"Of Muppets and Men" Exposé?

[shtick]

Part of the reason the "Of Muppets and Men" book is sought after is because of the uncensored workshop photos in that book, showing very clearly supposedly "secret" items such as Barge Cement!

I'm curious as to what other "secrets" were mentioned in "Of Muppets and Men".
I own it and I'd just like to know of any other stuff people have seen in the photos in this book.

Also, where do you see barge cement in this book?

 

[Whatever]

Also, what is barge cement?

 

[Jinx]

Barge cement is an industrial-strength contact cement. Shoe makers use it a lot, I'm told. (Barge is the brand name)

It will glue virtually anything to anything, and is about the most toxic substance I've ever been around. I think that for most puppet building projects it's overkill, particularly with the newer adhesives on the market. I've found weldwood contact cement to be every bit as durable and not quite as toxic to deal with. Either way, breathing protection is ESSENTIAL, not optional. Even if you're outdoors in a "well-ventilated area" you mustn't take chances with your health!

As to the book, I don't think that any "secrets" were mentioned, per se, but close observation of the workshop photos might show you some of the materials used, like barge cement. (Which, by the way, comes in a rectangular metal can with a brush-cap in the corner Look on page 55 at the extreme righthand edge of the photo. Also page 117 in the picture of Rollie Krewson with the hair dryer). Probably the things being referred to as "secrets" might be things like the foam ribbing shown on page 44.

Again with the advances in materials over the past 25+ years, you probably won't find and "holy grails" of puppet building here, but it sure is fun to see how they did it all!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Just to reiterate Jinx's point - do not use Barge no matter what anyone tells you. It's toxic stuff. There's much, much less toxic contact cements on the market now.

 

[gfarkwort]

do not use Barge no matter what anyone tells you.

Well.......Barge is good for SOME Mascot feet and Large Puppets feet (Bog Bird) because Barges IS used for shoe making and works very well if you want to make a comfertable Puppet Foot out of those kind of matierials.....So Use it if you REALLY want to....other than that avoid it.

 

[FISH'N'WOLFE]

Here's BARGE, for those of you interested.