Madame Delphine's Séance Sign

This signboard measures approximately nineteen inches tall and twelve and a half inches wide, mounted on wood a quarter inch deep. Signs are intended for indoor use. A metal bracket is affixed to the back to make hanging it simple.

Each wooden signboard is handcrafted at Studio Carnivalia by the artist, Chas Bogan.

An old photo of my great grandmother inspired this piece, as well as memories I have of having attended Spiritualist meetings at the local Odd Fellows Hall when I was a youngster.

What I like most about this particular signboard is it's shape. It looks wonderful hanging on my wall, and will be a focus for conversation should you decide to hang it in your own home.

Continuing to be inspired by falsehood, this design features a 'spirit horn,' such as were once used in the darkened Victorian parlors where early séances were hosted. Such horns were associated with the angel Gabriel, who as Heaven's messenger was believed to aid souls on the other side to communicate to the living. Often a reflective band surrounded the horn, so that in the dark it appeared to float—far enough from the medium that s/he could not be accused of generating the voices that spoke through the horn (although a stiff rubber pipe could easily connect the horn to the medium's mouth, as well as allow for it to seemingly hover in the dark).

The history of trickery and the romance of more mysterious times give this piece a delightfully strange aura. Like a voice from beyond the grave, it is at once familiar and yet not of this world.