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Felix and Betty Boop Affair

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: This photo found its way to us via Tom Conroy – a friend of Kim’s who has generously sent us many wonderful photos from his collection. Thank you Tom!

Many variations of this photo session abound on eBay and can be found on the internet. Interestingly, this exact image does not appear on the Google photo file. (Although I guess it will now.)  The actress is generally identified as Helen Kane, but Kim was thinking May Questel which lead to an active Google search and discussion in bed with the iPad the other night. Kim leans seriously toward May Questel. I include period photos of May and Helen and I would say it is a tough call indeed!

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The question of why Betty Boop is posing with Felix is another one. Clearly there was Betty/Felix empathy – as shown in my post, The Strangeness of French Betty and Felix. Speculation is that at some point the properties were owned by the same company and this low level promotion occurred. Still, as you know, it has long been my philosophy that Felix improves anyone’s status – and we know that Betty had a long-standing affection for dogs, so why not a clever cat?

As a point of strange symmetry (and because you can never have too much Felix) I offer this early photo postcard of a man posing with a Felix cut-out. This has a place of honor with my collection of photos of people posing with large stuffed Felix dolls. I have always guessed that this photographer could not afford a proper stuffed Felix to pose with and did his best.

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Toy Shelf

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: This comes with a big shout out to FB friend Stewart Patton who sent this to me recently. He posted it on our page a ways back and I had publicly drooled over it. It is an odd size, 6.5″x 8.5″ and printed all crooked. (I have cropped it a tiny bit to make the crookedness a bit less distracting.) There is no information on it. It is interesting in that from the waist up the little boy is in sharp focus and the rest isn’t, despite the shallowness of the space.

Stewart says this hails most recently from an antique’s mall in Denver, Colorado. It could easily go another way, but part of me feels like it could have been taken in Europe. At a glance, these toys seem to be European brands, although all also sold in this country.  Strange how this bookcase of toys seems to be set, freestanding, in the middle of a room – we can see the rest of the room peeking around the back, a spot of sun and a chair in evidence.

The toys are amazing and it kills me a bit that they aren’t in sharper focus! Still, there’s a hot black cat on the top right, a perfectly excellent elephant in front of it, and that righteous polka-dot stuffed toy at the bottom left. The line up of toy elephants and indistinct other animals on the middle shelf, bunnies and a myriad of things we can’t see on the second shelf, give the photo a sense of opulent excess. The multiples of some toys make it feel more like a toy store than one child’s toys. The print on the little boy’s shirt is great and the ball he is holding makes me think he’s literally got the world in his hands. What a very lucky fellow he was indeed!

(To see another photo of lucky childhood toy wonder have a quick look at my Tea Party photo post.)

 

Kim’s Favorite Photo

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M*F #2

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Hoo-ha! When I first spotted this photo on eBay and showed it to Kim, he said, “That’s my kind of cat photo!” Despite his enthusiasm, I purchased it anyway. It is a pretty great card.

It is sort of hard to say anything about this photo that isn’t fairly self-evident – but really, what a kick in the head! How crazy – posing that (very nice) black cat toy and a mouse on this French babe while she reads a book on a stand! (What could she be reading?) I have a mental image of the photographer and the model, doing these postcards day after day and trying to come up with something – anything! – new, until one day it came down to the cat and mouse. This comes from a long tradition of so-called risqué postcards produced by the French – there are dozens of cards on eBay right now of partially or fully unclothed women holding cats so this is a bit of a play on that as well I think. And of course, presumably some, um, cat puns.

I believe the cat is a popular Steiff model that came in a myriad of sizes. I don’t actually own one of them – unlike their teddy bears their cats do not have an especially expressive face. They feel cookie cutter to me. The mouse was probably the hard part – he or she has a nicely distinct mouse shape. Our apartment houses a large number of life-like mice – Cookie in particular can play with them for hours. Right now we have some in lurid colors – she is especially fond of a bright red one. But life-like though they are – this one has an especially mouse-y form.

Okay, I know I am probably the only one out here analyzing the toys. But remember boys, toys are catnip to me like this image was meant to be for you!

Mistinguett – Felix Goes to the Dogs

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post:  Shown here is a recent acquisition. A press photo of a French stage star posing with her dog – and Felix! Plenty of evidence that, in addition to regular folks, stars enjoyed posing with Felix to help burnish their public image. (My Felix Makes the Picture Better illustrates this point, and look for several of actress Lilian Harvey that will be future posts.)

