The inspiration for this piece came from Disney; specifically, the recently discontinued stock certificates. This was a shame because these were really exceptional pieces. The stocks showed Walt surrounded by Disney characters, with attractions from the theme parks off to the side. It was both formal and businesslike, and at the same time, fun and personal. Unfortunately, I felt that the Universal Monsters had no similar counterpart. I thought about doing some faux stock certificates with the monsters, but I settled on the idea for showcasing the personal checks that came out about a decade ago. Sadly (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) I couldn't find any "off-the-shelf" product for displaying checks, so I had to come up with my own layout; something, like the Disney stocks, formal yet fun. Basically, I wanted to make a display that would look equally good whether hung in a country club or a dungeon. I saw that some collectors display rare currency in a Lucite block and wanted to incorporate that into my design. It is kind of hard to see from the pictures, but the checks are actually mounted behind Plexiglas on a stained wooden plaque. I found a classy looking frame and thought that this project would be simple and straightforward; little did I realize the numerous pitfalls and setbacks that awaited me. It took me a little over two months to round up and assemble all the components, but I think that it ultimately came out quite well.
(http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/5435/k6qg.jpg)
(http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/1861/00kz.jpg)
Uhm-are you an expert forger? :angel: Those "signatures" look real from the size of the photo. How did you pull that of exactly? 8)
Magic of the interwebs for the sig images I imagine
I scaled them to size and traced them on a lightbox. I really wasn't trying to fool anyone (especially since the checks came out decades after each of them died), just a little added touch :).
Should have filled in the checks. ;D
PAY: Frankenstein $ 1931
Nineteen Thirty One DOLLARS
Wow, that looks great! Man, I wish I was crafty....
This is fantastic!
Great project! Very nicely done!
Great work! I really enjoy seeing custom made displays.
I hate to bump this one forward, but I was going to modify this plaque to include the matching UM mailing labels that Checks Unlimited offered at this time. Unfortunately, their very existence has disappeared from the internet. Does anyone have any high quality scans and/or photos of all four of these labels (or better yet, some left over original ones that I could purchase). Please let me know, thanks.