David Davis was an art supply dealer in New York. He closed before the turn of the century–well before, so I have no idea how old this Venice turpentine I found this morning is. At least 20 years old.
At one time, Peal Paint and David Davis were art supplier royalty in NYC. I spent a lot of time in both places, mostly window shopping. Then,
Pearl, on Canal, was larger by far but David Davis held his own by maintaining in-house brands like this Venice turpentine. David Davis moved around a lot and the last time I visited them there a chill in the air, almost paranoia. The impression I got was that customers were viewed with dull suspicion. They closed soon after.
Of course, this VT is unusable. Balsams should not be as thick as taffy. Syrupy is OK, but taffy?–no. Anyway, I tried a little of it before throwing it away. As I said, it’s not usable.