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by Ben Crane |
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Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows. This question and answer, followed by a sinister laugh, introduced each episode of a radio series called The Shadow during the '30s and '40s. It was a detective series in which the Shadow brought criminals and wrong doers to justice on a weekly basis. The Shadow was actually Lamont Cranston, wealthy young man about town, who had learned how to make himself invisible to others while in the Orient. His friend and companion, Margo Lane, was the only other person who knew of Cranston's secret identity as the Shadow. Orson Welles played the Shadow during the early episodes, and Margo Lane was played by Agnes Moorehead. More than half a century earlier John Bufford, a Boston lithographer, created and copyrighted a set of stock trade cards featuring shadows. In these cards a shadow makes a comic and sometimes cynical comment about the pictured person or persons--perhaps revealing what's in their hearts or predicting what the future holds for them. Card 15, in particular, illustrates this theme. Titled "Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before," the card shows a courting couple casting a shadow that portends future domestic discord. Shown below are 18 of these cards with imprints of local merchants. This listing is not claimed to be complete, and other images most probably exist. Thumbnail images of these cards appear below. Click on an image for a larger view. |
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