Pierrots, Piers and Periwinkles

http://www.gallerystandouts.com/view.php/article/3948/finger-pointin-20-april

The next Sunday Postcard Art challenge theme is Pierrot. These two lovely young ladies have been sitting on my bedroom mantelpiece for some years now. The photograph is not dated but I'm making a guess that it was taken between 1900 to the mid 1920s. It is stamped with the name Richards, King's Road, Newark, but I display it in in a handsome brown card mount from the studio of H. Ricketts of Llandudno. My instinct is that the girls in the photograph were dressed up for a carnival rather than for a theatrical performance. I have decided to give them a new home in front of a backdrop and in a frame that reflects Llandudno's seaside setting.

Llandudno's 2,295ft-long Pier is the longest in Wales and the 5th longest in England and Wales. It took just over 1 year to construct and was opened to the general public on the 1st August 1877. Piers, originally built for elegant promenading whilst imbibing ozone, gradually acquired pavilions that offered diverse entertainment, including Pierrot shows that became essentials of the British seaside holiday for several decades. The traditional seaside Pierrot shows began in the late nineteenth century and in some resorts they were carried right through to 1939. Pierrots had their roots not in the pier pavilions, but in French pantomime. They wore white costumes with ruffles, pom-poms and skull caps. Their act usually consisted of comic sketches and rather sad songs, after which a hat was passed around for contributions. In Llandudno, Pierrot shows must also have been performed at the open air theatre (actually just a wooden stage with a canopy) optimistically named Happy Valley.

Making the shell frame brought to mind a marvelous childhood holiday in Bournemouth, during which my grandparents took me to the extraordinary and unforgettable Shell House at Southbourne. The Shell House was the dedicated work of a man named George Howard who created a magical fantasy garden where every object and surface was made or covered with shells. Mr. Howard's reward for his effort was the pleasure that it gave to all who saw it and the very large amounts of money that the Shell House collected for charity. Tragically, in February 2001, the Shell House was mysteriously and suddenly demolished to make way for a modern apartment block. Now it exists only in the fond memories and imaginations of those who had the privilege to marvel at its quirky, exuberant delights.

There is a website commemorating the Shell House here

You can find more information about British Seaside piers here