26 days to halloween

i'm a nut for halloween imagery. my favorite colors? you guessed it, orange and black. one of my favorite holiday illustrators is ellen clapsaddle who did most of her best-known work in the early years of the last century. her images are both spooky and heavily redolent of the whimsy of childhood. i'm not a collector of her cards -- original cards go for a pretty penny nowadays -- yet we have several repros that make for gorgeous viewing, like the example on the left.

clapsaddle was a prolific artist who made postcards and greeting cards for all manner of occassions and holidays. she also did several for the thanksgiving day holiday, which makes her unique because there really are very few commercially made decor for that holiday. thanksgiving is probably the least marketed holiday and some might argue the purer for it being so.

but for me, clapsaddle is best for halloween. she hits the nail squarely and her images of witches, and harvests, jack 0'lanterns, and even, yes, young women who, it was once believed, would find a soulmate on halloween, are an important layer to this most special of days.

happy halloween!