Parting the Veil of Faery: The Colmore Fatagravures June 19, 2007 9:43 PM Subscribe
Partingthe Veilof Faery: The Colmore Fatagravures, said to date from the 1890s. "A Scottish adventurer, inventor, and photographer named Neville Colmore claimed to have constructed a device capable of '...parting the veil of Faery...' The device, which he called the Spectobarathrum, along with all of the images he claimed to have made were believed destroyed in a fire. I believe some of these images and related artefacts may have survived." [via Apothecary's Drawer] posted by mediareport (16 comments total)
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These astonishing images should not be confused with the later, more familiar, Cottingley garden fairy photos on which the 1998 film "Fairy Tale - A True Story" was based...The Cottingley girls had a literary champion in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and they were cute little English girls. He was a cantankerous Scots scientist with a thick Border accent and was consider quite mad by the majority of his peers in the United Kingdom. Colmore was very bitter about the attention they received.
This is a fairly (sic) entertaining construct, although it would be more convincing if there were internet references to Neville Colmore that DIDN'T reference this flickr set or include the exact phrase "A Scottish adventurer, inventor, and photographer named Neville Colmore claimed to have constructed a device capable of '...parting the veil of Faery...' ".
Or if, say, wikipedia weren't uncharacteristically silent on the matter... posted by dersins at 12:15 AM on June 20, 2007
I don't buy it for a minute, but I have to say it's beautifully done; thanks for posting. posted by El Brendano at 2:39 AM on June 20, 2007
You don't buy the hoax itself, or the hoax of the hoax? Very nice posting... Mr. Swift would be proud, or tired... posted by ewkpates at 2:56 AM on June 20, 2007
A hoax of a hoax is an intriguing idea, and the images are more appealing than the Cottingly fairies. They're a bit too good for this to be entirely convincing. posted by louche mustachio at 4:18 AM on June 20, 2007
dersins, there's nothing about Chappell/Traprock at Wikipedia either, but I promise you I've seen his books. :) posted by mediareport at 5:22 AM on June 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
I love that first one, whatever it is. posted by The Straightener at 5:57 AM on June 20, 2007
Wow... full disclosure -- I've known Colmore for something like a decade. Aren't these beautiful? He's really stumbled upon the most magical -- and disturbing -- things. Dr. Traprock has been a huge influence has been a huge influence on Neville's adventurousness.
Mediareport, are you implying that the Fatu-Liva bird does not exist?! You've not properly lived until you've had a square-egg omelette on one of those glorious Filbert Island mornings. posted by kittyb at 6:54 AM on June 20, 2007
and, of course, Traprock has indeed been a doubly huge influence! posted by kittyb at 6:56 AM on June 20, 2007
What a lovely post. These are gorgeous! posted by LeeJay at 12:46 PM on June 20, 2007
What? Y'all don't believe in faeries?!
*claps hands* posted by deborah at 1:02 PM on June 20, 2007
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Battuil of Bogglecleugh #173 is my fave, I think.
posted by mediareport at 9:45 PM on June 19, 2007