Clapsaddle Classics

Addressed to Miss Alice Mae Burns, Welch, McDowell Co., W.Va., and postmarked Oct. 30, 1911. Message: "Guess who."

Owls a hooting in the tree, Pumpkins making faces mean, And lots of thing that you can't see Tell us that it's Hallowe'en. A vintage Halloween postcard signed by artist Ellen H. Clapsaddle.

"Hallowe'en Greeting. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Painting only copyrighted by the Int. Art Pub. Co. 1912." Handwritten: "Annie Miller, 1912."

"Hallowe'en. Friendly fairy, witch, or fay, fulfill the wish you wish to-day. Ellen H. Clapsaddle."

"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."

"O, is my true love tall and grand? O, is my sweetheart bonny?" Mirrors , cakes , apple peels , and chestnuts (see below) have all figured in the Halloween fortune-telling games depicted on early twentieth-century postcards. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I found this postcard by Ellen H. Clapsaddle , which suggests that young women could use cabbages (or kales ) to foretell what kind of husband–tall and grand? bonny?–they might marry. In a discussion about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My! , Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains how picking a cabbage from the garden could predict a woman's romantic future: "If the selected cabbage or kale was difficult to unearth, it denoted difficulty in a relationship. Kale with clumps of dirt stuck to the roots signified a rich husband, and the size, shape, and taste of the kale foretold the physical attributes and personality of a future spouse." Ellen Clapsaddle illustrated a number of other prognosticating postcards like this one. For another example, see Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After .

"Here's to the Birthday We Celebrate! Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Painting only copyrighted by the Int. Art Pub. Co. 1912."

"Three cheers for George Washington."

"Yankee Doodle came to town. July 4."

"Erin Go Bragh. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Painting only copyrighted by S. Garre 1907."

"Remember green Erin. The morn's mornin' to you! Painting only copyrighted by the Int. Art Pub. Co. 1908." A Saint Patrick's Day postcard by artist Ellen Clapsaddle .

"Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Painting only copyrighted by S. Garre, 1909."

"Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Painting only copyrighted by S. Garre, 1909."