In my last posting, I shared several prints from a box of glass negatives. Amongst those pieces of glass was this image, Halloween from long ago. Note the double exposure, which might be called a "ghost image" — Happy Halloween twice over.
Hello Mark, This is a great image from the history of Halloween. I love the border of smaller cats. Also, I can't make it out in the photo, but is there any special design in those large buttons?
Hello, Parnassus, There is an elaborate design on those large buttons, but I'm not able to discern it. I've found that the emulsion on [this particular set of] glass negatives didn't allow the same detail one would find in, for example, a daguerreotype.
Dear Mark, How spooookkkyyy! Isn't it funny, there are several apps which add ghost images to one's photos now, but in a very uninteresting way... this one is a treasure! In one of my recent antique shop prowls, I ran across a halloween costume identical to one I wore as a small child: a boxed princess set (with K-Mart tag still attached) complete with brittle plastic mask and plastic cape.... The mask, with its peachy "flesh tone" skin, Pepto-pink lips and beady eye holes surrounded by pale blue "eyeshadow" was terrifying! How could anyone have thought that was an appropriate choice for a little child!!! Very scarrry... Happy Halloween! Erika
Your description of the uninteresting apps reminds me of an article I read recently that talked about digital images, and the speed with which we can delete them. It noted that the new technology completely alters the candid photograph as we've known it.
I still have a werewolf mask with hair from the 1960s that's quite realistic. It's all the more scary because it covers the whole head. I've found it's most effective if I wear it and don't make a sound!
Here's the Halloween scenereo; a child comes to my door and rings the bell. There's only one low light on in the living room. I appear wordlessly at the door, wearing the werewolf mask and with a bowl of candy. The child looks at me, looks at the candy, and looks at me again. Also without saying a word, he takes some candy and backs away. Only after he's off the porch does the child turn around and walk quickly away.
Dear Mark - the boy is certainly trying hard to look spooked, but in his ghostly image he is having a good laugh. I love the cat appliqué work in keeping with the Art Nouveau period.
Dear Rosemary - I enjoy both images because they evoke a more innocent time. I believe the appliqué may have been copied from a printing ornament, or dingbat, that was commonly used in newspapers of the time.
Hello Mark, Pierrot in The Comedia del'arte was a very popular figure back then and perhaps more known in French culture. He's a gentle soul who had his heart broken by his girlfriend Columbine. She was stolen away by bad boy Harlequin. I was a Pierrot once in my native Montreal, but was never beaten-up :) Loved it! Anyes XX
You are of course right that the Halloween costume is a very good interpretation of Pierrot, who would have been much more in the cultural consciousness than today!
Hello Mark, This is a great image from the history of Halloween. I love the border of smaller cats. Also, I can't make it out in the photo, but is there any special design in those large buttons?
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween!
--Road to Parnassus
Hello, Parnassus, There is an elaborate design on those large buttons, but I'm not able to discern it. I've found that the emulsion on [this particular set of] glass negatives didn't allow the same detail one would find in, for example, a daguerreotype.
DeleteHappy Halloween!
Dear Mark,
ReplyDeleteHow spooookkkyyy! Isn't it funny, there are several apps which add ghost images to one's photos now, but in a very uninteresting way... this one is a treasure! In one of my recent antique shop prowls, I ran across a halloween costume identical to one I wore as a small child: a boxed princess set (with K-Mart tag still attached) complete with brittle plastic mask and plastic cape.... The mask, with its peachy "flesh tone" skin, Pepto-pink lips and beady eye holes surrounded by pale blue "eyeshadow" was terrifying! How could anyone have thought that was an appropriate choice for a little child!!! Very scarrry... Happy Halloween!
Erika
Dear Erika,
DeleteYour description of the uninteresting apps reminds me of an article I read recently that talked about digital images, and the speed with which we can delete them. It noted that the new technology completely alters the candid photograph as we've known it.
I still have a werewolf mask with hair from the 1960s that's quite realistic. It's all the more scary because it covers the whole head. I've found it's most effective if I wear it and don't make a sound!
Happy Halloween!
Hello Mark:
ReplyDeleteOoooohhh this rather looks as if someone or something from the 'other side' is trying to make contact. What a fascinating image!
We note from your response above that you have and wear a werewolf mask.....remind us not to come knocking on your door at Halloween!!!
May all your tricks be treats. Have fun!!
Hello, Jane and Lance:
DeleteHere's the Halloween scenereo; a child comes to my door and rings the bell. There's only one low light on in the living room. I appear wordlessly at the door, wearing the werewolf mask and with a bowl of candy. The child looks at me, looks at the candy, and looks at me again. Also without saying a word, he takes some candy and backs away. Only after he's off the porch does the child turn around and walk quickly away.
On Halloween, understatement can be more scary.
Dear Mark - the boy is certainly trying hard to look spooked, but in his ghostly image he is having a good laugh.
ReplyDeleteI love the cat appliqué work in keeping with the Art Nouveau period.
Dear Rosemary - I enjoy both images because they evoke a more innocent time. I believe the appliqué may have been copied from a printing ornament, or dingbat, that was commonly used in newspapers of the time.
DeleteKinda spooky, Mark. Don't know if I would have that photo in my house. Happy Halloween. Getting ready for all the kids....they'll be knocking soon!
ReplyDeleteHi, Loi — I'm guessing that kids are "well-treated" at your house — I wish you and your neighborhood a successful, fun evening!
DeleteI don't think there's a kid today that would be caught alive in a costume like that. It's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHi, Steve - I think you're right. And I think the costumes of today would genuinely scare the kid in this photo!
DeleteHello Mark,
ReplyDeletePierrot in The Comedia del'arte was a very popular figure back then and perhaps more known in French culture. He's a gentle soul who had his heart broken by his girlfriend Columbine. She was stolen away by bad boy Harlequin. I was a Pierrot once in my native Montreal, but was never beaten-up :)
Loved it!
Anyes
XX
Hello, Anyes,
DeleteYou are of course right that the Halloween costume is a very good interpretation of Pierrot, who would have been much more in the cultural consciousness than today!