Goreyesque
It's more than a month until Hallowe'en, but I'm in the mood. You can expect a series of posts with a touch of the grotesque, spooky or magical. In other words, more of the usual.
The artist of the black and white illustrations was clearly an ancestor of Edward Gorey. Since I can't do justice to some of the pages, I've included a few thumbnails at the bottom of the post which will take you to the full-size illustrations. I don't know about those weird helmets though.
And in case you're wondering why some of the dragons are chewing on an old hanky--that old hanky is actually the cloak of St. Margaret of Antioch.
"Threatened with death unless she renounced the Christian faith, the holy virgin refused to adore the gods of the empire so he [the local prefect] turned her in to the Roman authorities to be persecuted. In prison she was swallowed by Satan in the form of a dragon, but the cross she was carrying irritated his throat, and he spit her out unharmed."
You can find out more about her from this site. Take a look at the picture showing her dragon on a leash. :D
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The pictures:
The artist of the black and white illustrations was clearly an ancestor of Edward Gorey. Since I can't do justice to some of the pages, I've included a few thumbnails at the bottom of the post which will take you to the full-size illustrations. I don't know about those weird helmets though.
And in case you're wondering why some of the dragons are chewing on an old hanky--that old hanky is actually the cloak of St. Margaret of Antioch.
"Threatened with death unless she renounced the Christian faith, the holy virgin refused to adore the gods of the empire so he [the local prefect] turned her in to the Roman authorities to be persecuted. In prison she was swallowed by Satan in the form of a dragon, but the cross she was carrying irritated his throat, and he spit her out unharmed."
You can find out more about her from this site. Take a look at the picture showing her dragon on a leash. :D
1.
2.
3.
4.
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The pictures: