The Queen of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.
The King of Hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave
full sore
The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts and vowed
he'd steal no more.

This little poem was popularised by Lewis Carroll in 1865 when he inserted it in Alice in Wonderland. However, its origins go back much further to 1782, to a poem anonymously published in The European Magazine. There were three other stanzas, which have since fallen into obscurity: The King of Spades, The King of Clubs, and The Diamond King, describing the romantic entanglements of all three suits. Flirting, marital discord and seduction are the themes. [Wikipedia]

What I find most fascinating about this history is that once upon a time I myself wrote a poem titled The Queen of Tarts – The Tale of How the Deck Was Born, taking a very similar theme. The Queen of Hearts is a real flirt, dating all the Kings and Knaves one after another, thus alienating (not surprisingly) all the other Queens. I stuffed the poem with as many puns as I could think of. Here are some of my favourite lines:

… Of these, the Queen of Spades was most vocal
(She never frequented the local,
Nor ever missed a curfew –
She was a pattern-card of virtue.)
“You’re just jealous coz he thought I was cuter!”
The Queen of Hearts referred to her latest suitor.
The Queen of Spades’ mood grew black,
(She couldn’t take the flack,
And was put to the blush –
A brightly royal flush!)
She drew the Knave of Clubs to her side,
“He at least agrees with me!” she cried.
“Oh – that jackanapes,
It’s only sour grapes,”
Yawned the Queen of Tarts,
Nibbling on some cherry hearts …

So’s anyone been nibbling on some hearts today? I only wolfed down an indescribably delicious strawberry tart myself, but I hope you’ve had a sweet Valentine’s Day. Kisses!

Dress by Maeve for Anthropologie, vintage cloak and tiara; strawberry tart from French Fantasies
Backdrop, Palácio Nacional de Sintra

The Silver Rose

Once upon a time (about two years ago), in a land far, far away (the Antipodes), a fake princess dreamed of a series of fairytales. Here is the first …

The castle at sunsetThe Silver Rose

n a kingdom long-forgotten, in a town right by the edge of a sea, there lived the last girl who could remember.

All the townspeople about Elisabetta went about their daily business, they knew their own names and what trade they practised, and how to bake bread and which mushrooms in the forest nearby were safe to pick, but from one day to the next, they forgot what happened the day before.

The shoemaker’s daughter was the only one now who could remember how the town had lost its memory. And she was the only one who knew how to restore her people: with a silver rose growing in an enchanted garden, in a great castle on the hill. But there was one catch. The castle was inhabited by an enchanter, whom she didn’t think would willingly give up his silver rose …

The gauntletMaking the picture

initially had the idea of creating fairytales based on different countries, and was inspired by a silver rose languishing in my dresser. The image I had was of a girl running away through a forest, clutching the rose she had just purloined, and looking fearfully over her shoulder at the castle on the hill from which she’d just fled.

Since I had no hope to actually go on location and shoot this in front of a real castle, the original plan was to combine the photograph with a drawing – give myself super-long hair, lengthen my skirt etc. The entire backdrop would be hand-drawn too. But I was a bit lazy and had never got round to executing these grand plans.

The guardian at the entranceThere were hideous gargoyles everywhere …Then today I had the sudden idea of using one of my photographs taken in Sintra, Portugal, which is chock-full of fairytale palaces. I would in fact be spoiled for choice.

It was an easy matter to change the scene from day to night; my only difficulty was in deciding which of the three images I produced most evoked my original vision. But finally, we have Elisabetta fleeing the wicked enchanter inhabiting the Castelo dos Mouros, a 9th century Moorish castle. She’d better be careful not to twist her ankle too, on that hazardous path. There are rocks sticking out everywhere.

As for what happens in the story … who knows, except I feel quite certain it has a melancholy ending. Because who believes in fairy tales any more?

The silver rose gleamed in the dusk

I am Rich, Beautiful and Ruthless!

I have very fond memories of reading Archie comics when I was a teenager. I think my older sister Star and I discovered them through a Yankeephile friend of hers, who had a stack of 60s and 70s Archie’s Digests. It wasn’t long before I was madly collecting my own copies; I would even scour second-hand bookshops and charity stores for them.

Well, as for the famous Betty and Veronica rivalry over Archie… Firstly, I couldn’t see the attraction. Archie was a big klutz, forever falling over his feet and sticking them in his mouth at every opportunity. The evil genius Reggie of course was no improvement. But Archie did possess a lot of charm, incorrigibly trading on it as he juggled his dreamgirl Veronica and girl-next-door Betty. 

Veronica uses every trick at the tip of her French-manicured fingernails to snaffle Archie away …

Veronica Lodge … inimitably expressing her personalityWhile Betty is the cleverer of the pair, the impeccably stylish Veronica is just plain devious. She always gets her way – and her man. Veronica uses every trick at the tip of her French-manicured fingernails to snaffle Archie away from that scheming blonde hussy. She might not succeed every time, but there’s no doubt Archie is head over heels in love with her – so move on already blondie!

Sadly my old collection is gone with the wind – after my mother errantly gave them to one of my nieces to read about fifteen years ago; I’ve not seen them since. I do have a set of four ‘best of’ comic books; the Fifties one is a favourite just for the illustration style, not to mention the great fashion.

Recently I struck a bonanza in a Salvos store: ten of ’em for 50¢ each. I’ve been slowly reading them. They’re a lot more PC these days, but there’s still a lot of laughs to be had over the antics of Archie and his gang. 

