It should come as no surprise to anyone that, as an antique collector, historian, puppetry enthusiast and quasi-spooky guy, I have a soft spot for grotesquery. I mean, presently, I’m sitting across from a rather large Mr. Punch puppet who grins at me all day. So, I do enjoy things that are not traditionally beautiful.
I suppose that’s why I was drawn to this little Victorian card which we found at a local antique shop. It has been mounted on cardboard, so I have no idea what the reverse says, but the front shows a rather grotesque couple with large, stylized, puppet-y heads. The man is an organ grinder and instead of a monkey, he has a child (presumably his own) who collects money for the family. Musical notes and words at the lower right corner hint at the song that he plays.
I just love it. The colors are perfectly Victorian—that brilliant blue and the coral red. The stylized background suggests Italy, but it could double for any major European city. I think it’s odd and wonderful and disturbing and beautiful all at once.
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