wave hello, say goodbye

happy new year!

1914

betty lindley photographed by alexander bassoon, 1914

goldfish and palette paris, quai saint-michel by henri matisse, fall 1914

charlie chaplin & roscoe arbuckle in “the masquerader”,  keystone pictures, 1914

"men wanted for hazardous journey. small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. honour and recognition in case of success."

according to legend, this is an ad placed in a london newspaper by antarctic explorer sir ernest shackleton, august 1914.

the funeral of archduke franz ferdinand & his wife, killed during attack on sarajevo, july 2, 1914

(his assassination triggered the start of world war I)

la marchesa luisa casati with peacock feathers by giovanni boldini, 1914

grand prix de l’automobile club de france prix (a fiat in the foreground) photographed by maurice-louis branger, 1914

francisco "pancho" villa on the presidential seat & emiliano zapata photographed by agustin victor casasola, dec. 6, 1914

trousers dress from paris. photo by bain news service, feb. 14, 1914

vaslav nijinsky as the spectre in "le spectre de la rose," photographed by e.o. hoppe, 1914

rural mail delivery, 1914

fish & vegetable meals will save wheat, meat & fats for our soldiers & allies, propaganda poster, 1914

egon schiele photographed by anton josef trčka, vienna, 1914

grigori rasputin in hospital recovering from an attempt on his life, 1914

merry merry

jultomten or tomte (sweden)

nisse (norway & denmark)

jultomten & nisse are mythological creatures from scandanavian folklore that are usually small, elderly men (no taller than 3 feet) with full beards & dressed as farmers. they deliver gifts in exchange for a bowl of porridge with butter.

krampus (austria & hungary)

st. nick's devil-like counterpart punishes bad children who have misbehaved. he carries chains & a basket to carry off the really bad children to his lair.

zwarte piet (belgium, the netherlands)

zwarte piet or "black pete" was santa's african or moorish slave who helped him distribute gifts. he also had the task of abducting naughty children & whisking them away to spain (i guess their idea of hell?)

mummers (latvia)

mummers are associated with the winter solstice & date back to pagan times when people would try to employ magic to encourage the sun to return. the mummers go from house to house disguised as animals, gypsies & zombies. they play music to bestow blessings on the homes as well as drive out evil spirits & ensure fertility during the year to come. 

mari lywd (wales)

mari lywd translates as "gray mare" & involves carting a horse door to door accompanied by a group of singers & dancers. this tradition is a holdover from pagan celebrations before christmas was introduced to wales. 

kallikantzeri (greece)

kallikantzeri are malevolent goblins that dwell underground but come to the surface during the twelve days of christmas, from december 25th to january 6th.  it is believed that they stay underground sawing the world tree which holds up the world.

christkind (germany)

the chriskind is a winged, fairy-like being, dressed in gold & white robes with a crown upon her golden locks. known as the christ child's messenger, she visits each house with a basket of presents.

she dates back to the 1500s when martin luther promoted her to discourage the figure of st. nicholas.

julbocken (sweden)

the straw goat that brings presents to children can trace its origins back to the scandanvian myths of thor & his goats. in medieval plays, he accompanies st. nicholas & was the incarnation of the devil.

la befana (italy)

an old witch named la befana fills the socks of good children with candy & lumps of coal are left for the bad. she uses her broom to clean untidy houses before she leaves. scholars believe she is a medieval reincarnation of the ancient roman deity strenia, goddess of strength & endurance.

how to dress for halloween

venice bal besteigui photographed by robert doisneau, september 3, 1951

marisa berenson dressed as marchesa luisa casati at le bal proust photographed by cecil beaton, 1971

a group of elves with an elf king, 1909

gala & salvador dali’s “night in a surrealist forest” dinner party, 1941

oscar de la renta (left) and baron alexis de rede (right) at de rede's bal oriental, 5 december 1969

marquise mahaut de chabannes in cléopatra costume for  marchesa casati’s “fete of ancient splendour," at her rose palace photographed by george hoyningen-huene,  ca. 1927 

senhora espírito santo and the duke and duchess of cadaval at the surrealiste ball, 1972

suzy beryl wearing an erté costume in coeurs en folie (la revue des folies bergère), 1924

venice bal besteigui photographed by robert doisneau, 3 september 1951

costume party, ca. 1920s

bal des masques organized by baron de redé at the hôtel lambert, (possibly bal des têtes) photographed by andré ostier, 1956 

 jacques fath as "charles IV", madame fath as "elizabeth of austria" and christian bérard as "henry VIII" atthe bal des rois et reines, paris, 1949

marquisa luisa casati wearing "queen of the night" costume designed by léon bakst, 1922 

mrs. robert l. stevens dressed as greta garbo for the masquerade ball given by muriel maxwell in the crystal room at the ritz, photographed by edward steichen, paris,  9 december, 1929

kids in halloween costumes photographed by arthur tress, ca. 1960s

okay, okay, so most of these are not from halloween....but really, aren't these costumes so much more interesting than a slutty nurse or slutty slut?

happy new year

la goulue assise sur une chaise, c.1890 photographed by louis victor paul bacard.

happy easter

doutzen kroes directed by daniel jackson.

happy new year!

v&a christmas tree

v&a christmas tree by studio roso.
the v&a has commissioned designers studio roso to create a christmas tree for the grand entrance of the museum. the handmade tree is made of 3.3 miles of elastic cord. a total of 1500 individual strands have been combined to create the outline of a traditional christmas tree. the geometric shapes reference both traditional christmas ornaments & the crystalline structure of snowflakes & icicles.

i'm a yankee doodle dandy

hollywood's sizzling blonde bombshell, marilyn monroe, advises to "beware of danger" while celebrating on the fourth of july, 1953

girls wave american flags in the air to encourage people to buy war bonds, ca. 1942

parade, hoboken, new jersey by robert frank,  1955-56

rosie the riveter

native americans, wisconsin dells on july 4th, by francis miller, 1953

two girls pose in their best american flag wear, ca. 1905

youngsters in dallas, texas blast a tin can, july 4th, 1955

joan crawford in the air for the 4th of july, 1927

a young boy holds fireworks on the fourth of july in 1916

two women frolic with an american flag, ca. 1915

fourth of july party, st. paul, minnesota by albert munson, ca. 1908

susan hayward, 4th of july pin up, ca. 1938

family readies for the 4th of july celebration, ca. 1905

4th of july postcard, ca. 1900-1910

for all my fellow americans, happy 4th of july!