M.J. Rose

Happy Valentines, lovers!

From Atlas Obscura,

Chap Records Were Basically Yelp for 1900s Eligible Bachelorettes
The books helped women keep track of—and review—their suitors.
by Rick Paulas

“After a second date in 1908 with a suitor named Ray Smith, Carol Pardee, the privileged granddaughter of Oakland mayor Enoch Pardee, took out her notebook and, with careless spelling, wrote her opinion about the boy: “To big a sport. Talks to much.”

Later in the year, she met Frank Haudel. Verdict: “[t]oo dirty. Teeth are green.” On January 16th, 1911, after a date with Wyman Smith from Sacramento, she wrote a one-word summary of the courter: “FOOL.”

These pithy reviews—others range from “dandy” to “tiresome” to the frequently used single-word dismissal of “mutt”—are still on display at The Pardee House museum in Oakland in Carol Pardee’s Chap Record, a small volume bound in green and gold with a dapper gentlemen doffing a hat on the cover.

The Chap Record was a mostly blank book with sections to be filled out by the “girl of the period”—things like Name, Date, Place, and Opinion. In the front was a section for the Twelve Most Notable Chaps. Published by the Frederick A. Stokes Company in 1898, it sold for a dollar…”

For the rest, click here.

These photographs are inspired by fairy tales — we think these photographs could inspire new tales too…

The artist describes her work, below.

From Bored Panda,

I Bring Russian Fairy Tales To Life

By Margarita Kareva

“My name is Margarita Kareva, I’m a photographer from the Ekaterinburg (Russia). I started taking pictures about 5 years ago, had not even suspected that it will be my profession. Since then, I often say thanks to the Universe for giving me a passion for my life. I love to read since childhood, and perhaps my love of reading has made me a dreamer and a person living in their fantasies. And I’m glad that I had a way to play out my fantasies with the camera. It is very important for every person – to have their own way of expression. My way – is to share photos from a fairy tales. Photos with unusual models, with animals, with a combination of quaint colors. Most of the photos in my portfolio is a creative photography (noncommercial) because I think it is very important to do something that you really like…”

For the photos, click here.

“Fantasy doll maker” is probably the best job title we’ve ever heard. And these dolls really are fantastic.

‘Forbidden Fruit,’ by doll artist Mari Shimizu.

From Dangerous Minds,

Surreal dolls reveal the dark fantasy worlds that live under their ‘skin’

“Fantasy doll maker Mari Shimizu hails from Amakusa, Kumamoto Japan where after graduating from Tama Art University, she dedicated herself to creating and photographing her intricate ball-joint dolls. Shimizu is deeply inspired by the Surrealist movement, especially Nazi-hating Dadaist, photographer Hans Bellmer whose scandalous work often incorporated dolls. Here are a few words from Bellmer on his artistic approach that appear to directly align to Shimizu’s ethos:

The body resembles a sentence that seems to invite us to dismantle it into its component letters, so that its true meaning may be revealed ever anew through an endless stream of anagrams.
Shimizu carves openings in her dead-eyed dolls in order to provide the viewer insight into the inner-workings of her inanimate creations. Themes that run through her work include mythology, religion, death and nature in which rabbits are common themes. Rabbits are symbolic for a myriad of reasons and perhaps as it pertains to Shimizu’s work is how the rabbit is regarded as an “Earth” symbol—as it is the earthly aspect of its existence that allows the animal to retain its composure in the midst of chaos. Rabbits are also categorized as being “tricksters” in various mythological tales and folklore from around the world including Japan. Shimizu’s utilization of the dolls as unconventional artistic vehicles is about as tricky as it gets…”

For the rest (many photos!), click here. Note: Some of the images of Shimizu’s ethereal dolls are NSFW….