DRAFTING Table

CultureCanadian

DimensionsOther (.A): 21 x 91.5 x 100 cm (8 1/4 x 36 x 39 3/8 in.) Other (.B): 73.5 x 68 cm (28 15/16 x 26 3/4 in.) Other (.C): 9.5 x 6 cm (3 3/4 x 2 3/8 in.)

Object numberHF.2016.23.2a-c

DescriptionA rectangular shaped drafting table which adjusts to change the angle of the table top. A metal pencil sharpener (Drum - .C) is screwed into the top right corner of the table's front. The table front is marked in many places with smudges of ink in the top right section as well as at the bottom center. A metal pushpin is inserted into the center of the outer-right edge. An image of a 3-leaf clover (?) is present at the center right. Green and red ink smudges are present in the bottom left corner of the table. At the center of the bottom-outer edge is a flat wooden dowel connected through the center with a screw. The dowel has two 90 degree notches cut on either end. The notch on the right end catches on a screw. The dowel is able to swivel in a full 180 degrees, stopping on the screw on the right end. A piece of silver duct-tape is present on the outer left edge. The reverse of the table has perpendicular anchors of wood (L 45.5xW 2.5xD4) attached with 4 flat-head screws. Two semi-circular supports (Diameter 18.5) connect to the anchors, each has a curved slot through which an arm (L72.5xW 6.5xD 2) is attached with two wing-nut bolts. Each arm also has a slot (50cm) at the center. On left semi-circular support is a red and white rectangular sticker with "Hello / My Name Is / Vic / Runtz". .B) is a four legged base for the table top. The outside edges have vertical notches where the arms of the table top attach and are secured with wing-nut bolts. Three horizontal arms join the two sides, one at the top and two near the bottom. Underneath the arm at the top are two supports in each corner. On the front of the left support is a yellow and green sticker with alternating rings at the center of which is a face wearing a band across their forehead. In the second ring is printed "Cochise / 1874 / Apache / c.1812" in clockwise order. Two legs on either side flare out in a triangular shape.
Narrative

Victor (Vic) Runtz was born in Arnprior, Ontario in 1922. During his navy career in WWII he visited Charlottetown where he met and later married Aletha Saunders. He began his career as cartoonist at The Guardian in Charlottetown, PEI, in 1948. Runtz covered all subjects in his cartoons at the Guardian including politics, the arts, the crows of Victoria Park, tourists, the railway etc.

The Runtz family later moved to Bangor, Maine, where Runtz worked for the Bangor Daily News. He later took a job at the University of Maine where he published his first book, "Here Today...Twenty Five Years of Cartoons by Vic Runtz". Runtz was also an amateur photographer, taking candid shots of events in Prince Edward Island. Upon retirement he returned to P.E.I where he died at the age of 79. In 2016, some of his photos were included in a book by Scott MacDonald, titled "Prince Edward Island Then and Now" which compares aerial photos originally taken by Runtz in 1947 to contemporary landscapes.

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SCALE

American

c. 1870

Prince Edward Island

20th century

circa 1880

circa 1840

Circa 1840