The Devil in Design: The Krampus Postcards

Book Description

A collection of vintage Christmas cards for very bad little girls and boys. The Devil in Design is a fascinating, full-color compendium of extremely rare, late 19th and early 20th-century Krampus postcards culled from key postcard collections from around the world. Lavishly illustrated with over a 150 striking and stylized full-page examples, the book also includes a short introduction tracing the character's origin and its overwhelming popularity throughout Europe. In the Christmas traditions of Europe, the Krampus is Saint Nicholas's dark servant—a hairy, horned, supernatural beast whose pointed ears and long slithering tongue gave misbehavers the creeps! Whereas Saint Nicholas would reward children who had been good all year with treats, those that had been disobedient were paid a visit by the Krampus.

The Krampus terrorized the bad until they promised to be good. Some he'd spank; others he'd whip, while others he'd shackle, stuff into his large wooden basket, and then hurl into the flames of Hell! Such scenarios were delineated by skilled and imaginative Old World craftsmen, printed on penny postcards and disseminated throughout Europe.

The Devil in Design is the first English-language book to offer this breathtaking collection of the finest, rarest, and most visually-stunning Krampus cards history has left to offer. 168 pages full-color illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Very interesting folklore .......2007-04-12

An historical, folklorical, and thought-provoking collection of symbolic prints geared to scare
kids into behaving via paranoia and the dark side of Santa Claus. Well done. I keep it next to
my copy of "Der Struwwelpeter".

A Great Visual Work.......2006-05-26

I really enjoyed this book. The brief descriptions make the cards easier to understand by putting them into the historical perspective of beliefs and practices of late 19th and early 20th century Europe. Most of the cards are colorful and impressive, depicting different styles of the Krampus, having both humanistic and animistic qualities. This is definitely a good buy if you're interested in seeing the postcards without too much reading.

Hellfire For Christmas .......2004-08-09

Monte Beauchamp's dazzling The Devil in Design: The Krampus Postcards (2004) is a collection of 147 vintage images of the dark and Pan - like Krampus, who, with his guiding companion St. Nikolaus, visited German and Austrian children at Christmastime. But while St. Nikolaus rewarded the well behaved with small gifts, Krampus, as a more active presence, not only left switches for disobedient children with which their parents could beat them, but spanked, shackled, and even kidnapped the worst juvenile offenders, who were carried away and thrown into hell. Thus, a child's good behavior at Christmastime and indeed throughout the year took on an entirely different folkloric coloring than it did in America, a continent to which Krampus never successfully emigrated, though other parts of Europe had similar "dark" Christmas traditions.

Krampus was a childhood nighttime bogey and bedroom invader par excellence: small, horned, hairy, and black furred, he was almost identical to the archetypal Christian image of the devil. The classic Krampus figure was readily identifiable for his exceptionally long and permanently extended bright red tongue, as well as for having one cloven hoof in addition to a human foot. The numinous Krampus was a hybrid figure composed of both comedic and frightening characteristics; his bestial appearance and unmistakably phallic tongue underscored the decidedly sexual angle in his nature, which several of the included images make apparent. As a liminal trickster of the "betwixt and between" and a daimonic violator of boundaries and boarders of all varieties, several of the cards appropriately portray the irrepressible Krampus as bursting free from the two dimensional wall of the card and into the laps and

The visionary illustrations of the Krampus Postcards are as powerful and strange as the beliefs and folklore upon which they were based. As Krampus is uniformly presented in jesting guise, the overall effect suggests that the children of the late 19th century and early 20th were no more seriously frightened by Krampus than American children of a slightly later era were by the witches and ghosts of Halloween decor and the corresponding folklore. That said, most of the artists clearly considered the Krampus image as a point of departure, and freely added a variety of subtle sociological twists that considerably widened the scope of basic theme.

Several cards portray Krampus as a welcomed gentleman seducer, appearing on women's doorsteps dressed in period eveningwear, while others depict him spying enthusiastically on presumably wayward lovers. Two images reveal Krampus as a puppeteer of men, causing mankind's sin as well as punishing it. Like the Fool in the classic Tarot deck, Krampus gleefully steps off the edge of the earth, a group of shackled children following closely behind him; like the Pied Piper, Krampus leads away a line of children so long that its end disappears into the image's distant horizon.

