Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: I am admittedly a sucker for both moon photos and photo collages like this one. Purchased at the most recent card show I grabbed it up for my pile of loot immediately. It is an odd card however and arguably a bit different than my other mooning purchases. (For a few of those past posts you can look here and here!)
As best I can read the foreign cancellation it was sent in 1908 in the Netherlands. The cancellation is faded and hard to read in addition to being foreign. I show the back below. Addressed to Maynheer Charles Moeganck. In very faded pencil, Celestine Van de Velde is written, probably in the same hand, on the left. There is no publication information on the back.
On the front in the lower left corner is the emblem NPG which stands for Neue Photographische Gesellschaft. NPG existed from 1894-1948 and worked this side of the street with creative photo postcards which showcased new techniques – color photography and the use of photo paper in rolls for the printing were among their advances. This would have been the sort of sweet spot for their work at the time. It was the largest producer of cards of this kind for a period of time and eventually branched out across Europe and even New York. (The internet notes that it was a socially responsible company which provided health insurance and paid vacation. The factory housed a library, reading room and a dining hall.)
The main feature of this card is this slightly weird image of a beautiful woman whose head is sort of growing out of the slice of moon. The curls to the back of her head are in black and white and morph somewhat into the moon, while her face is awash in this yellow color. The color also fades out on her neck making it appear a little bit lie she is made of marble but coming to life. Her eyes, when examined closely, have been manually highlighted and gives her a strange look as a result.
This brings to mind a favorite painting at the Met – Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Léon Gérôme. I could only find this slightly cropped version below but look at how her flesh warms as she becomes human. Feels a bit the same, right?
Surrounding this woman in the postcard, are stars and in each of the stars is the image of a different woman or girl. Two are very young girls, two are slightly older and the woman in the lower right corner is an adult sporting a hat. There is something very homemade about the way they are collaged in – as opposed to the artfulness of the larger image, yet their yellow stars glow in the shiny black background.
The background is a reflective material which has some sort of oxidized bits, nonetheless, the overall feeling is a rich, shiny black background. I love it!
Comic Expo in Brooklyn today – hope to see you there.
