by Alex CF on May 2nd, 2010

Who are you?

My name is Alex CF, and I am the curator and custodian of the Merrylin Cryptid collection. An archive of extinct and rare cryptozoological specimens and artifacts.

In 2006, a trust was set up to analyze and collate a huge number of wooden crates found sealed in the basement of a London townhouse that was due to be demolished. Seemingly untouched since the 1940’s, the crates contained over 5000 specimens of flora and fauna, collected, dissected, and preserved by many forgotten scientists, professors and explorers of obscure cultures and species. The collection also housed many artifacts of curious origin, fragments of civilizations that once ruled the earth, of ideas and belief systems better left in the past.

But the most curious aspect of this discovery was the man responsible for its existence – the enigmatic, mysterious gentlemen that had gathered together a wealth of relics that challenged our understanding of nature; of species that had never been witnessed by the modern world, of objects which defied physical laws,

Lord and Professor Thomas Theodore Merrylin.

Born in 1782 to a rich aristocratic family, Thomas followed in his father footsteps of esoteric Natural History, investing in profitable companies to fund his travels across the world, seeking out these illusive animals which hid in forgotten continents or darkened crevices, away from prying human eyes.
They traveled together until the death of his father turned Thomas into a recluse, seeking solace in his work and befriending no one. He was self taught, yet studied at Gower street once the university had been established. Even then, he isolated himself from other students.

A bizarre quality of Merrylin was his apparent permanent youthfulness. Even in his 80’s, he still resembled a 40 year old, and his few forays into the eyes of the media only furthered his infamy. He was accused of practicing dark arts to prolong his life. Yet, he did befriend eminent scholars, who helped calm such rumors – scholars who encouraged him to share his collection with the world. In 1899, he took a small portion of his specimens on tour across America. Conservative attitudes of the time condemned these creatures, calling them blasphemous. His reaction was severe and the tour canceled before it reached California. He returned to England and fell into obscurity, until 1942.

The Tunbridge Orphanage for boys was contacted by a Thomas Theodore Merrylin, in the spring of that year. He wished to donate a sizable London townhouse to the Orphanage for use once the war was over, and children returned. The only proviso was that the basement of the house never opened and the house never sold. The Orphanage stood by this promise, until absolved in the 60’s and the existence of the cellar forgotten. Sealed behind two brick walls, the door was only found by chance when the foundations were checked prior to demolition.

The Thomas Merrylin pictured in a local newspaper, handing over the documents for ownership to the new proprietor was in his fourties. By this time, Merrylin would have been over 160 years old. The man also then promptly disappeared. Leaving no evidence of his existence. The Merrylin estate was also sold off and money given to charity.

What he left was the most incredible collection ever known, actual specimens of dragons, the infant forms of werewolves, artifacts from ancient Vampyr nations and the trappings of nefarious scientists whose existence was presumed to be mere fiction. It was this, and the apparent immortality of Merrylin that drove me to become rather fanatical with understanding the life of this man, and his world changing collection. It is my lifes work to make the public aware of this man.

The book

I have released a book, detailing the collection up until 2009, but much more is yet to uncovered. Documenting and analyzing the collection takes a great deal of time and money. The book is titled “Many Dead Things, – The specimens of Lord Merrylin” which was self published.

I am currently looking for representation from a gallery, if you wish to discuss this, please
email me.

I am also always looking to exhibit, please email me if you wish to discuss this also!

Can I buy the pieces?

The individual specimens are for sale, yes. To fund the Trust, I sell the pieces once they have been studied.. All of the work in the gallery is SOLD, but the collection houses many examples of each species and specimen, so similar works can be offered. Prices vary, depending on the piece. A typical research case is priced at around £1000. If you wish to discuss buying a piece, or ask me a question, please email me.

Please do not accept any of the cheap imitations offered by charlatans wishing to profit from Merrylin’s dedicated research. The rich tapestry that he wove cannot be obtained from cheap auction sites or from the hands of forgery.

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Q & A

by Alex CF on February 4th, 2010

Ok, so here are some of questions I have answered for the Q & A, thank you to everyone who emailed in, please keep them coming!!!

Laura wrote: Just wondered if you’ve had any real life encounters with ghosts, werewolves, faeries, or beasties that go bump in the night? If not, are you a skeptic or a believer?

