Postcard Memories is a weekly series of historic postcard views and photos submitted by René Hackstetter.
Frank Shulman had a sculpting studio on Marsh Lane in Wyebridge backing onto the river.
Here, he attacked logs with his chainsaw and chisels, hewing out his message, his art, and his passion with wood.
Frank won soapstone and wood carving competitions at the CNE when he was in his thirties. Edna Breithaupt had said Frank had talent. Whether he was part of the Wakunda Art Colony, we do not know.
I had a leather shop in Wyebridge in the eighties and one day, he dropped by to commission me to make a 'belt briefcase' to house all manner of sections and to hold the endless variety of objects he carried in his pockets. It took weeks of consultation with Frank to design and make.
Sculptors are a breed on their own, and Frank was no exception.
His wife Vida bore all his eccentricities with the patience that comes with understanding. Their home was packed with carvings of all kinds.
His offer in trade, no less, for the briefcasewas a six-by-ten-inch intaglio carved scene of a couple inside a living room. It was in hardwood and had an indefinable charm. Unlike the larger log carvings, it seemed to be something I could live with. We did the deal.
There is more to this story of course.
A little background for those who have forgotten; Frank and his father, Aaron, owned the old Queens Hotel, corner Bay and King streets in Midland back in the day.
Aaron had worked for the Gidley’s Boat Company in Penetang before buying the Queens in Midland.
Spiker’s Barber shop was out front in Aaron’s day. The apartments above were spacious and old school and, perhaps, a little downtrodden through no fault of anyone.
On the main floor, was the second-hand store, in my day, from which a huge variety of furniture, bric-à-brac, books and so forth were spread around more by the way they landed than any particular order.
Outside the entrance door, at one time, was Frank’s hand carved bear. There were several versions.The sculpture, and all the many figurative pieces Frank produced, made for a lot of comments. This was all taken in stride because Frank was a sculptor and that is what they do.... Art.
There is a long tradition of carved tobacconist figures from 18th-century ship carving to the early part of the 20th century and cigar store figures. Much of the work is now in museums.
Do we really know who Frank Shulman was? His art tells the story. Are there more rare Frank Shulman carvings out there one wonders? To be able to produce a piece as forceful as this, yet so contained within this tiny frame, speaks volumes about his mastership in the medium. It has strange perspectives and odd angles reminiscent of cubism.
Two people sit at a table in a living room. He appears to be reading a large book. Is it a loaf of bread on the sideboard? Is it Passover? Three empty chairs, a door, perhaps, a tabernacle, one does not know. Is this the message he leaves us?
A Schulman is a man schooled in the Book. His devotion to this is evident. The carving is an open book.
Frank is gone, the carvings at the door of the Queens are gone.
I try to recollect the figures he produced and wonder if anyone has done an inventory of his output or had a show. John Hartman produced a monograph with photos of Gilbert Desrochers. The Huronia Museum had a show according to his son, Pacy. and, He said that a catalogue had been produced. Good for the Huronia Museum.
Frank's output was prodigious, Surely there should be a record of this talented sculptor?
Copyright René Hackstetter September 20, 2020.
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