Apparently never shy about causing physical pain and discomfort, Krampus freely pulls children's hair, boxes their ears, and switches their bottoms. Though some children allow themselves to be led blandly away, others are clearly terrorized and beg last minute forgiveness; but regardless of their reaction to him, Krampus' expression of dutiful pleasure never changes. He is also capable of diverse forms of mobility: when not leading children away on foot or painfully pulling them after him, Krampus is driving an automobile, arriving by train, riding a sled, or flying in primitive airplanes, suggesting that there are few places to which he doesn't have access. As a kind of reverse Santa Claus, Krampus carries a basket on his shoulders, typically filled not with dolls and other toys, but with captured human children whose stunned appearance suggests that they have become little more than objects. Several cards depict Krampus carrying off young offenders through the snow, revealing that he is as comfortable in freezing weather as he is in the fires of hell. In one, a smiling snowman and an anthropomorphic half moon in a nighttime stocking cap look peacefully on as Krampus passes by with a child prisoner in the still of the night, suggesting that everything is as it should be.

There are also female Krampus figures, and mother, father, and son Krampus families. Fans of Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmajer's Faust (1994) will recognize the Krampus on page 80 as the model for one of that film's enormous devil puppets.

Most of the illustrations are traditional in character, and thus any sexual content is far from overt. However the fleshy and lascivious Krampus on page 50 clearly suggests the influence of Aubrey Beardsley, while the stylized Krampus of page 21 resembles nothing so much as a huge turgid phallus carried about on enormous cloven hooves. Page 89's Krampus is nine tenths a rooster, or cock. While Krampus is fond of carrying off huge baskets of adult women, including those of grandmotherly age, he is equally fond of strictly male audiences.

It has taken Krampus a hundred years to reach American shores, an event The Devil In Design: The Krampus Postcards celebrates admirably. While some readers might prefer more historical information, Beauchamp's brief explanatory text provides the basic context needed to grasp the images: the illustrations, which speak volumes for themselves, do the rest.

Those interested in the evolution of Christmas folklore and other Krampus - like figures may also want to seek out Tony van Renterghem's When Santa Was a Shaman (1995) and Phyllis Siefker's Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Man (1997) for further information.

Book Description

Have you ever thought up a question so completely off-the-wall, so seemingly ridiculous, that you couldn't even find the courage to ask it? Maybe at the sports bar you were transported by the beauty of your beer to wonder, "How long could I live on beer alone?" Or, cycling through the park, you mused, "Did nature invent any wheels?" Or looking up at the night sky, you had a moment of angst, "What would happen if the moon suddenly disappeared -- if it were vaporized or stolen by aliens?"

Full of fun factlets, Does Anything Eat Wasps? is a runaway bestseller around the world. It celebrates the weird and wacky questions -- some trivial, some baffling, all unique -- and their multiple answers culled from "The Last Word," a long-running column in the internationally popular science magazine, New Scientist. Tackling the imponderables of everyday life, sparkling with humor, and bursting with delightful erudition, Does Anything Eat Wasps? is irresistibly entertaining and utterly engrossing.

So, go on. Put away your lab coat and your pencil -- science is fun again.

Download Description

How fat do you have to be to become bulletproof? Why do people have eyebrows? Why do pineapples have spines? How much does a head weigh? What affects the color of earwax? How quickly could I turn into a fossil? Have you ever thought up a question so completely off-the-wall, so seemingly ridiculous, that you couldn't even find the courage to ask it? Maybe at the sports bar you were transported by the beauty of your beer to wonder, "How long could I live on beer alone?" Or, cycling through the park, you mused, "Did nature invent any wheels?"Or looking up at the night sky, you had a moment of angst, "What would happen if the moon suddenly disappeared -- if it were vaporized or stolen by aliens?" Full of fun factlets, Does Anything Eat Wasps? is a runaway bestseller around the world. It celebrates the weird and wacky questions -- some trivial, some baffling, all unique -- and their multiple answers culled from The Last Word, a long-running column in the internationally popular science magazine, New Scientist. Tackling the imponderables of everyday life, sparkling with humor, and bursting with delightful erudition, Does Anything Eat Wasps? is irresistibly entertaining and utterly engrossing. So, go on. Put away your lab coat and your pencil -- science is fun again.

Customer Reviews:

Fun, but limited.......2007-08-15

Well this is indeed interesting. You will leave with more tidbits of knowledge to amaze your friends. But I was expecting a little more. It did not take me very long at all to read everything of interest in this book. IT is more of a novelty gift of coffee table book, not for educational or litereary pursuits.

Very Hungry Birds (and More !).......2007-05-26

The 'New Scientist' is a weekly magazine, first published in 1956, that covers the recent happenings in the scientific world. In 1994, the magazine launched a new column called "The Last Word" in which its driven by its readers - not all of whom are geeks in white coats. Here, they could not only pose a science-related question, but also provide the answers. "Does Anything Eat Wasps" is a selection of the questions asked and answered over the column's first eleven years, and proved to be one of the UK's surprise hit of the year.