I am very much a staunch non-believer in most things, but I wholeheartedly believe that the universe is capable of generating more beauty an intrigue than any human made mythology, religion or fairy tale, but despite this, I have experienced three moments in my life that have so far defied my senses. The shortest of which, well, I did some work experience when I was 14 – 15 at a florists, in the middle of the countryside, on a road with water ditches on each side and huge 9 ft tall hedges beyond these. There were no other turnings on the road for half a mile and I was busy potting some flowers. All of sudden I had the feeling of being watched and looked up to see a man, of about 70 – 80 years old, staring at me over the hedge. He had wide piercing eyes and a grin I will never forget. I looked down for a moment, only to look back and find that he had gone. I walked out on to the road, only to realise for him to be able to look over that hedge, he would have had to have been around 10 ft tall. There was also no way that guy could have sprinted the half mile to be out of sight. I ran into the florist and explained my story and with a quite matter of fact manner the manager said ” so you’ve seen our ghost.”

I guess my work is an attempt to put these creatures and entities within the realm of possibility.

Thomas wrote: “In your book you wrote about an object that may or may not be the reason Merrylin can travel through time or at least live for a long time, can you elaborate on this object and whether it will appear in your work at some point?”

The Alabast is the ultimate project, when I decided to write this biography and make it more than just a collection of unrelated weird dead things, it was one of the first things I wanted to address. Who was Lord Merrylin? How had he lived for over 100 years but not seem to age? He spent most of his youth traveling the world and had encountered so many bizarre artifacts and creatures that defy the senses, one would assume he would discover something that would at least change his perspective a little. I think at some point in his life, Merrylin changed. He was no longer that wide eyed explorer with so much wealth he could devote every moment to this obsession. His diaries swing erratically between the Merrylin whose only goal is to seek out that illusive treasure, to this stoic, monosyllabic gentlemen who appears to have unearthed something far larger and far more terrifying than say, a dead werewolf. The Alabast, the object that was the catalyst for this change is something I will approach once I have finished detailing the events that will lead to this. The work of Herbert Henrich and Robert Emille, and Ahmad Kassat are points of interest in this particular story.

Mordicai wrote: “Would you ever consider doing smaller-scale projects– perhaps something like the current Mystery Box concept– priced somewhere in the $40 to $50 range? Or even something in a large batch– resin or heck, I don’t know– for cheaper?”

Sadly the materials alone that I use to create my work start from $40 to $50, one of my most recent projects, I have spent $800 on materials before I even begin the project. My work is painstakingly slow, so you have to factor in time as well. This is my career and not a hobby, so my price reflects the work involved and the time it takes to make them. But I did attempt cheaper and smaller works, the dark pleasures pieces. The price was low and fixed and was a lot of fun but not at all cost effective, the amount of time it takes to make my work, I am basically below minimum wage! So no, I cannot afford to create works that are very cheap, If I made it any cheaper I would be selling the work for less than it cost to make.
I am however working on some resin statues, a new comic book project, the book has just been released, I have a number of print series and some work that will deal with my specimens in a more affordable setting. At the end of the day, this is my job, and although I would love to be able to create more cost effective work, the medium I work in, the work I produce, its not cheap!

Deborah wrote: “How is organising the art exhibition going & any idea when it will be taking place?”

The exhibition will take place in Shoreditch, East London some time in spring. The project has been “ramped up” somewhat with a whole new interactive slant. I am working with a partner on this project which will stretch out beyond the exhibition itself. More news to come on that but at the moment, I am one pair of hands and I have a lot work on!

fatvampire wrote: “a few years ago you got really angry about a guy who made an alice case, thus stealing the chance for you to do one. I noticed that you have a thing for alice, do you think its been long enough since that happened for you to do an alice case, because I would love to see your take on that. The cheshire cat was a good taste of how dark it would be!”

I would love to, really I would. I have a small obsession with the book and an Alice case was actually my pet project. I began writing my take on alice about six years ago alongside the illustrations, my plan was to release an interpretation of the book, and was one of the precursors to what I eventually ended up doing, that being everything you see here! I guess it was werewolves, vampires and Alice when I started. Anyway, so the guy made that case for his girlfriend, which was cute, but when you do something niche like this, you have to be a little overly protective, I was very angry, because plagiarism is the ultimate sin in my book. In answer to your question, fuck it. Yeah I will make the ultimate Alice case. I wrote the story for it, It might as well get used!

Jenni wrote: “dumb question, what is your favourite project, and do you sometimes wish you could go back and rework older projects with the knowledge you have gained over the years?”

