Daily Practice 261/365

Title: "St. Peter Appears in the Sky, 1878 - Exhibit 03.004 from Dr. Hammer's Museum of Curiosities"

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It's been some time since I shared a story from my time with Dr. Hammer and his Museum of Curiosities. As I continued acting as his assistant, photographing the exhibits for a comprehensive inventory, I came across this photo in an album of religious images. To me, it looked like an early cloud study taken perhaps by one of the English photographers of that era. But when I showed the image to Dr. Hammer, his eyes became quite misty and he shook his head vigorously up and down. He claimed that it was irrefutable proof that St. Peter had appeared in the sky to a group of itinerant workers in Lower Saxony. One of the group was an amateur photographer, who recorded this sacred event. I couldn't see the figure of the saint at all, but Dr. Hammer excitedly circled St. Peter's head near the top of the photograph, and pointed out what he took to be the symbol of the cross on his breast plate near the middle of the image. Hammer was adamant that he could also see St. Peter's hands folded together in front of his body. Regardless of the veracity of the story behind the photograph, it was becoming clear to me that perhaps the largest curiosity of this museum was Dr. Hammer's intense, personal bond with each of the dodgy exhibits that it housed. I strangely found myself falling under their spells as well.

Daily Practice 242/365

Exhibit 52.017 (Dr. Hammer's Museum of Curiosities): Photograph Entitled "La Cola del Diablo"

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One day I came across this artifact in an album of old photographs of religious relics. Although my Spanish was rusty, I understood the title of the photograph to be "The Devil's Tail", probably a local name for a very potent pepper. I was curious about how this photograph came to be in the album, and asked Dr. Hammer to explain. He looked at me with his deep sad eyes, and disabused me of my idea that this was a photograph of a mere pepper. He assured me that a respected scholar at the Vatican had authenticated the photograph as being that of the actual tail of the Devil. He explained that every 5 years, the Devil molts his tail, the old one once discarded shriveling up as it dried out. His Vatican source claimed that the molting process was quite painful, which put the Devil in a devil of a mood so to say, which in effect caused the furnaces of hell to be turned even higher. While it seemed a completely implausible tale, I found myself smiling as I left the museum that afternoon.

Daily Practice 221/365

Title: "Exhibit 81.203 from Dr. Hammer's Museum of Curiosities"

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As I made my way around the museum, photographing the exhibits, I had a chance to observe Dr. Hammer at his work. I would often find him poring over an exhibit with a powerful magnifying glass, making notations about the smallest detail, treating each piece with a loving devotion. He intimated that he was taking such meticulous notes as research for a comprehensive catalog of the museum, for which my photographs would be crucial. It was that knowledge that made me increasingly devoted to the work as the months passed.

Daily Practice 220/365

Title: "Exhibit 79.103 from Dr. Hammer's Museum of Curiosities"

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As I engaged in the photographing of the curiosities, I often found myself puzzled by the objects. Hammer had made no systematic attempt to date or attribute them, preferring to accept the mystery of not knowing what the objects were, who had made them or why. But my highly organized mind found this frustrating, and I often pressed him for more details. Take this object, I would say - do the spirals represent sun beams, or the flames of a fire, or was the civilization advanced enough to associate helical structures with life? Hammer would always smile enigmatically and artfully deflect my questions by drawing my attention to an even more outrageously bizarre object in the collection.

Daily Practice 219/365

Title: "Exhibit 84.012 from Dr. Hammer's Museum of Curiosities"

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Dr. Hammer had a peculiar obsession to collect as many mysterious, unknown artifacts as possible for his museum. The museum was housed in an 18th century timber building in the little town of Orbitz near the Austrian border. At first the townspeople would visit the museum but they soon lost interest when they realized that there was nothing valuable at the museum, nor were there local artifacts that recorded their town's history. When I was touring the region in 1987, I came upon the museum and being curious about these curiosities, I paid the 50 pfennig entrance fee and walked into the most enchanting place I'd seen on my trip. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the objects Hammer had collected, which he presented in an eccentric way. Noting my interest, Dr. Hammer asked if I would assist in documenting the collection with my camera. As I was at a loose end, I agreed and rented a room above the town bakery, spending the last few months of summer and the fall going to the museum each day to photograph the treasures.