The book is divided into chapters, depending on the focus of the questions selected - our bodies, our planet and 'wierd' weather for example. While the book is informative, it is equally as likely to raise a smile - the overall tone is not that of a difficult, highbrow scientific paper. Some of the questions that are dealt with include : how long can a human being live if their sole source of food or drink is beer ? (One respondant includes in his answer it would be unethical to conduct such an experiment - though I suspect he would have plenty of volunteers). What causes the changes, in terms of colour and consistency, in earwax ? Can it be scientifically proven that your arse looks smaller in black trousers ? And just how far above the Earth's surface would you have to be before a compass stops pointing north ?

An enjoyable and informative book - though it's one I tend to dip into once in a while, rather than reading it from cover to cover.

NewScientist Readers Give Answers to Questions You May or May Not Have Thought of Before.......2007-05-05

There are many informative interesting fact books out there, what makes this one different from the rest is that they haven't actually gone and found experts to find out what the actual answers are, instead readers of popular magazine NewScientist (and granted some of these are scientists, lecturers and others who would know what they are talking about, but a lot are just every day people as well) have answered questions pondered by other readers. This book is a collection of a column that appears in each addition of the magazine. So it is comparable to logging onto a forum on Yahoo or somewhere else where questions are posted by one users for anyone else to answer, the answerer may be 100 per cent right then again the again they may be a hundred percent wrong. You could also compare this book to when researching a fact going online to Wikipedia where anything can be posted as fact, instead of looking up an actual encyclopaedia or specific topic research book.

If you like visiting these types of websites, and can take every answer with a grain of salt as they say, then this may well be the book for you. If you actually want answers you know are true to interesting questions or books of facts then there are far better alternatives out there such as Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies?: The Truth Behind Old Wives' Tales, Great Mythconceptions: The Science Behind the Myths, Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S. and Shocking Science to name just four examples.

Oddball questions, clever answers.......2007-04-10

I've always been a fan of trivia books -- you know, those books that are full of factoids and/or short bits of knowledge. They often have a problem though -- they tend to run a lot of items without fact checking. The question-and-answer type (as exemplified by David Feldman and Cecil Adams) tend to be better-researched, since they're more than just factoids. This is one of the latter kind, and then some.

Many of the questions in this book (culled from the Last Word column in New Scientist Magazine) are distinctly weird -- questions about convection currents in liqueurs, decomposition of a guinea pig corpse, and the use of bromide as an anaphrodisiac all come up, along with a great many others. The interesting thing is the answers -- quite a lot of them are written by multiple contributors, allowing the reader to get different perspectives on an answer.

So if you're into q&a trivia books, get this one. There's quite a lot to learn, and you'll even get some understanding about how scientists disagree.

Does Anything Eat Wasps?.......2007-01-09

My husband heard about this writer and wanted to try his book. Now there isn't a day that goes by that I don't learn a new tidbit of somthing from him!

Does Anything Eat Wasps? (New Scientist)

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Does Anything Eat Wasps? (New Scientist)
"New Scientist"
Manufacturer: Profile Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1861979738

Book Description

The daughter of John Wayne and his third wife, Pilar, Aissa delves into her father's childhood, his film career, and his life off the screen. John Wayne: My Father reports Wayne's life faithfully and compassionately, resulting in an affecting portrait that offers a new perspective on one of America's most enduring heroes.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2007-07-16

Aissa Wayne (the author of this book and daughter of John Wanye)wines and complains thoughout the whole book. Making this very disappointing if you were hoping to read some good stories of John Wayne behind the camera.

Her Father Would Be Proud...........2006-09-22

I am close to the same age as Aissa and from the time I was 10, while other pre-teen girls were obsessing over Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy, I was crazy about John Wayne -50 years my senior. This adoration carried over throughout high school and was so well known that one boy, trying to secure a date, only succeeded by impersonating John Wayne's familiar drawl and naming his jeep "The Duke." In Tucson, the whole town loved John Wayne and affectionately dubbed a Saturday Night midnight viewing of his earliest 1930's westerns - "The Worst of John Wayne." All my dates knew that I had to be home by 11:45 PM because this weekly event couldn't be missed. When he passed away, my friends sent sympathy cards to me and I truly mourned him.

For years, I avoided this book because I thought it would read like "Daddy Dearest." After reading it, I am only sorry that it took me so long to order it.

