Saturday Morning, October 26, 2024
La Dance Macabre
The trio traipsed along the dark tarmac, the night masquerading their mission. A slasher. A vampire. A zombie. Their loot bags, hanging from their shoulders, were stuffed full. So far so good.
The Victorian way of death. Carte de Visite.
Mabel Walker of Ottowa, Canada, age unknown.
The missing shoe symbolizes an abbreviated life.
Oblivious to the disruptive trail they left behind, the bold brash triumvirate hastened onward, the night beckoning. There was Mrs. Dembowski's prize rose garden they had trampled into silage. The crushed boxwood along Mr. Mason's front walk, now ground to eternity. And then there was Frenchie. Who could guess how difficult an awakened bulldog could be when one kicked over his water bowl and knocked his food dish just beyond his radial reach? That escape cost them two Milky Ways and one Hershey bar. Despite this setback, all in all, the night looked promising to collect a record haul.
William Harrison Pennock Walker (1864-1915) of Ottowa, brother to Mary (above).
Twelve-year old attendee of the Grand Vice-Regal Fancy Dress Ball, 23 February 1876. Governor General Lord Dufferin hosted the ball to promote the economy. 1500 guests were costumed over three months in hopes of improving the working class's financial condition. William's father was a lawyer appointed Queen's Counsel. He married Lydia Le Baron Holmes, from Mattapoisett, Massachuetts. The Holmes family were Quaker ship builders.
Trick or Treat
We humans are a very strange breed. Three hundred and sixty-four days a year we honor the passing of loved ones with the deepest respect. Viewings and eulogies. Visitations and blessings. Tears and fears, the burden of mortality. Then, for one day only, we drop all apprehensions, shed our snake-skin doubts, shrug off our awaiting shroud. On October 31st we dance the macabre.
14k yellow gold Victorian hair memorial pin & pendant.
Death is but a trifle, a novelty, one to poke fun at, a chance to dance with the devil. Heaven can wait. Adding to the frivolity, we erect ten-foot plastic skeletons in our front yards, some in stride, some leaning against porch posts. No fear here. Add carved pumpkins, a corn stalk or two, sprinkle them with witches and warlocks. Add a cauldron, a few resin tombstones, and we are ready to go. A new display is a twelve foot inflated pumpkin. A true Jean Shepherd scene. Halloween, a night to remember.
The Pen is Mightier than the Gored
In 1963, author Jessica Mitford penned a remarkable book, The American Way of Death. It was shocking exposé journalism.
Carte de Visite, written on reverse - Samuel M. Pond in mining costume on emerging from Minnesota mine, August, 1864.
Here, the funeral business was put on trial, illustrating the true cost of dying when vanity and sorrow are mixed together. It is a toxic concoction costing a fortune for family pocketbooks and in human hearts. We all desire to "do right" for our loved ones, but what does this really entail? Most discover the answer the moment they open the funeral director's itemized invoice. 1969, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross authored On Death and Dying, a heart-wrenching tale detailing the five stages of terminal death. It was enlightening, a must read, created by a fine Swiss-American psychiatrist.. Her work was breakthrough. Both books bookmarked the 1960's decade. We finally knew how to die and how to say goodbye.
English silver ewer, reign of Queen Victoria, London, 1842, by EJB, 8 ¾" H.
Auction includes antique and twentieth century sterling hollow-ware.
All Hallow Weave
One human experience we all share is witnessing the ways past civilizations and generations have handled death. From King Tut's tomb to Tyco Brahe's exhume, various rituals have all gotten the job done.
Frontispiece for Frank Leslie's Historical Register for the 1876 US Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia, copyright 1877.
The Victorians remain one of our standouts. Surviving professional photos of the decedents are quite common. So too are the jewelry pins and watch chains woven from the decedent's hair. Somewhat unsettling today, the impact of carrying a loved one with them each day was comforting. Graveyards, designed as parks, complete with benches and tables, invited mourners to visit, even picnic. It was a common Victorian outing. This tradition of sculpted gardens, broad lawns, and towering tombstones was gifted to us. One of the best is the graveyard at the Dutch Reformed Church in Sleepy Hollow, New York.
BOO! Actually a humorous CDV of Miss Augusta Marshall and Miss Maggie Ward, New Year's Day, 1865. S.A. Thomas, Photographer, 717 Sixth Avenue, New York.
Anyway you choose, whether burned on a pyre or in a wooden ship, embalmed for eternity or green buried, there is one certainty. You are dead. So why not a night of frivolity far from forever eternity, a chance to dance with our spectral boney hosts? The theater of the absurd never sounded more normal. As a bonus, you can masquerade, be anyone you want to be and fill your bag with all the candy you can eat. Who knows? Maybe this year, you may even choose to be Frenchie. Sounds rather divine in the truest sense of the word.
Doors open at 8 AM Auction starts at 9 AM. PA AU 1265L [bb]