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Posted: 16 Sep 2016

Taken: 16 Sep 2016

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Keywords

happily ever after •
divination •
Halloween •
fireplaces •
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1900s •
printed •
anthropomorphism •
postcards •
humorous •
rituals •
fonts •
nuts •
customs •
typefaces •
anthropomorphic •
uncertainly •
artist signed •
Ellen H. Clapsaddle •
Clapsaddle •
International Art Publishing Co. •
Int. Art Pub. Co. •
postcard artists •
fortune-telling •
postcard publishers •
happy ever after •
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October 31 •
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1909 •
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type •
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illustrations •
cards •
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typography •
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Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After

Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After
"Hallowe'en. Uncertainly. Hope. Despair. Happy ever after. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Int. Art Pub. Co. 1909."

In a Halloween posting about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My!, Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains that the illustration on this postcard reflects a Halloween custom that involved throwing chestnuts in a fire:

"Anthropomorphized nuts, paired off with the titles 'Uncertainty,' 'Hope,' 'Despair,' and 'Happy Ever After,' represent the practice of interpreting the behavior of chestnuts in a fire. Those participating would assign two chestnuts to a couple and observe whether the chestnuts burned together, jumped apart in the flame, crackled loudly, or came together. A couple was said to live a long happy life together if their corresponding chestnuts burned brightly and quietly next to each other, or their relationship would end in disaster if they crackled contentiously and popped in different directions."

, Smiley Derleth, , have particularly liked this photo

Comments
 wintorbos
wintorbos club
Great Clapsaddle card and an interesting piece of social history to go with it.
7 years ago.
 RicksPics
RicksPics club
Fascinating history. As usual, thanks for further enlightenment...from a blazing Clapsaddle chestnut. I'd never heard of Ellen before this. What a name.
6 years ago.

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