when horns are blown in opposite directions (as sound revolves around the world and finally collides...)

when things suggest and/or resemble... (or when portraits are in the center of scrawlings...)

atop is one of the most wonderful and strange cdv's i've ever found. it's from a photograph studio in evansville wisconsin, circa 1890, featuring a strange combination of a photograph of a guy with a horn and a small toy drum, floating in the center of some seriously wonderful scrawlings.

the boy in the center of this universe is clarence baker (at least that is what is scrawled on the back), and the rest of the images are "his chums" (at least that is what is scrawled on the back).

i've never seen a cdv that contained an image surrounded by drawings, and i would assume that the "drawings" are actually scratches etched into the negative. certainly dr. freud would have a field day with clarence's "chums", particularly all the snakes and the man with the horns (oh poor clarence has only one).

i wonder if the bloke in profile with a hat is clarence's alter ego and perhaps the old dude with the top hat pushing clarence forward into life - and oh what a life - is his father. i'm not sure about the strangely scary elf at the top, but clearly the horned guy with the pointed tail in his mouth is the devil - who clearly has clarence's smile...

the cdv kept reminding me of a painting, which i finally remembered was by thomas eakins, pictured below the photo of clarence. since the photo and the painting are from about the same time, i can't help but wonder if the approach of one was influential on the other. eakins painting is an 1897 portrait of henry rowland, who was considered "the highest known authority in this country upon the subject of the laws and principles of electricity..."

it is one of my favorite eakins paintings, not just because of the beautiful notational scribblings on the frame, but also the prism in the center, suggesting not just science, but perhaps some deeper mysteries and alchemical truths...

visual music (or the logger's horn is spewing red sound...)

nice RPPC of a kitchen crew at a logging camp. i posted an image of one of these meal call horns awhile ago, but this one is even better.

there's the architecture, the guy is posing with the horn as if he were blowing it, and the red ink smudge to indicate the sound.

i'm not quite sure why the sound of a long horn would be red, but these things always make me wonder what kind of colorful clouds and maps we'd see if sound really did burst forth visually from throats, beaks, instruments, machines, etc.

mr. big horn...

i got this RPPC quite awhile ago and have wondering if it was a horn or some kind of industrial object, maybe some strange early fire hose end. well, i finally heard from a postcard dealer who says it was indeed a horn that made sound, and was used by cooks in logging camps to call the loggers to meals (hence the cook looking fellow holding the horn!). now all that needs to happen is someone has to send me a recording of one of these things because i can't even begin to imagine how beautiful the low tones might be.