The last time I found myself in this situation, I was like: “Again? REALLY!?!”
THE MAN
WHO CAST
NO SHADOW
by Seabury Quinn
Cover by C. Barker Petrie, Jr.
darkinthedark does not claim copyright on these images. If you are the copyright holder and object to their presence here, please contact me and I will remove them.It’s that time again. The time of the week where I post some great vintage photos from the deep dark archives of eBay. These days I look for a theme in the photos, and I think that this week’s collection must be forgiven, because its mind is elsewhere. Perhaps dwelling on matters that aren’t broached in polite company. I really tried to pare these down this week, but still ended up with nine. Sorry about that. I’m obsessive.
Misusing the Electric Implement
This would normally be a straight-forward picture, as it certainly appears, until one regards the electrical device. The transphosphorstylus here is plainly being misused. One does not hold it like a potato. – Auction Here – Expires When it Expires
St. Petersbourg
I can’t really put my finger on what is wrong here. Which of these two is made of wood? Shockingly expensive for what it is. – Auction Here – Expires 8/2
Clown Dance?
The Person selling this gem titled it “Clown Dance”. Probably thinking that the nice clowney was on stilts. You can see the clown dance, can’t you? Dance as the girl wakes up and starts screaming. It’s too late for her. The one in her lap will keep her in the chair. – Auction Here – Expires 7/31
Take Me Home
Both parties are obviously in peril. – Auction Here – Expires 8/2 – This seller is located in Porkopolis, Ohio, United States. Porkopolis.
Double Exposure
I don’t usually go for double exposures, because there are lots of them and let’s face it, they’re mistakes. Lots of vernacular vintage photos have the shadows of the photographer in them, too. It’s an artifact of the way photos were created then. The first one you find might look sinister or unusual. Then you see hundreds more and the effect is spoiled. Every once in a while, though, a really delicious one shows up. That’s the case here. – Auction Here – Expires 7/31
My OCD is to Blame
A spectacularly obvious fake spirit photo by George and Craig Falconer, circa 1930. You can see the halftone dots on the picture they must have cut from a newspaper or magazine. She looks like a romance novel heroine, poor dear. I wasn’t going to post this, seeing as how there are a ton here, but my OCD made me. For the sake of completeness. More here and here and here. – Auction Here – Expires 8/4
Lovely Mary Duncan, 1929
Hot dog! You may remember Mary Duncan from her lead role in The Shanghai Gesture. Here she is as photographed by William Mortensen (bio) (google image search) – Auction Here – Expires 8/3
They Don't Build Them Like That Anymore
Ah Yes. The more clever of you will have already deduced the purpose of this evil mechanism from the indicators at the top, which are labeled “Occupied” and “Free”. The rest of you will need to learn to use your imaginations. – Auction Here – Expires 8/6
Stop, Pelican
Stop! (I adore vintage photos with dates on them. The serrated edges of this snapshot say 1960s to me, and so it is: January 1960. Somebody is late taking their decorations down.) – Auction Here – Expires 8/4
Arcade Card Original
I always like to end with a pinup. This is an original proof for an arcade card. The seller speculates that the photo originated from Alta Studios in San Francisco, CA, which is now famous for its “artful nudes” from the 1920s that a person could mail order. The cards made from these originals were dispensed from machines at arcades, and are also known as Mutoscope cards or Exhibit Cards. Auction Here – Expires 7/31
See more Vintage Photos here on Dark in the Dark.
Check this space for more weird photos on eBay.
The fabulous Gallery Nucleus has a Harry Potter show up right now. I was struck by how many of the artists chose my favorite witch, Luna Lovegood, as a topic. A bunch of these pieces of art are still available, so go check it out!
Luna By Moonlight, Jayne Steiger
This is literally my favorite scene from all of the Harry Potter movies. Artist Jayne Steiger – this artwork
Luna, by So Youn Lee
Nice trippy piece. Artist So Youn Lee – this artwork
I really like this portrait of Luna. It’s like she’s a ’70s poster goddess. Artist Tran Nguyen – this piece
OK OK Sorry! I know this isn’t Luna Lovegood, but I had to sneak this great portrait of Bellatrix in here!
Bellatrix and Nagini, by Mindy Lee
She’s totally got that fabulous Cruella De Vil thing going on. Artist Mindy Lee – this piece
Wow you’ve got to check out Mindy Lee’s website. I’m sorry that I’ve been less than regular with the Friday morning weird menace pulps lately, but NEXT WEEK I’ll have a great one to get us back on track, I promise! I just needed to get some Luna on. It’s not like I’ve run out trashy pulp covers. Quite the contrary, in fact.