This one is undated which is unusual for a press photo. Glued to the back is a scrap of paper that reads, MISTINGUETT, the French musical comedy star, concluding her appearance here in ‘Innocent Eyes,’ sailed yesterday with her ‘million dollar legs’ for home abroad the Paris. She was accompanied by her dog, Alfred! And his stuffed playmate, Felix. staff Photo-Steffen

Okay, more about Mistinguett in a moment – but the Felix belonged to her dog? As a toy collector I am, needless to say, a bit horrified. We will assume that, if true, those particular toys are unlikely to show up on eBay today – although an interesting story for someone who finds one with little dog-toothy tears. How often did the Felix-es need replacing I wonder – Felix is almost as big as Alfred. I take comfort in the fact that I deeply suspect that it was a put up job for the photograph and that the pristine Felix toy went on his way with the photographer awaiting his turn with Dolores Costello and others.

There is a huge amount of information about Mistinguett on the internet. Born on April 5, 1875 as Jeanne Bourgeois she evidently decided to be an entertainer at an early age. She took the stage name Mistinguett and became the toast of Paris – the highest paid entertainer of her day. Her actual skill as a singer seems to be questionable, but clearly she had something and was quite the ‘It Girl’ of her time. The lover of Maurice Chevalier and King Alfonso XIII of Spain, she was a famous dancer of the Apache – one of France’s contributions to socially acceptable S&M entertainment. The IMDb database claims that her legs were insured for a mere 50,000 francs – but let’s not quibble. Her long filmography starts in 1908, but with only one film in the sound era, the 1936 Rigolboche, which appears to be available. One review sites her as a bit long in the tooth for the part – understandable since she was 61 at that point. (In all fairness, there’s a leggy photo of her when she was 50 that is pretty hotsy-totsy. It can be viewed, with much additional information on her at www.yodaslair.com/dumboozle/mist/mistdex.html) There are several fuzzy dupey clips of her singing on Youtube and I have spared you any of these.

Innocent Eyes, the show mentioned on the photo, was mounted to feature her and introduce her to American audiences and was pretty soundly panned. She never clicked here. Mistinguett seemed unperturbed however and I snatch a quote from the above mentioned website, In her autobiography, Mistinguett recalls the results of her efforts to learn English for this engagement:  My pronunciation was a great success.  ‘Innocent Eyes’ on my tongue became ‘Innocent Asses.’ I was begged not to improve on it. She was, as my grandmother used to say, a real piece of work.

And I can only guess that she was perhaps less than entertained with the idea of posing with the American film super star, Felix. Perhaps that is how she came to demote him to the role of dog toy!

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Are those cat ears? An early poster image borrowed from the Google photo file.

Wooden Novelty Co.

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Wowzers! Can you image walking into this place and trying to take it all in? Enough eyeball kicks for a lifetime here. I know I purchased this on eBay – not that long ago, but it was at the bottom of a pile that was upturned recently. I don’t remember how I found the listing since it has no easily discernible cats here – some over to the right if you look carefully. It was most likely the Mickey Mouses on the top shelf. It is an 8″x10″ photo, no information or identification on the back.

I believe kits and plans for the ashtray stands were widely available and the stands are very prevalent at flea markets and antique stalls – executed with varying skill. Mine, shown here with Blackie examining it, was purchased at the end of the day at the 26th Street garage flea market here in Manhattan. I had barely shown interest in it (despite what impression I may have given, I actually do try to be mindful that we live in a very small apartment) when the dealer, clearly desperate to pack up less than he still had, threw out some ridiculously low figure and I felt compelled to make it mine. As with most things of this kind once purchased, I have not regretted it.

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Not long after, I attended one of the Pier Shows dedicated to antiques and saw a stall of what must have been thirty or more, all variations on the cat design, lined up together. It was a magnificent display and when I win the lottery and retire very wealthy I fully intend to recreate it. There is something about these wooden cut outs which does make a group as a whole more impressive, perhaps than the parts alone.

My affection for this genre has extended beyond cats and below I share the other two I own. The parrot, which holds my house keys with a nail, my addition, has been my key holder for more than twenty years. He was purchased off the street some place, as was the other bird acquired subsequently, which has never quite found the right spot in the apartment. He (or she) is actually a tiny shelf.

