopping $270 000 .00
I wonder if Paris Hilton bought and is going to use it as a purse.

The description



Von Dutch - The Personal Paint and Pin Striping Box


Without question, the all original Paint Box we have the pleasure of offering here is one of the most important personal pieces of Von Dutch memorabilia ever offered for sale to date. This is the actual paint box carried by both Von Dutch and most impressively, his father throughout both their legendary careers. The story begins in the 1930s with Walker Howard, father of Kenneth Howard aka Von Dutch, who was one of the most respected sign painters in all of Los Angeles. The young Kenneth Howard was said to accompany his father on many of his jobs, and legend now relates that Howard could paint and letter at a professional level at the age of 10. Though the paint box first belonged to Wally Howard, it was passed on to his son, Kenneth Howard now known as Von Dutch, who continued to use and treasure his paint box and family heirloom for the rest of his painting career and life.

5 comments:

Matt Jones said...

That Von Dutch box is gorgeous. Signwriting has become a lost artform. My Dad runs a signmaking business but these days the lettering is all designed in vectors & cut out by a computerised blade. There's nothing quite like a finely hand-painted sign.

Saw the pic you sent to Uli last week- it's excellent! Had no idea you worked so big! Are all of your illustrations generally that size?

Drazen said...

Hey Matt,
yeah nothing like hand painted work. My friend does hand pinstripping on cars. Its wonderful stuff. And i love all that old handpainted carnival stuff.
It is a incredible l box, but I was still quite amazed at the price it fetched.

Glad you liked Cont Uli! I guess most of my stuff is around that size tho it depends on the piece.
Tho generally if its something for print thats going to be quite small I wouldn't go that big.

the doodlers said...

Hi Drazen,

What a fine box.
When I was a store proprietor, long time ago, we had a professional signpainter do our front window. He used a long handles brush and I believe if I remember correctly, the brush had a holder that steadied it against the window as he worked. He painted our names in an arc in red and yellow. It was a thing of beauty and something special to see him work.

Anonymous said...

After Von Dutch’s death his heirs sold his name to a fashion designer who started marketing and designing clothing with his trademarked symbol and name. The Von Dutch corporation has also used the Von Dutch logo on accessories and now energy drinks. sportsbook The Von Dutch company, owned by Danish Kick Boxing Champion, Tonny Sorensen, is now a multinational clothing company recognized for getting product placement of their clothing on popular actors, actress and music performers.
http://www.enterbet.com

kimberly sayer said...
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