 
Jonnyfive
Member
Username: Jonnyfive
Post Number: 84
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 1:46 am: |    |
I've always been told my great-grandfather was a marble worker who had worked on the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak as a well as a "downtown building" (nobody alive seems to remember which one.) It would seem to me if he had been doing marble work at the Shrine of the Little Flower than he was likely either working for or with Corrado Parducci. I was wondering if anybody knew of a good resource to try and determine this. If old company (what was the company called?) or employee records exist I'd like to try and find out.
Thanks in advance! |
Aiw
Member
Username: Aiw
Post Number: 6472
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 7:03 am: | |
Parducci was more sculptural than just straight marble. Likely he worked beside him, but not for him. Parduci for a while worked with his brother, but the records for those years I am told are missing.
The firm when by the name Parducci Brothers Studios, and then later just Parducci Studios (I believe). The best resource is carptrash, I'll send him an email to pop in over here... |
Carptrash
Member
Username: Carptrash
Post Number: 1486
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 10:29 am: | |
Thanks for the heads up, AIW.
The place to begin is with the church its self. The folks at the Shrine are, or have been to me, more helpful than a lot of other churches.
Padrucci usually just delivered a plaster version of his work to the carvers or casters who would then carve what is found on or in the building. A lot of the sculpture on the exterior of the building was done by a fellow named Rene Chambellan, who was sort of NYC's version of Parducci. Usually it was the architect or the building contractor who set up the carving.
There are in the Royal Oak Library (as I recall it) newspaper clippings or perhaps even the newspapers themselves and they gave periodic updates and even had pictures of the Shrine as it was being erected. It's a fairly slow way of doing research, but I seem to recall that some little old lady in the 1960s (this a Carphistory) created an index for the newspapers, so it's not just random. My impression is that all the exterior carving was done in situ (techo-jargon for "in place", on the building its self) so even Chambellan's stuff (the huge Christ, for example) was probably carved in Detroit.
Now most of that stuff is in limestone and not marble, but I suspect that your grandfather probably did not just carve marble as there was not that much used. Parducci worked with a carver named Peter Barnasconi (?? no notes here) who sometimes worked for a firm called Batchelder or something. I will look around a bit more and see what i can find.
What was your grand father's name? eeeeeek |
Lowell
Board Administrator
Username: Lowell
Post Number: 4352
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 10:41 am: | |
Great Carphistory / Parducci notes as usual Carptrash! |
Carptrash
Member
Username: Carptrash
Post Number: 1487
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 11:07 am: | |
Hello Lowell:
Well New Mexico is set to have a White Christmas, judging from the view from my window. How 'bout you types? eeeeek |
Jonnyfive
Member
Username: Jonnyfive
Post Number: 86
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 11:39 am: | |
Thanks for the help!
Giuseppe or Joseph Tripoli |
Cheddar_bob
Member
Username: Cheddar_bob
Post Number: 1543
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 2:43 pm: | |
Carptrash. That's a name we don't see around here very often anymore. Please tell us the story surrounding your name again. I always liked that one. |
Carptrash
Member
Username: Carptrash
Post Number: 1488
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 10:12 pm: | |
It was a dark and stormy night on the Forum years ago - the Fab Ruins of Detroit at that time - and a bunch of us decided to change our screen (or whatever) names, I at that time was using Einar, for some reason or another. Anyway, I chose the name Carpe Mañana. However it was a bit long and I sometimes had trouble finding the "ñ" so I shortened it to Carpman. Then there a ongoing thread or two involving "trailer trash", and since I was living in a trailer at the time my name metamorphosed again, this time into "carptrash". It works for me because of the second or third meaning of the word "carp" and let's be honest, I do talk a lot of trash. eeeeeeeeeeek, well that's another story for another night. |
Carptrash
Member
Username: Carptrash
Post Number: 1489
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 10:14 pm: | |
If I remember correctly, that was when Aiw became Aiw, for example. |
Docmo
Member
Username: Docmo
Post Number: 311
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 10:31 pm: | |
This guy may be able to help.