Aissa presents a candid and honest view of her famous father - through a daughter's eyes. She speaks with love and pride of her father and yet also addresses the downside of being a child of such a famous icon as well. Some of the ways that her father showed his love toward her were so incredibly sweet that I actually envied her childhood. And some of his strictness - especially towards his sons, was so indicative of how men in that era believed that "real men don't cry" and that it was their duty to instruct their sons to be "strong and silent."

In reading the book, it is so clear that John Wayne deeply loved his children - but Aissa was probably his favorite. I believe that her father showed his love the most by not always being the "nice guy," but by often being pretty strict. Parents can't always be friends with their kids during the teenage years because authority is questioned and undermined so much during those years, but it is obvious that John Wayne was strong and responsible and wanted to prepare Aissa with qualities that would carry her over to adulthood. The fact that Aissa became an attorney speaks volumes in that her father would be so immensely proud of her as this was an ambition of his as well.

In many ways, I identified with Aissa because my father was also "larger than life" as a commanding officer of the Green Berets. Ironically, he passed away from lung cancer 5 years before John Wayne. Although not famous, as children of an officer, we were required to present a façade and behave in a manner that would enhance my father's career so I understood to some degree the resentment that Aissa felt growing up. Likewise, I think that we all were somewhat mortified to be around our parents in the 70's. I also know what it is like to have such a vibrant force depart and how angry I felt because he had died and how lost our whole family felt for so many years afterwards. So this book was like reading part of my life. Aissa states that for so many years she was attracted to men like her father and I can see now why I idolized John Wayne.

The one area of the book that I questioned was John Wayne's relationship to his personal secretary, Pat Stacy. I remember the Barbara Walters interview and I am almost sure that he actually wiped a tear away during the interview and then stated that he had found a woman that he really loved. Also, Maureen O'Hara - one of the Duke's best friends, mentions in her book that John Wayne and Pat were in love and that she was glad that he could share his last years with a woman he loved. Likewise, he bought Pat a house right across the street from him as I think in his own mind John Wayne would not want to openly "live with" Pat during that era. It is understandable that Aissa did not want to see that her father was in love with another woman other than her mother. But I believe that John Wayne would want Aissa and Pat now to be friends because he loved them both so much. Personally, I believe that both Aissa and Pat wrote books about John Wayne, not to financially benefit from it, but rather because they felt they owed it to his fans, to themselves, and to John Wayne, himself.

Two things that I wish had been included in this book: Aissa did not mention that her father had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, with the words " John Wayne - American." I think that this award must have meant so much to her father - almost more than all his other awards. Also, one of my favorite memories of her father was when he appeared on the hugely popular "Laugh-In." He wore this huge bunny suit and had a deadpanned expression and only John Wayne could have gotten away with this. It was hilarious and it just made me think so much more of him that he could be so vulnerable and confident enough to do this.

I have a great amount of respect for Aissa for writing this intimate and honest account of her father through her eyes. We all felt that the Duke "belonged" to us and I am sure that it wasn't easy to share her famous father with the world.

A different perspective on John Wayne.............2006-07-02

I have to admit I haven't finished this book but am enjoying it so much. It is a totally different view of John Wayne. Much is revealed about his first two marriages. The view through the eyes of a small child is different indeed. You will see a side of John Wayne that was never publicized. It's a good read that's getting better everyday.

Reader.......2005-10-24

Another excellant book . It must have been difficult for Aissa

to write all this down , but I , as a John Wayne fan , am glad

that she did . Thank you Aissa , for telling us who your

father really was . He will allways be our " HERO " .

Jack Yannuzzi

She doesn't tap dance.......2004-10-30

In response to Sgt. Pepper, I really have a hard time with your comments about Aissa Wayne. I don't think she tap dances anymore, and she surely has no interest in rapping -- that's ridiculous!

Aissa is a well-known California attorney and former prosecutor. She has been in several of her father's films, as a youngster, and spends evenings at home with her family (sort of a soccer mom), according to her bio. She is an accomplished writer and career woman, and I think this book is a great look at her famous father, the Duke.

If she ever did rap, I assure you she would do it well. In the meantime, I suspect she will stick to her law career.

