The Scarecrow, a very dense wacky

Written by sigolene Prébois

• 

Posted on July 03 2020

It was an apartment mast, planted in thrust between the floor and the ceiling and on which many objects with various functions came to be fixed. It was proudly planted on a corsair leg in cast aluminum and well turned with delicate curves all along its beech logs. I adored it and yet, it was a headache to coordinate the multiple manufacturers who produced the no less innumerable parts that made it up! It was a nightmare to install it in the shops which generally have a ceiling of more than four meters and above all false ceilings which we happily break down. But once he had found his place, he radiated like Shiva with many arms (or Saint Sebastian covered with arrows, according to your references). From top to bottom, here is what went through it: Cornettes lamps in blown glass (very collectible), shelves in folded and painted steel, a clock, a mirror, a bunch of clips for information or photos, a large and a small porcelain trinket tray, a tray and a basket woven in iron wire, which hugged the trunk like an extraordinary wasp's nest.
The mintage was limited to 100 pieces. Except for the glass lamps, the basket and the photo holders, it was entirely made in France. The naked mast cost 3600 Francs for a height between 2.80 m and 3.10 m and a complete set of accessories was worth about the same sum.

The manual was 6 pages long and began with the following sentence:

The installation of a Scarecrow at home, despite what one might believe by measuring at a glance the length of the instructions, is not an obstacle course: it is a game of 'child. All you need is an hour of time, a big screwdriver, a stepladder… and an efficient, methodical and dedicated partner.
(…)

It was an Apartment Mast, planted in thrust between the floor and the ceiling and on which many objects with various functions were fixed. It stood proudly on a corsair's foot made of cast aluminum and well turned with delicate curves all along its beech logs. I loved it and yet, it was a puzzle to coordinate the multiple manufacturers who made the no less innumerable parts that made it up! It was a nightmare to install it in shops that usually have more than four meters of ceiling and especially false ceilings that we were happily smashing down. But once it had found its place, it radiated like Shiva with multiple arms (or Saint Sebastian with arrows, according to your references). From top to bottom, here are the things that went through him: blown glass Cornettes lamps (very collector's items), shelves in bent and painted steel, a clock, a mirror, a bunch of pliers for information or photo holders, a large and a small porcelain tidy, a tray and a woven wire basket, which hugged the trunk like an extraordinary wasp's nest.
The edition was limited to 100 pieces. With the exception of the glass lamps, the basket and the photo holders, it was entirely made in France. The naked mast cost 3600 Francs for a height between 2.80 m and 3.10 m and a complete set of accessories was worth about the same amount.

The instruction manual was 6 pages long and started with the following sentence:

The installation of a Scarecrow at home, despite what one might think by measuring the length of the instruction manual at a glance, is not an obstacle course: it's child's play. All you need is an hour of time, a big screwdriver, a stepladder... and an efficient, methodical and dedicated partner.
(…)