As someone who has read the entire output of a number of authors, I’ve often noticed the phenomena where my favorite book by any given author is often the first one I’ve read. Ever notice that? I loved The Stand, but Carrie will always be number one in my heart of hearts. Likewise, I’ll always have a soft spot for Savage Night by Jim Thompson. If You Could See Me Now by Peter Straub. Nueromancer by William Gibson (although honestly Idoru comes in a very close second). An exception: I think Anne Rice peaked at The Witching Hour (which came after the abominable Queen of the Damned.)
What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Tim Powers On Stanger Tides. One thing that becomes obvious when you read this book is that IT MUST HAVE inspired the movie series Pirates of the Caribbean. Indeed, the Wikipedia page on that topic makes the claim that Pirates of the Caribbean was inspired by the popular video game Monkey Island, which in turn was inspired by On Stranger Tides. It is further noted here that the fourth film in the series Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, has an even closer relationship (which I guess should be obvious from the title).
In the Tim Powers universe, this book comes directly after the somewhat forgettable Dinner at Deviants Place (review here), and before the uneven but mostly brilliant Stress of Her Regard (review here). I think of all the Powers books I’ve read so far, it is the one that most closely resembles Anubis Gates, which is a book I can’t seem to stop talking about. It was nominated for, but did not win, the 1988 Locus Fantasy and World Fantasy Awards.
Here’s the story: An ex-puppeteer bent on avenging his father reluctantly joins two bands of pirates as they pursue a mission to travel to, and make use of, the legendary Fountain of Youth. Blackbeard leads one of the group of pirates, and we find him infested with ghosts and captaining a ship of zombies. The other group of pirates is working for a criminally insane Oxford Don who is bent on using the power of the Fountain to resurrect his late wife. Unfortunately for our hero, the villainous Don plans to do this at the expense of the woman he has fallen in love with. Also unfortunately for our hero, Blackbeard has plans for the same woman which are equally sinister (Blackbeard having been given a shot of Bluebeard by Powers).
Like most books by Powers, booze, magic (in this case voodoo), painful injuries, strangely pragmatic heroines, and desperate love each play a major part in the proceedings. Being one part revenge story, one part journey to hell, and two parts perilous rescue, the plot of On Stranger Tides probably sounds convoluted, but it’s all pirate treasure.
Creepy Factor: 3 out of 5
Suspense Factor: 5 out of 5
Weird Erotic Tension Factor: 2 out of 5
Funny and/or Strange Factor: 3 out of 5
Final result: Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. I had a hard time putting this book down. It’s got comedy, terror, adventure, voodoo, comedy, and ghost ships. This brings us back to the topic that I started this review with. I could see reading On Stranger Tides first and forever after that feeling like it was the best Tim Powers book, ever.
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers – 1987 – Ace
Buy On Stranger Tides
My friends, in honor of the seventh photo album, I give you seven delicious vintage photos of subject guaranteed to bring cheer to your day and vigor to your limbs, be they tentacles or blunt instruments. Honk. Honk.
“Why no, dear daughter, as I explained before, we can’t use the cleaver at special occasions anymore. Not since the accident.” – Auction Here – Expires 7/20
Either the photographer asked them ALL to point to where the poltergeist upset the sofa, or we have a whole family of hams. Happenings in a haunted house in Osceola, Indiana in 1966. Sadly, a Google search revealed no juicy details. – Auction Here – Expires 7/21
A lovely CDV (carte de visite) by spirit photographer John Beattie, who is described here as “Another English quack.” How rich. – Auction Here – Expires 7/22
Another seance photo from our friend John Beattie. A variant of photos which appeared in the 2005 publication, The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult
1930s spirit photo by George and Craig Falconer of London. Another one that is really just such an obvious fake. A little cutting with the scissors and some painting on the negative, and voila! – Auction Here – Expires 7/22
This kind of reminds me of the Borley Rectory for some reason. My favorite true haunting story. Photo circa 1900 – Auction Here – Expires 7/22
None other than Zazel the Human Cannonball (born Rossa Matilda Richter), who is on record as being the first human cannonball. She toured with the P.T. Barnum Circus. CDV Photograph by Elliott & Fry of London. You could certainly shoot her in my direction any time. – Auction Here – Ends 7/24
See more Vintage Photos here on Dark in the Dark.
Check this space for more weird photos on eBay.
Fhtagn Spoken Here.
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