Winter Art

Snow Man
Cut Paper Construction
by Beverly McDonald
1936
from her kindergarten scrapbook



The artist

Christmas In Black and White

A few snapshots from Christmas Past.

Style 85 $1

This photo was found among the files of a long-closed manufacturer of ladies' undergarments. As primitive as it is, I like the over-the-top visual effect. Much of the process is revealed on close examination. The woman's image was cut out, pasted over the radiant black and white burst, then rephotographed. Then all of the white lines and the model's abdomen were hand-painted with white before being photographed again. There's a thumbtack hole in each corner and remnants of glue on the surface. This was a hard-working picture.

B & W

Last night I was looking for a recipe to liven up some black beans and white rice, so I Googled "moros" and discovered that in Cuba the full title of this dish is Moros y Christianos, or Moors and Christians to an anglophone like me. A little improvisation made for a delicious dinner. And that's just to segue into yet another of the mysteries of black and white.

The cabinet card shown above was taken by J. H. Peters & Co. at the New York Gallery in San Francisco, CA. The gallery was in business between 1869 and 1887.

Not given is any clue as to who these two ladies are, or why they were so innovatively attired. I welcome your speculation.