Quote and Credit

Quote and Credit

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Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts

How to Cook with Spirits Vernacular Photograph



How to Cook with Spirits Rotary Club Gaggle of Goblins
1946 
Books and Affordable Ebooks by the author of Dull Tool Dim Bulb HERE

Vintage Antique Gauze Linen Muslin Buckram Masks for Halloween or Theater








A fine group of novelty masks!

"Many of the masks for the early costumes were produced by U.S. Mask Company in Woodhaven, New York. Their earliest gauze masks, made of buckram, were sprayed with starch and steamed over a mold." according to the "Love to Know" website.  I am not so sure…as they can be found as coming from Czechoslovakia and other places (including the AMERICAN Mask Company, a company which originated in Europe.) They apparently moved to the United States around 1884.  They claimed to be the first mask manufacturing establishment in the United States of America.  Pages from the 1915 catalog are below. 
(Illustrated catalogue of papier mache, linen, wax, wire, gauze, show and curtain masks, noses, wigs, beards, etc. 1915 Findlay, Ohio)


Interestingly, they sold them in numerous categories including Dutchman, Devils, Dudes, Prominent men (such as presidents) and many more.  They appear to be a bit more dramatic than mine. I also find catalog pages as late as 1938 in cities other than Woodhaven.  They are probably still being made somewhere.
The material could be Buckram, which goes back to the Middle Ages.  It is a concoction of starch and strands of cotton.  You will find them called muslin, linen, gauze and likely more.  As with so many things, they look better beat-up after long use than pristine.  The ones above likely date to the late 1930s to the 1940s.

Thanks and a tip "o" the mask to BOXLOT on Facebook.

Halloween with John Spicer of Brooklyn. Snake Suit and Demon Dress all in worsted wool




The John Spicer company, a factory actually, was located in Brooklyn.  It started in 1888, and this catalog dates to around 1915, I believe.  The Halloween "body dresses" were made of worsted wool. 

John Spicer catalog circa 1915 Collection Jim Linderman
See also the books below by Jim Linderman

ECCENTRIC FOLK ART DRAWINGS OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES
THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL

A Magnificent Mask of Linen

A mask good enough to wear on the wall.  Linen with stitched ears and printed highlights, circa 1940.  Thanks and a tip "o" the hat to LL.   Collection Jim Linderman  Books and $5.99 Ebooks by Jim Linderman are available for preview and purchase HERE

Sleestak Halloween from Dull Tool Dim Bulb Handmade Folk Art Mask






After considerable thought, I've decided to go with Sleestak.

Handmade Sleestak Mask (Epoxy Resin,  Corduroy,  Paper Mache, Paint) circa 1975
Collection Jim Linderman

Captain Nemo meets Tonto and the School Bully (Halloween 1956)


Thanks to Anne, who graciously mailed this photograph in time for help with your costume selections. (But not before the local Mega-Mart started stocking candy) Particularly timely, as I am SURE the fat kid in the middle stick-poking a much slighter pirate is the school bully. Let's call him Nelson.

Vernacular Snapshot Dated on reverse 1956.