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Whirligigs seem to fall loosely into this category too – and I have adored those since I was a child! There was a man in a neighboring town who made ones for the backyard to move in the wind, set on a pole. We purchased a much beloved little man sawing logs. I think he may have met his end in one of the many hurricanes or nor’easters of my childhood. There’s a Felix version that I admit to having my eye on, but again, we do live in a very small apartment…

 

 

Hunters

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Group shot outside

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post:  I purchased this photograph in Seattle a number of years ago. Kim was doing a reading out there and I tagged along and made my one and only foray, to date, to the Pacific Northwest. I killed a day or two in junk stores there and came home with surprisingly little under the circumstances. I have already pointed out on numerous occasions how splendid Portland, Oregon is for early photographs – by rights Seattle should be its kissin’ cousin, but that was not readily apparent on that trip.

This is a good size photo, 8×10 – I should know how it was made, but am not sure. My best guess is that it was made from some sort of dry plate process and it is a contact print of some kind. It is utterly unmarked – no maker, no date, absolutely no information whatsoever. It is a serious looking group – hunting I assume with all those rifles. No leisure trip this however – these men (and single boy – is that ammo on his chest?) mean business. The two guys with ties and suit jackets mystify me and some of the hats look a bit out of place for hunting as well. I am not sure why, but I believe I thought more about mining than hunting when I first acquired it although there’s really nothing to tie it to mining. It is an odd photo for me to own, no cats, not even a dog! Yet for some reason I could not resist it.

Strangely, it has remained in a place of pride on a table by our front door. I can’t say it is one of my favorite photos, but there is something compelling about it and I do stop to look at it occasionally and wonder. There’s something great about it – a window to something in the past.

 

 

Alfred Latell

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post:  I had my eye on this postcard on eBay for a while – holiday purchases needed to all be complete before I could justify the splurge and buy it. I adore animal imitators from the turn-of-the-century – starting with the 1907 Dancing Pig from France (possibly the very best short film ever) to George Ali as Nana in the 1925 Peter Pan – and all those wonderful early Wizard of Oz films. I love them all! Kim knows my passion for them and this is one of the first drawings he ever gave me – Animal Impersonators – a play on the idea.

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This postcard was used. Addressed on the back to The two Brothers “Mathuss” Cassimo si Paris Theater, Burner Pesth, Hungary. The postmark is illegible but the message reads, in English, Dear Boys, good wishes to you. great success. My sincere good thoughts. Your father. The photo studio is Atelier & Bromsilber which seems to have been a well-known studio.

This photo is my introduction to Alfred Latell whose career evidently started in 1902 and lasted into the 1940’s. Online I found a 1936 ad for a show with Alfred Latell as, yep you guessed it, Bonzo Dog – which is how this card was also advertised. An online Encyclopedia of Vaudeville calls Latell one of the most curious acts in vaudeville. It says, He specialized in the impersonation of animals, not only dressing in various guises but also providing the appropriate noises. He began his career in 1902 and by 1909 had gained considerable notoriety for his imitations of monkeys, billy goats, bears, and dogs. It was the last animal that Latell found the most difficult to imitate, for as he explained in an article in The New York Dramatic Mirror, ‘To play the part of a dog and not to buffoon him, one is obliged to make a close study of his every action. The dog is so close to mankind that he is know more intimately than any other of the domestic beasts, with the exception possibly of the horse…The cat is a difficult animal to impersonate, though not so much as the dog, because of the fact of its slower movements. I have gone out at night with my cat suit on and have sat for hours watching the smaller back yard cats as they stalked along the fence or sat watching the moon rise o’er some neighboring buildings.’

He went to great lengths – rigged up a hind leg, improving his dog movement, and had a special tube made for his mouth which allowed him to appear like he was lapping up milk.  With a string he could raise the fur on the back of the cat suit! He also impersonated birds, ‘The parrot was one of my first bird impersonations, and I found it one of the most difficult of all, because of its crouching posture and the consequent tendency to fall over while walking.  There are nine strings which have to be operated in working the head, bill and wings, and the work is laborious in every sense of the word.” (The Art of Animal Acting, The New York Dramatic Mirror, May 1, 1909.)

