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Illustration Friday

Smitten

Pelz et al Eel-mincing Machine
Medium: Graphite and coloured pencil
Size: 320mm [H] x 450mm [W]

Inspiration comes from many sources; take for example this drawing of the Pelz et al Eel-mincing Machine [PEM].  I stumbled across this piece of rare machinery after reading The Book of Eels by Tom Ford – eels are indeed fascinating and mysterious creatures, but enough about them and more about this drawing. Utilising some of my international contacts I was able to trace several dated patent applications on the PEM. 

Pelz was an interesting character, a Mancunian, who at the turn of the last century made a fortune as an extraordinarily successful engineer.  The one failing in Pelz’s resume was the PEM, as it remains probably the least successful and impractical machine ever devised. 

Firstly, eels are extraordinarily difficult to catch in commercial quantities, more so at the beginning of the 20th century.  Secondly, they are an acquired taste and hence there isn’t any widespread market demand. Thirdly, there probably isn’t any useful purpose for minced eel (skin, bones and all).  Hence the economics behind the machine were non-existent and one really must ask the question: why the fuck would Pelz want to devise a machine that minces these slippery and slimy creatures? There is no answer – it remains simply inexplicable.

Thankfully this piece of gothic industrial whimsy has jumped out of the dustbin of history, been dusted off, and revamped as a drawing – a strange and slightly surreal drawing to match the strange and slightly surreal subject.

Occasionally, I’ll begin the process of drawing by doing a quick tiny sketch so as to get my bearings, especially if I want to get a better feel for the composition.  This was my quickie for the PEM [see below] and a week’s worth of rendering later we finished up with something that tries to do justice to Pelz’s vision. Just a word of warning regarding the PEM: Danger – Keep Clear of Door.