Jean Veber drew several caricatures of Allais in Le Journal, January 6, 1896; here are two of them.

Ernest La Jeunesse (who, parenthetically, had a long affair with Allais’s wife, and may have fathered her child) drew this sketch of the unhappy husband.

Pierre le Trividie drew this portrait of the young Allais in 1935.

And another, from Guirand de Scévola.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

This undated “Authors” deck from Russell gets high points from me for including one of the Founders of the Fortean Society.  I like the curious grisaille portrait and the curlicue as well.

The other members of this humble pantheon are: Oliver W. Holmes, Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, Sir J. M. Barrie, Rudyard Kipling, Longfellow, and R. L. Stevenson.  Only Longfellow gets single name billing.

The box is nice too.  The touch of cursive is tasty.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

As I continue to translate and illustrate Alphonse Allais, I’ve been contemplating the many caricatures of him.  Having already offered portraits of his semi-fictional antihero, Captain Cap, I’ll now post some of the man himself.  Internet Allais buffs, you’re welcome.

The first is by Cabriol, aka Georges Lorin, from the Hydropathe, January 28, 1880.  Allais’s original vocation as pharmacist is still part of his image.

Allais beats the drum for a shadow puppet play at the Chat Noir, in a sketch by Georges Redon.

The Chat Noir itself accompanies Allais, in a 1956 drawing by Maurice Henry, on the cover of a collection of Allais’s plays and monologues.

Another early sketch, by Charles Léandre.

And, lastly (for this time; there will be more), Siné’s cover for a 1966 collection.  Siné’s people all tend to look alike; he has, however, distinguished Allais with a beard and a boater.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

This German “Black Peter” deck was issued by Berliner Spielkarten.  The pairs represent men and women of different nationalities; I’ve picked a dashing Spaniard for you.  And here’s Black Peter:

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

As the cardinals convene in the Vatican to elect a new boss, let’s consider for a moment the once flourishing art of cardinal paintings. In the late 19th century, particularly in France, several artists specialized in painting pictures of the red-robed religious. There’s a fine article on the subject by John Fleming, in the 13th volume of The Saturday Book (1953); the illustrations, however, are in black and white, so I’ve snipped some color examples from elsewhere on the internet.  Here’s one by François Brunery, who claimed to have invented the genre.

One by his son, Marcel Brunery.

UPDATE:  A pope has been chosen; the cardinals can go back to shaving cuts, woodwinds, and cats.  But be careful, men.  (The elder Brunery again).

ADDENDUM: No survey of Cardinal art should omit Alphonse Allais’s masterful painting from 1897, “Apoplectic Cardinals harvesting tomatoes by the Red Sea.  Effect of the Aurora Borealis.”

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

“Peculiar Popularities” attracted a nice large audience.  Thanks to all of you who came out; more Ullage Group events are in preparation.  For those who missed it: Lisa Hirschfield covered the early history of X-Rays in popular culture, with plenty of pictures and early films; Doug Skinner talked about slang, artificial languages, and other fleeting linguistic flare-ups, with musical examples of Solrésol and Esperanto; Anthony Matt covered pre-cinema spectacles, concluding by demonstrating the early technique of back-projecting spooky slides on billowing fabric.

My Black Scat chapbook, Captain Cap Volume 1, translated from Alphonse Allais, received a nice review over at Leonardo.  I guess that’s just another incentive to buy the little rascal.  Volume 2 is almost done; it’s slated for April Fool’s Day.  Mark your calendars!

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

The Ullage Group is back for another afternoon of the odd and obscure.  This time, we present “Peculiar Popularities”: a diverse selection of now-forgotten-but-once-popular public interests, practices, and fixations.

Anthony Matt will survey the short-lived but popular cinematic stage shows of the late 1800’s that anticipated the birth of motion pictures.  He will discuss panoramic paintings, phantasmagorias, traveling peepshows, and a projection ride inspired by H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine.  Anthony will also attempt to conjure a smoke phantasm on stage.

Doug Skinner will talk about evanescent language, including catch phrase flare-ups, abandoned universal languages, and occupational slang.

Lisa Hirschfield will explore the public’s fascination with the power and potential of the recently-discovered Roentgen ray at the turn of the last century, a phenomenon that bordered on obsession, and forever changed perceptions of modern medical science.

When: 4 pm, March 3, 2013
Where: Jalopy Theater, 315 Columbia St., Brooklyn NY 11231.

Admission is the nominal sum of $5 and the slang expression of your choice.

(Posted by Doug Skinner; the picture is by Hogarth.)

“Los Locos Fotzys,” a 1990 deck from Cromy, in Argentina, requires the player to assemble four cards, which, when placed together, form a picture.  Four characters are featured: a man, a woman, a cat, and a bird; a search for Fotzys led me back to this deck, so they may have been created for it.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

The next Ullage Group event, “Peculiar Popularities,” is in preparation.  It will take place on Sunday, March 3, at the Jalopy Theater.  Details will follow.

If you happen to be in London the next day (that would be the 4th) at 8 pm, you might pay a visit to Kings Place, 90 York Way.  There, Frédéric Acquaviva has organized an exhibition called “Manifesto,” devoted to Dada, Letterism, Fluxus, Futurism, and Sound and Concrete Poetry.  I’m told that my translation of Isidore Isou’s Considerations on the Death and Burial of Tristan Tzara (Black Scat Books, 2012) will be dangling from the ceiling somewhere.

The second volume of my translation of Alphonse Allais’s Captain Cap is also on its way.  This one is subtitled The Apparent Symbiosis Between the Boa and Giraffe, and is slated for April Fool’s Day.  You can follow the good Captain as he dabbles in hypnotism, insults his friends, berates bartenders, quarrels with prostitutes, and boasts about his dubious exploits.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

“Para Volverse Mono,” from Argentina, features monkeys and bananas.  It was given as a premium with the magazine Genios.  The title might be translated (loosely!) as “Go Ape!”

(Posted by Doug Skinner)