Halloween postcard, ca 1915
Happy Halloween! (a few days early) The two postcards shared this Thursday are reproductions of original cards from about 1915. Both have verses, which seemed a popular card addition for the time, and both were printed by the small local printing company, Laughing Elephant. As mentioned before, Laughing Elephant specializes in Vintage illustration reproductions. Not much is known about the original publisher, E. Nash, who is credited with producing both cards.
Halloween card, ca 1915
Both cards have witches, black cats, brooms and owls but they also have differences. The top card has a witch making a love potion. She has a charm, a candle, and a spider as well as the usual cat, broom, and owl. The second card adds a pumpkin, geese, the moon, and a cauldron.
Halloween has deep roots going back to the Druids, Celtic people who lived mostly in Ireland, as early as 400 B.C.E. It was thought that the last day of October was the night when the veil between the spirit realm and the living was the thinnest, thus allowing spirits and other supernatural forces to descend and cause mischief or harm. Cats were thought to be the spirits of humans who had done bad deeds in life. Black cats were those spirits who were unfortunate enough to be cursed for their misdeeds. Following the introduction of Christianity witches were divided into two camps; those who were known for their wisdom and medicine, and those who were believed to worship the devil. It was even believed that evil witches could turn themselves into black cats.
Treats were left on doorsteps to appease the evil spirits and led to the tradition of dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating by children today. Jack-o-lanterns were originally carved out of turnips, lit with candles, and used to scare away unwanted visitors. If a spider fell into a candle-lit lamp and was consumed by fire, people thought that witches were nearby. Owls are nocturnal, make hooting or screeching sounds, and were thought be spooky, hence becoming another natural symbol of Halloween.
Brooms were associated with different things; such as, pagan fertility rituals, when farmers would leap and dance astride poles, pitchforks, and brooms in moonlight to encourage their crops to grow. Also, brooms can be symbols of good luck, suggesting that they sweep away evil and bad fortune.
For more information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Day
https://www.history.com/news/why-witches-fly-on-brooms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
https://www.mercattours.com/blog-post/7-old-halloween-traditions-that-might-give-you-the-chills
https://www.cardcow.com/c/67299/artist-signed-e-nash/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid
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