ALTAMONT — Years ago, a swaggering kitten, dark as a blackberry in the ripest part of summer, got the name Tuffy, short for Tough Guy, from a man who says he was good luck.

Before black cats became synonymous with misfortune, English sailors prized them for their luck, said Rob Curtiss. Sailors knew that black cats brought good weather because they tested the theory, he said matter-of-factly.

Curtiss has an exhibit of international good luck charms on display at the Altamont Free Library this month.

Part of the display is a carved wooden head of a serene black cat, paw raised in greeting. It is a Japanese prosperity cat, Curtiss said. He cupped his hand next to his ear, mimicking the carved cat, and waved demurely, eyes cast upward, as he told of how the cat waved to the samurai that were coming to raid its monastery.

After the soldiers came, he said, a storm broke and they were trapped. While the storm raged, the monks told the soldiers the story of Buddha. In the end, the samurai became the monastery's greatest benefactors, he said.

Curtiss has taken great care in arranging his various trinkets in the library's glass display case, each with its own hand-labeled sign. An Egyptian scarab sits next to a rhinestone-encrusted ladybug pin, which isn't far from a framed Australian butterfly.
"I’ve traveled," Curtiss said of how he acquired the luck menagerie. "I like to stop at garage sales," he added.
A simple wooden cross, hung with tiny tin charms, is his favorite part of the collection. It is a Milagros, he said, from South America, and it is used to express gratitude for blessings. The heart is the most important charm, he said, because it represents human relationships. Curtiss found the Milagros at a Methodist church sale in Delmar. "They have all sorts of treasures," he said.

Curtiss has long been in the business of curiosities. Doing research for Ripley’s Believe It or Not he discovered an area nurse who had collected hundreds of bed pans; her collection is now on display at the Ripley’s museum, he said.
Once, Curtiss said, he collected research for a series he called: Secrets of Longevity From 100-Year-Old People. What he found, he said, was that the centenarians had spirituality and a support system. "Of course," he added, "genes help, too."
His latest project includes the head of a Buddha statue; its placid face lies sideways on the bottom shelf of the Altamont Library's display cabinet next to a sign labeling it: Smiling Buddha. Rubbing the belly of a Buddha is good luck, Curtiss said. And, as for where this particular head came from, he said, "It might have been at that wonderful church in Delmar."

Another treasure from the East on display is part of a Chinese wedding robe, embroidered with bats for good luck. Bats make a sound that is similar to the Chinese word for luck, said Curtiss, which is something he learned from an artist selling her paintings in the Stockade area of Schenectady — his own hometown.
"I like it when they have a history and they have a life," he said of what draws him to the good-luck charms. "You ever go to the bingo parlor and see all the charms"" he asked.

With high hopes of landing five in a row, people bring along rabbit feet and worry stones rubbed bare, he said; tables at the bingo hall are always piled with good-luck charms.
"Everyone has anxieties," he said. "So they need something strong in their life to cling to."