Not a dumb question at all! My favourite projects recently – The Kassat Object, wraith case, Henrich Emille Rectangle, infant lycanthrope..To be honest most of the projects I make, i like. Don’t get me wrong, when I am working, wow, can I get frustrated. Many hours of procrastination and marathon Battlestar galactica sessions have taken over my work when I can’t get something right! I actually hit my head repeatedly against the Henrich Emille rectangle after four or five hours of trying to get the “endless corridor” to work..So my blood sweat and tears goes into most projects…literally.
I would LOVE to go back and work on some of my old projects. Wow. The exhibition will be a chance to rework old pieces, I hope my clients will appreciate any improvements I make to their work (unless they’d rather I didn’t!) My biggest critic and my good friend Chris often comments on the improvements I make to make my work, and the things he really doesn’t like about it too..So I guess if people notice improvements, thats a good thing.

Jason wrote: “Is “Many Dead Things” just documenting one of your projects or many of them?”

The book details all of my work up until this point, barring any projects I didn’t have photographs of, it does not feature any of the mechanical devices. The book deals mainly with the “Merrylin Cryptid collection” the lifes work of the mysterious Aristocrat and Naturalist Thomas Merrylin. There will be a second volume of the book at the beginning of next year.

Ladyinblack wrote: Why did you stop making retrofuture stuff?

Honestly? Its been done to death. When people start hot gluing cogs to their ipods, you know its time to get the fuck outta dodge!

KEEP THE QUESTIONS COMING!

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About

by Alex CF on January 11th, 2008

Who are you?

My name is Alex CF, and I am the curator and custodian of the Merrylin Cryptid collection. The study and documentation of the evolution and biology of unclassified species and research pertaining to prehistoric human and non human civilization.

In 2006, a trust was set up to analyze and collate a huge number of wooden crates found sealed in the basement of a London townhouse that was due to be demolished. Seemingly untouched since the 1940’s, the crates contained over 5000 specimens of flora and fauna, collected, dissected, and preserved by many forgotten scientists, professors and explorers of obscure cultures and species. The collection also housed many artifacts of curious origin, fragments of civilizations that once ruled the earth, of ideas and belief systems better left in the past.

But the most curious aspect of this discovery was the man responsible for its existence – the enigmatic, mysterious gentlemen that had gathered together a wealth of relics that challenged our understanding of nature; of species that had never been witnessed by the modern world, of objects which defied physical laws,

Lord and Professor Thomas Theodore Merrylin.

merrylin

Born in 1782 to a rich aristocratic family, Thomas followed in his fathers footsteps of esoteric natural history, investing in profitable companies to fund his travels across the world, seeking out these illusive animals which hid in forgotten continents or darkened crevices, away from prying human eyes.
They traveled together until the death of his father turned Thomas into a recluse, seeking solace in his work and befriending no one. He tutored himself in the grand Library at Merrylin house, yet also studied at Gower street once the university had been established. Even then, he isolated himself from other students.

A bizarre quality of Merrylin was his apparent permanent youthfulness. Even in his 80’s, he still resembled a 40 year old, and his few bizarre forays into the eyes of the media only furthered his infamy. He was accused of practicing dark arts to prolong his life. Yet, he did befriend eminent scholars, who helped calm such rumors – scholars who encouraged him to share his collection with the world. In 1899, he took a small portion of his specimens on tour across America. Conservative attitudes of the time condemned these creatures, calling them blasphemous. His reaction was severe and the tour was canceled before it reached California. He returned to England and fell into obscurity, until 1942.

The Tunbridge Orphanage for boys was contacted by a man purporting to be Thomas Theodore Merrylin, in the spring of that year. He wished to donate a sizable London town house to the Orphanage for use once the war was over, and children returned. The only proviso was that the basement of the house never be opened and the house never sold. The Orphanage stood by this promise, until absolved in the 60’s and the existence of the cellar forgotten. Sealed behind two brick walls, the door was only found by chance when the foundations were checked prior to demolition. The Thomas Merrylin pictured in a local newspaper, handing over the documents for ownership to the new proprietor was in his fourties. By this time, Merrylin would have been over 160 years old. The name sparked interest from those who had followed Merrylins work, most assuming him long dead. But the man claiming to be Thomas promptly disappeared. Leaving no evidence of his existence. The Merrylin estate was also sold off and money given to charity.

What he left was the most incredible collection ever known, actual specimens of taxidermied dragons, the infant forms of werewolves, artifacts from ancient Vampyr nations and the trappings of nefarious scientists whose existence was presumed to be mere fiction. It was this, and the apparent immortality of Merrylin that drove me to become rather fanatical about understanding the life of this man, and his world changing collection. What had allowed him to live so long? Where had these specimens originated from, considering there are no other examples of these species to be found on the Earth? It is this that I find so thrilling and yet so terrifying..

This is NOT a cheap sideshow or freakshow, these specimens allow us to glimpse the evolutionary paths of species that have eluded the eyes of the world. This is biology at its most intriguing..