Check out the offical website.

Click on image to see more vintage Laugh covers

Tales of the Past (With Morals)

She KNOWS she shouldn’t … but she does

nce upon a time – a year ago in fact – I discovered the most beautiful vintage red cashmere coat, trimmed in rabbit’s fur in a boutique hidden in one of Melbourne’s laneways. The coat was expensive, but irresistible: I purchased it. It curled in ruffles around the hem; it swished like a luxurious cloak around me as I walked. All that was missing was a hood.

That didn’t stop friends and total strangers in the street alike to exclaim, “Little Red Riding Hood!” when they chanced upon me wearing it. This happened so many times last winter that I knew I had to create a tale around this evocative theme.

In the height of the summer gone past I finally had the time to do the photoshoot – and sweltered as I pranced in front of the camera. Then only weeks after, I saw the film poster for Red Riding Hood. I had no idea at all that a new film had been made. The movie poster is certainly full of mystery and foreboding. It actually has nine antecedents, the earliest a silent Czech film made in 1920.

Many fairy tales have sinister origins, and unflinchingly employ gore to fully convey their strong moral themes. Little Red Riding Hood is no exception…

Origins

The earliest known tale was had its origins in 17th century French folklore, and was written down for print by Charles Perrault in his collection Tales and Stories of the Past With Morals in 1697. It was he who introduced the red hood.

The oral versions are traced back even earlier, to the 14th century, related by French and Italian peasants, in which the girl rescues herself through her own cunning. These old versions were in fact titled after the grandmother, not the caped girl. There are also links to old Russian and Norse stories.

The German Brothers Grimm tackled it in the 19th century, basing their stories on Perrault’s, but writing a sequel where the girl and her grandmother trapped and killed another wolf, presumably as a form of revenge, or deterrent to future erring wolves. 

Themes

Earlier versions were far ‘grimmer’ than the sanitised and happy-ending of the 19th century authors’: Perrault’s story ended badly, with the attractive, well-bred young lady being eaten by the wolf. End of story. No woodcutter. No rescue. Basically it was a warning written to good girls: beware of (human) wolves, especially those quiet, gentle seducers who enter your home.

…Perrault’s story ended badly, with the attractive, well-bred young lady being eaten by the wolf

Other interpretations include literal warnings against wolf attacks, wolves being genuine predators; natural cycles, such as solar myths, or seasonable fables, ie spring as an escape from winter – also akin to the notion of rebirth; puberty rituals; and sexual awakening – the red cloak symbolising the menstrual cycle, and the dark forest, womanhood. ‘The anthropomorphic wolf symbolises a man, who could be a lover, seducer or sexual predator.’1

The first and last seem most likely to me, as often the simplest and most obvious explanation is the true one – and the neatest.

Art

Scroll down for some lovely vintage art, and some more modern interpretations from today’s photographers.

Carl Offterdinger (1829–1889), German children’s book illustrator

Walter Crane (1845-1915), English artist and book illustrator

Margaret Ely Webb (1877-1965), American children’s book illustrator and author of art textbooks

From an anthology of fairy tales, 1927

Manga style by Aurore, 2006; (click image for link)

LOVE this coat too! Dakota Fanning stars in Karl Lagerfeld’s shoot for Vanity Fair, Jan 2007

Natalia Vodianova stars in Mert Alas' and Marcus Piggott's interpretation of the fairy-tale for US Vogue, Sep 2009; click image to see more imagesI do like this interpretation of the ravening wolf transformed into faithful friends. Singer/actress Selena Gomez as Little Red Riding Hood, Dec 2010Suitably mysterious. Red Riding Hood film poster, 2011

Footnotes
1. Wikipedia

Ruskiye Dyevushki (The Russians Girls)

Inspired by my own illustration of a pair of Russian village maids on a country walk that ends in tragedy, I hauled my cousin Amelia-Jane off on a real-life re-enactment. (Well as real as it gets without actually sauntering down a muddy road in Belarus.)

I had been collecting assorted printed garments for quite some time, sourcing them from all over the world via eBay and vintage boutiques. Some items even came out of my own closet. What fun we had mixing, matching and clashing – although the resulting outfits complement one another beautifully.

I wear a Forties cream silk blouse embroidered in red, while Amelia-Jane’s new embroidered blouse is much more rustic. Both aprons are vintage, and both are from England; the white lace apron is original 1920s. My white linen vintage kerchief, embroidered in red and trimmed with pompons matches the blouse delightfully.

My necklace is also made from pompoms. Despite the fact that it was filthy and looked like it had chocked a mouse hole for twenty years, I took a chance and bought it for $2 at a charity shop. I thought it would be perfect for this story. It is very fragile, the string threatening to disintegrate. Being far too lazy to restring it, I merely washed it very carefully (a tedious job), but my diligence was rewarded: the colours came up spanking new. You can read about A-J’s necklace here.

The skirts are by Obüs (the puce) and Obi (the red); Australian and New Zealand labels respectively. Amelia-Jane’s Cactus Jam boots were an expensive present from her husband; my beautiful suede boots topped with fur – from me. Fortunately the mud is entirely post-production!

You can see the original illustration that inspired it all below.

Thanks to Max Mitenkov for the background image of the forest. … And don't forget to keep an eye out for some additional Out-takes & Extras in the next few days.