Halloween Art: Ellen H. Clapsaddle Restorations

Ellen H. Clapsaddle was a prolific artist whose work appears on countless postcards. Her lovely Victorian images captivate me. The more Clapsaddle postcards I add to my collection, the more I want to share her work with others.  For me, each of the images is like a little trip back through time.

To that end, I started scanning my cards but soon noticed that age had not been kind--Clapsaddle's artistry was marred by dulling colors, specks, holes, scratches and deteriorating paper. Since there was no longer a copyright on the original cards, I decided to try to restore some luster to the fading graphics.  For example:

My graphics program is Paint Shop Pro. In framing these images, most of which were posted from 1909-1922, I used a Radial Frame script written by Margaret Kelly. The web set is by Moon and Back Graphics.  I had intended to design everything myself, but I ran out of time.  This web set really appealed to me though, with its Halloween colors and the three children which look very much like Clapsaddle's little people. 

Enjoy the adventure.  Happy Halloween!

You're also invited to visit my other Clapsaddle web pages: