Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: I misplaced the card I wanted for today and I am doing a rare reexamination of this card from an earlier post back in 2022 (so new to some of you) which resurfaced in the search today. (The original post can be found here.) In the first post I looked at this card as documenting a performance but today have had another look at it and am now seriously reconsidering it as a Halloween party. I believe I purchased it online, maybe on eBay or maybe on Instagram, I do not remember. It is a photo postcard that was never sent but shows evidence of having been glued into a photo album, black paper sticking to its back. There is no writing on the back and so no indication of when it was taken.
The sheer size and variety of costumes makes me consider that this is indeed a Halloween party of sorts. It is from the period of ambitious homemade costumes. We have a row of clowns and crossed legged young men wearing ghutrah (the headdress of Arab countries – had to look that up), many more clowns are sprinkled throughout the crowd, some boys in drag, a nun, some gypsies. A careful look reveals a woman in the upper right corner holding something with a sword sticking out of it – a corpse perhaps? (What was I thinking the theme of a show with this variety of entries could be?)
Clearly the stand-out for me is the small person (child?) in the center wearing a splendid Felix the Cat costume. He or she might be the only one in a full mask in this large group, identity completely hidden. Surrounded by Arabs at his feet, a man in a dress holding some unidentifiable bottles nefarious accessories on one side, a crossdressing nun behind him, a man in a tuxedo (very little imagination showing here) and a woman who appears to be dressed like an American flag (I want to say these sorts of stars and stripes costumes were a thing). Tucked almost entirely out of sight is a small woman with her face almost entirely hidden by a hajib with a star on it. Another sand out for me is the woman in the black and white checked ballooning trousers wearing the big witch hat – she has a sort of gypsy-pirate looking girl next to her.
While this group seems to mostly represent older teenagers and maybe adults, kids are lined up at the bottom so it was a very mixed group. They have gathered somewhere in front of this sizeable stage and we can assume that the folks at the top are on the stage and maybe even risers to get so many people nicely in the photo. On either side are these enormous mirrors which give us a glimpse of the room – coffered ceiling and large decorative columns on one side. (One of those columns is in front of the mirror on the right as well.) The other side gives a tiny glimpse of balcony seating or catwalk of some kind. Curtains are pulled back on the stage and a single bare bulb hangs as well as perhaps some old scenery. The floor is a shiny parquet in front of the group.
Without knowing for certain I would say Felix helps us place this photo as taken in the mid-to-late 1920’s. A rather grand gathering, although notably without any specifically Halloween decorations so perhaps the original take remains valid. Either way, I think we can assume a good time was had by all and a happy Halloween to those celebrating or participating today.