|
Gistok
Member
Username: Gistok
Post Number: 5887
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 10:39 pm: | |
No Docmo... he'll just steer you to 105 year old Cardinal Fungi, the papal archivist.  |
Gistok
Member
Username: Gistok
Post Number: 5890
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 2:11 am: | |
Carptrash... Matilda Dodge Wilson's Meadowbrook Hall claims that the ornate ceiling plasterwork in the Christopher Wren inspired Dining Room was done by Corrado Parducci. Did Parducci do much plasterwork? |
Jjaba
Member
Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5726
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 2:19 am: | |
Father Guido Sarduchi, AKA Don Novello, is an all-time religious icon of late night tv. He had wonderful connections with the Pope. He headed up the Vatican Ushers and dressed them in Purple. Thus, Purple Papal People Seaters.
Docmo, you make jjaba LOL. Thanks.
For Parducci, look at St. Brigits Church, Schoolcraft and Ohio Sts., 1950. That's jjaba's parish.
jjaba, Westside Torah Bukkor. |
Cheddar_bob
Member
Username: Cheddar_bob
Post Number: 1550
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 2:25 am: | |
Are you sure it wasn't because Rasputin always called you trash? |
Pam
Member
Username: Pam
Post Number: 3153
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 7:01 am: | |
quote:Please tell us the story surrounding your name again. I always liked that one.
Can you tell us the story behind the eeek? |
Carptrash
Member
Username: Carptrash
Post Number: 1491
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 10:42 am: | |
Parducci did a lot of plaster work in and around Detroit besides the work at Meadow Brook. Not too long ago I discovered a ceiling that he had done in Lima, Ohio. I have a picture of him somewhere, from a newspaper maybe, repairing the ceiling at the Broadrick Tower in perhaps 1970, suggesting that he might have done the original one. But places such as the Dearborn Inn, the Urban League building, I think Edsel Ford's place, some work at Hudson's, First National Bank Building, the Old Colony Club, and more. Researching the plaster side of CP is tough because the work is all inside of the building, making it tougher to see. He had a lot of books about plastering, again to me suggesting that it was a lucrative side line for him. If you go into a fancy 1920s bank and look up while in the main banking room you will often discover an interesting plaster design on the ceiling. So of that in Detroit was by CP. And echoing Jjaba's thoughts, do check out St Brigits. I never got inside, but have bee told that there is a lot to see. The exterior is loaded with some of CP's most interesting post-WWII work.
Well there is no doubt in my mind that Rasputin was there when I was being christened and I suspect that certainly after I took the name he . ..... approved. As for eeeeeeeeeeek, well, it's day now and as some of you know, that's another dark night tale. |
Carptrash
Member
Username: Carptrash
Post Number: 1492
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 10:48 am: | |
Here's on for Jjaba. It might even be OF Jjaba. Or not. eeeeeek
|
Gistok
Member
Username: Gistok
Post Number: 5891
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 12:45 pm: | |
Yes, that's Jjaba a few years back doing a reenactment of Topol's "Wish I was a Rich Man" scene from Fiddler on the Roof... |
Carptrash
Member
Username: Carptrash
Post Number: 1495
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 4:09 pm: | |
That's sort of what I remembered too. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek |
Jjaba
Member
Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5733
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 6:26 pm: | |
All night long I'd bidee bidee bum, if I were a wealthy man, OY!
Wouldn't have to work hard, Bidee bidde bidee bidee bidee bidee bidde bum. OY!
It's no great sin being poor, but it's no honor either.
Tevya, DBA jjaba. |
Jjaba
Member
Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5734
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 6:29 pm: | |
Excellent picture Carptrash. Thanks.
Pure Parducci, Pure Westside. Pure St.Brigits, 1950.
jjaba AKA Tevya. |