Snapshots of the Past

Woman applying vampire makeup to a boy in a cape – Antique Print

Woman applying vampire makeup to a boy in a cape — historic image
Woman applying vampire makeup to a boy in a cape. Historic image from the Halloween collection.

(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

A window into the past: Woman applying vampire makeup to a boy in a cape, preserved in this historic image. It is part of the Snapshots of the Past archive, gathered over 25 years of research.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Woman applying vampire makeup to a boy in a cape

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Here a young boy in a dark cape sits still while a woman leans in to paint his face, a small scene of preparation that often gets overlooked in Halloween pictures. Costume-making at home was a common part of the holiday for many families, especially in the early and mid twentieth century, when store-bought costumes were less varied and parents often improvised with greasepaint, cloth, and cardboard. The vampire look, with its pale skin and dark, sharpened features, drew on figures popularized by early horror films and novels, so the picture captures both a family tradition and a bit of popular culture passing into everyday life.

Original scan3,000 × 2,566 px · prints to 10 × 9 in at 300 dpi
Reference2988441685_93108d7dba_o

More from the Halloween collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.