An Interesting Interview

I have long since loved the BBC mini-series North and South:

It has beautiful costumes, gorgeous locations, a lovely soundtrack, and some amazing acting! Richard Armitage plays Mr. Thornton, the hero of the story. On the DVD is a great interview with the actor that I greatly enjoyed. Here is another that was recently posted on another site:

http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/in-conversation-with-richard-armitage/

More old photos coming right at ya!

A gorgeous CdV. I love the slight smile she wears!


Another beautiful image. You can really take in the fabric of her dress.



Boys these days! :P



Awww!



Such a sweet picture.



Her curls are so beautiful!


This is one of the most adorable photos I have ever seen!



Awww! Again. ;)



This one is most interesting. It is an advertisement for a photographer! The head was taken from a real photo and superimposed onto the drawing. I love how he is riding the camera and all the little characters in the background are photography related to making daguerreotypes. The little card he holds reads "Happy New Year's"

This one is similar! This one is for an ambrotype photographer.

CdV posting of the day

More CdVs

An interesting dress, it looks sheer to me.

Gorgeous shot and you can see right where her crinoline ends.

Love the trim!

The description on this one said it was a 'sexy vest' when really it is a swiss waist, I believe. However, if it is so sexy why aren't we all wearing them? :P

A post mortem picture.

Sooo cute!

I love his hat!

I think everyone will be dressing like this next season. ;)

Her hair is so pretty!

Very dramatic.

A picture of a doll.

All dressed up for winter.

Short sleeves!

That's a cool chair.

Her trim is so pretty!

Wallowing in nostalgia...or watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

When I was little one of my favourite movies was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! A children's musical about a magical car set in the early part of the 20th century, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! remains one of the movies I have the fondest memories of. Although farby and notoriously cheesy, I still think it outshines similar movies like Mary Poppins. How could you not love a movie starring Dick Van Dyke as an absent-minded inventor father? Especially when his name is Caractacus Potts! :P

It was loosely based on the children's book by the same name written by Ian Fleming, creator of the James Bond series. The script was co-written by Roald Dahl! One thing I really like about the movie is that the children aren't brats. They're wild, boisterous, and dirty, but they aren't completely selfish, as so many children in real life and in movies are these days. Plus, they're super cute. :D

To quote my sister's facebook status:

"is watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Haven't watched this since I was a kid. The movies they make for kids now are laaaaaaame. You can't really beat all these adults trying to run the children over in the streets and making hateful death threats against the little tykes. Haven't even gotten to the kidnapping and child labor yet, good times."

Yes, I am addicted...

You've all been forewarned. ;) Here are some more CdVs and also some cabinet cards which are slightly larger.

This woman was a teacher and this is a CdV of herself that she gave to one of her students.

A lovely lady.



Now THAT is some hair!



The back says this is Grand Duchess Michel. Royalty CdVs were very popular.



Who said people didn't smile back then for photos?



Now that's just cute. Love the fake wolf.



They just love that rowboat!

Public Enemies

On Sunday I went to see Public Enemies. Set during the Great Depression, it focuses on the true story of FBI agent Melvin Purvis' attempt to stop criminals, namely John Dillinger. First off, let me say that I think my expectations were a tad too high. After all this does star Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Stephen Lang! I'll start with the good first.

~As far as I could tell there were not huge amounts farbness going on. The costumes were cool and I have to say I love the haircuts the guys were sporting.

~The acting was top-notch as you would expect. Stephen Lang especially.

~The leading lady. Marion Cotillard did a wonderful job. The scenes with her in them were some of the most interesting, she really pulled off a lot of warring emotions well.

Now for the bad.

~The camerawork. There were times when I felt very dizzy, because the camera jostled quite a bit. I could be imagining this. :P

~The lack of character development. I did not have much sympathy for John, Melvin, or any of the other gangsters. I had a tiny bit for Billie, but even with her we were given minimal back story.

~Lengthy action sequences. This may have to do with me being female. ;) I can only enjoy a gunfight for so long.

All in all, a decent movie. It could have been much better though, with the talent they had acting in it.

A CdV Obsession

I've always had a lot of fun looking at CdV's. They are such interesting windows into the past.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carte_de_visite

Some cool ones:

Sooo cute!! Love the casual pose the little boy on the right is striking!

All I have to say is: kaPUNCH!

A very pretty religious one.



Another one along the same theme.



I love this one! Not sure what is up with the sashes, but I love their sideburns and hats!



Gotta love those interesting backgrounds!



Absolutely gorgeous wedding picture!



So adorable!

New Blog

I have never had a blog before! I follow quite a few and decided to make one of my own. So here goes!

Why the name?

I'm not entirely sure of the reliability of this story, but supposedly a top hat made a huge stir when first it was worn in public.

http://www.baronhats.com/thetophat.htm

And since I tend to go a little crazy myself over clothing from other eras, I thought the name was appropriate.