"June is Busting Out All Over." You've seen the sheet music for $4, but have you ever stopped to think about all the other creations that share this world with us, that either blossom or return to their summer residences in June?
The robin is the first harbinger of spring, but the hummingbird is the harbinger of summer. With the rhododendrons and other sweet colorful flowers starting to blossom, these delicate creatures, along with the butterfly, return to flitter amongst the flowers, along with the bee, living off of their food source, flowers.
There are so many items which depict winged creatures, you could make a collection of any one of them. Let's isolate and think about butterflies.
This morning I found a single butterfly wing from a Tiger Swallowtail (yellow and black butterfly, large) lying delicately among the pebbles and macadam of the driveway. I brought it in and placed it on my desk. It made me start to think about all the items that have been made with real butterflies as the decorations. Encased in plastic, under glass in trays, these ethereal creatures were used to decorate our homes as whimsies and pictures. Pretty to behold, but even prettier alive and out in nature. Some of these items sell in the hundreds of dollars, but most are in the $20-$50 range.
For some reason there are many postal covers which show butterflies and moths. It might be because they are so colorful. These seldom fetch more than $5-$10 each, especially those put out as limited editions.
June - the month of butterflies and another captured creature...the June bride.
Brides are described as radiant, happy, beautiful, shy, demure, etc. But let's take a look at how they are depicted in print.
When the Princess Royal, Mary, was married to Viscount Lascalles, a very wealthy man and acceptable to the royal family, she begged and pleaded not to have to go through with the marriage. One rarely ever sees a picture of her smiling or with even a Mona Lisa expression on her face. There are many pictures of her wedding in magazines, prints and postcards, and she always looks like someone who is on her way to her execution.
Another bride one never sees smiling is the old maid who literally drags her husband to the altar. Artists like Tom Browne had a marvelous time making fun of both the eager, uncomely bride and soon-to-be henpecked mate. He is usually reduced in size to show his demoralized state. There is a very "cruel vision of the unmarried female" - as if not being married made you ugly, stupid and prunish.
Very few brides in real life were "as perfect" as the Harrison Fisher Bride, beautiful, chaste, romantic, idealized, and perfect.
Two of the most fascinating looks at brides are the "child" bride and the war bride. Artists like Colombo and Dinah had a great time dressing little children up as bride and groom. It was supposed to depict innocence and most often one feels these little cherubic figures belong on the cake, not at the altar. However, the brides and grooms that I find most interesting are the War brides.
World War II was a time when marriages, often as not, were not elaborate. "He" was leaving for the war, he was home on leave, he was in uniform. The image of a concerned and worried bride with her soldier husband was the norm.
How many of these couples had a few days, a few hours, together and then he was gone, often never to return, or if he did, changed in body and spirit.
Marriages were entered into then "for life", never with the idea that if it didn't work out, there was always divorce. Marriage for most people was not just a social obligation, but a commitment to another person.
Real Photo post cards of military marriages are very popular as they give us an insight into the hastily prepared styles of the day, often austere. They also appeal to the uniform collector, especially if insignia is highly visible. Some of the biggest collectors of wedding pictures are clothing designers, as they are so inspirational.
Perhaps it was the times, and photographers didn't want brides to smile, but it is very difficult to find the beaming radiant bride till Princess Diana. The Queen, Anne, Margaret, and the English public took their weddings very seriously. If the English bride and her American sister were not pretty little butterflies of no substance flitting amongst the flowers, they were also not the bride of Victorian day, subservient, made for motherhood, and idealized. Even "Rosie the Riveter" had to get married, but she was of different stuff. She had read Ibsen's "Doll House" and was an emancipated, post-suffrage woman on her way to being an equal partner with a quality mate who wanted a woman, not a butterfly, for his wife.
The styles come and go, but the times change us, and our social history. In years to come, your wedding picture, and mine, might be collectible!
©1998 Unravel the Gavel