It’s time for more Decalcomania, this time with a spooky October twist, courtesy of Special Collections at Princeton University Library!
We’ll begin with the charming card-playing skeletons you see above. While these bony boys came from a later reproduction, the original artwork, created by out-of-work artist W.F.E. Liardet, was drawn on a Chiswick wall around 1830. This gang is one of 6 vignettes depicting revived recreational activities, including billiards, drafts, cards, dice, toss, and pitch. (GA 2011.00964, Graphic Arts).
This bat doodle, pulled from the journal of John Knowles Lund, surgeon of the British steamer S.S. Cametense, kept as he traveled from Liverpool, England, to Brazil and back in 1902. On December 4th, the bosun brought Lund a vampire bat he found, which he then exterminated with chloroform. (General Manuscripts Miscellaneous Collection, C0140).
Finally this demon, found by library staff member Fabi Garcia, from an 1803 caricature etching entitled “The Funeral Procession of Buonaparte!!” The procession is led by the devil and his fleet of demons, followed by monkey pallbearers, and the Death and the Commander of the Consular Guard as chief mourners. The merry mourners include Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, and the Pope, among others. (GA 2011.01416, Graphic Arts).
Many thanks to Adrienne Rusinko, Casey Reca, and Fabi Garcia for selecting, researching, and sharing these images from special collections!
It might be a smaller, simpler Halloween this year, but that doesn’t mean it has to be any less spirited (oooo bad pun alert!). We decided to do a round up of our Halloween posts for you to peruse, just in case you needed some projects, activities, costumes, or inspiration. But if you are just here to see Katie’s ingenious candy chute, scroll to the end of the post!