JOHN WAYNE MY FATHER (ISIS LARGE PRINT OXFORD, ENGLAND)

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JOHN WAYNE MY FATHER (ISIS LARGE PRINT OXFORD, ENGLAND)

Manufacturer: CLIO PRESS OXFORD, ENGLAND
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FT68N4

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John Wayne, My Father
Aissa (With Steve Delsohn) Wayne
Manufacturer: New York: Random House, 1991
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NVA3DA

Book Description

Hailed as important, entertaining, and revealing, Copland: Since 1943 is composer Aaron Copland's irresistible account of the latter half of his career--a career that brought us such pioneering works as Appalachian Spring and Lincoln Portrait, the movie scores for Of Mice and Men and Our Town, and numerous other orchestral and chamber works. It tells the story of how a self-described "brash young man from Brooklyn" went on to become one of the founding fathers of "serious" American music. Featuring cameos by luminaries such as Leonard Bernstein, Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille, Benny Goodman, and other peers of Aaron Copland during this explosively creative period, Copland: Since 1943 is an invaluable memoir that charts the crescendo of one of the most accomplished careers in the modern canon.

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Copland Since 1943
AAron Copland and Viviian Perlis
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OT17CW

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Copland: Since 1943
Aaron; Perlis, Vivian Copland
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OT1LE6

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Introduces chess and goes well beyond

I like this book

A Fantastic Classic!

A Classis Which Needs Updating and Notation Change

The Best Chess Book Ever?

Lasker's Manual of Chess
Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chess | Board Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Game of Chess (Algebraic Edition)

Chess Fundamentals

My System (Chess Classics)

Common Sense in Chess

Botvinnik: 100 Selected Games

ASIN: 0486206408

Book Description

Combinations, position play, openings, end game, aesthetics of chess, philosophy of struggle, much more. Filled with analyzed games. 308 diagrams.

Customer Reviews:

Introduces chess and goes well beyond.......2006-06-13

"Lasker's Manual of Chess" doesn't mess arround. It is absolutely perfect for someone who needs a brief reminder of the basic rules and then is ready to get quickly into the strategic parts of chess. It is a well written book for an adult reader or older teenage reader; younger kids or someone who is a super beginner should start with "Chess For Jrs" or possibly "Learn chess: A complete Course".
This may be an older book but it is very well written and a largely forgotten about classic.

I like this book.......2005-02-02

I like this book. It starts off with the basic rules and quickly gets into openings and strategy. I wish they would put it out in "algebraic chess notation" which is the only drawback. Since I get an A in all my classes as a 7th grade student I can understand this book well even with the old form of chess notation.

A Fantastic Classic!.......2005-01-28

This is one of the best Introductory Chess Books ever written for an adult. The only drawback is that it needs to be written in Algebraic Notation.
The former world champion also covers some more advanced concepts throughout the text.

A Classis Which Needs Updating and Notation Change.......2004-12-05

This wonderful classic is very well written for an adult (would be difficult reading for most kids) who is either a beginner or a player who has aquired basic skills. It provides a good mixture of basics with even some more advanced concepts. Lasker was a great chess teacher.
Then why 3 stars instead of 5? This is because the book requires some serious updating. For the more advanced player the openings are very outdated. The book needs to be written in the more modern and efficient Algebraic form of notation. And, as already mentioned, it is difficult reading for possible use by a young reader.

The Best Chess Book Ever?.......2002-07-25

This may be the best chess book ever. I glance over my shoulder at a pile of 50+ chess books that I've purchased over my two year affair with the game of chess. Of these, only a few stand out as being truly worth the time and money. One offers such an exceptional value that I suggest it to everybody: Lasker's Manual of Chess. The prose is stilted and out of date, the section on the openings is wanting, and it starts out with directions for how to play...BUT the sections on combination, positional play, and the model games have few equals. I love endgame studies and this book is full of them. This book never fails to get me out of a rut. BTW, take the positional advantage diagrams and play them out against your chess computer for a fun lesson.

If you love chess, do yourself a favor and pick up this, Tarrasch's Game of Chess, Nunn's Understanding Chess Move by Move, Howell's Essential Chess Endings, and Kotov's Art of the Middlegame. They may be all the chess books you ever need.

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Lasker's Chess Manual
Dr Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: Printing-Craft Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HI8GWO

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Lasker's Manual of Chess
Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: Dover Publications Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NX4X3E

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Lasker's manual of chess,
Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: DOVER PUBLICATIONS +
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TXFMCE

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Laskers Manual of Chess
Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: DOVER PUBLICATIONS +
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PXVW8G

Average customer rating:
Laskers Manual of Chess
Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: DOVER PUBLICATIONS +
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SFUGFG

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Manual of Chess
Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: David McKay Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LO84JO

Average customer rating:
Lasker's Manual of Chess
Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PGH2L4

Average customer rating:
Lasker's Manual of Chess
E. Lasker
Manufacturer: Dover Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFM70W

Average customer rating:
Lasker's Manual of Chess
Emanuel Lasker
Manufacturer: Dover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NXJ6MM

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