Evidently Latell had an act with one and then a subsequent wife – his characters did not speak and he had to perform with a partner who would introduce him and do the talking. The internet is spotted with a mention in Green Book here and an ad in a theatrical paper there. His career peters out with a random performance or two on Broadway in the 1940’s. I was not able to find any film clips of him to share. For another photo of him and a bit more information, I refer you to another WordPress blog post Stars of Vaudeville #561.As a salute to great anthropomorphic animal entertainment, a link to the wonderful French dancing pig below!

The Cat Card Comes Back

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: This is a story of one that got away, but came back and gave me another shot. I loved this card, but lost it to an insanely high bid on eBay several months ago. I was very unhappy about it – it combines my favorite elements of early photography and, of course, a great, dignified cat who seems to know something about posing for the camera. Last week what I assume is another copy showed up on eBay and I bid as high as I could – and won it! It is wonderful – a crystal clear photo. I took a loop to it in order to check out the strange doll in the carriage – yes, it appears to have a monkey head. I guess that got the kiddies going with a smile if Mr. Cat could not. The tag line reads COME ALONG WITH US.

Like so many of my best photo postcards, this one hails from Portland, Oregon, the origin of great, early photo postcards. The copyright is 1910, also inscribed on the front and it was taken by D.A. Ovens. It is unused and otherwise undated. I did not have brilliant results in finding out about our photographer, Mr. Ovens.  I found some copyrights on his photos with no images and this one image below off a Oregon library history site:

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Assuming he had a photo studio in Portland I am unable to uncover any information about it.

For myself, I fantasize that Mr. Ovens traveled around pushing this baby carriage with doll, cat and camera and stopping to take your photo. How splendid that would have been to encounter on a downtown street in Portland, Oregon in 1910 and pose to have our photo taken with the kitty!

 

Flying Dutch Kitties

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: There are endless examples of early images of kittens dressed up and doing cute human-type things. However, I have never purchased one until this one hit my radar recently. It just cracks me up! As you can see by the writing, it is Dutch. A very rough translation gratis Google tells me that this is a bit of advertising and the back informs the recipient (this one not used) that the vendors hope to see them this week and that they offer high value for their orders – whatever those might be. The front makes reference to “our kitties which will soon be in the air!” (Any readers who speak Dutch please reply below!) What were these kitties selling? I’m buying!

I am always threatening to dress the cats up and take their photo – Kim begs me not to injure their dignity that way and I am brought to my senses. This image strikes me as a perfect marriage of low tech and professional – like those glorious ‘homemade’ cars and machines the Little Rascals used to have. I especially love the balloon!

I gather the key mover behind the cats-dressed-as-people movement was Harry Whittier Frees (1879-1953) – sort of a Louis Wain of early photography. I snatched the quote below from Wikipedia and it come from his own book, Animal Land on the Air, discussing the superiority of kittens as models,

Rabbits are the easiest to photograph in costume, but incapable of taking many ‘human’ parts. Puppies are tractable when rightly understood, but the kitten is the most versatile animal actor, and possesses the greatest variety of appeal. Yay kittens!

The practice spread widely beyond Whittier Frees – as we can assume this card was made by someone else. For a healthy serving of these I suggest this site on littlethings.com. I have stolen a single image from it, shown below by an unidentified photographer.

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A Girl and Her Toys

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Another fine example of an item where Kim and I disagree! He’s never been fond of this triptych of toy photos, but I have always liked it since buying it many years ago on eBay. In recent years I have allowed it to be replaced on the wall by some images that we are more mutually fond of, but I stubbornly continue to champion it. My guess is that the small cat toy – barely visible here and in the lower right corner, is how it came to my attention. It really is all about this enormous, lovely teddy bear however. What a lucky little girl!

The background shifts a bit with each subsequent shot until we end up with that interesting bit of advertising featured behind her in the third shot. I will admit that these are somewhat inept from a technical point of view, going from slightly over exposed to too dark in the third shot. I am in love with the idea of a series like this though.

As the child of a man with a masters in film and a news cameraman (his entire career spanning more than thirty years spent at ABC News) you would think I would have been subjected to projects such as this. He did labor over his photos and I have memories of what seemed like endless adjustments of the light meter at a variety of family landmark moments while we stood impatiently. However, such a formal approach never appealed to him. I offer a Christmas snapshot of me as a tiny sprout with my favorite dog toy, dubbed Squeaky, one Christmas morning, who incidentally I still own. I think we can see early signs of a nascent toy collector in this one!

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