The Temple of Palmistry

Date1905

MediumPhotographic emulsion on paper mounted on mat board, framed

DimensionsImage: 6 1/2 x 8 1/4in. (16.5 x 21cm) Framed: 11 1/4 x 13 1/4in.

Object number2010.510.2

DescriptionA black and white photograph of a palm reading business set up in a large white tent, with large signs above and to each side of the entrance. A man in a suit and black bowler hat stands at the entrance and gazes at the viewer. In the background is the wooden framing for some now-unidentified structure.

Photographer unidentified.

The 3/4-inch stained, painted, and gilded frame bears art nouveau ornamentation and appears to be a period replacement.
Label TextThis palm reader's business was set up at one of Connecticut's most successful amusement parks, White City, later called Savin Rock, located at West Haven. Today, a museum on the site relates the history of the resort, which began as a popular but relatively quiet seaside retreat in the 1860s. By the 1870s, ferry and street car service enhanced the park's appeal to recreationists, who came for cock fights, horse races, boxing matches, picnics, and carousel rides. Ultimately, roller coasters, water chutes, and bumper cars were added, and fun houses, concerts, and marathon dances competed for the attention of customers who came to gawk as much as participate.
Eye-catching signage is critical to the success of any commercial establishment dependent on a walk-in clientele. The front of this palm reader's tent is covered with signs, the large pictorial one at lower right suggesting that even proper ladies could benefit from revelations based on such "scientific" examination and interpretation. Other wording and images allude to a contemporary fascination with mysticism, such as calling the modest tent a "temple" and using the names of planets for some of the palm parts. The combination of exoticism, romanticism, and pseudo-science would have proved irresistible to many who yearned to know themselves better and glimpse their futures.

InscribedThe back of the green mat board secondary support is inscribed in graphite in script in several places. One, in the oldest looking script, reads: "Ed W[oc?]chenev/Savin Rock/West Haven/Conn". Another, in a modern hand near the top edge, reads: "SAVIN ROCK/West Haven/1905 G121 [B3? or 133?]/$165.00". In graphite in one corner is: "6/1/05".
The rebate of the frame bears modern pencil notes that appear to be instructions to a framer: "10x12 Pak [or Pat?] 54 857 533 AXV".
MarkingsWithin the photographic composition, the wording on the sign at top center reads: "TEMPLE OF PALMISTRY./PALMREAD10¢". Various lines or parts of the palm shown on this sign are labeled as follows: "JUPITER," "SATURN," "SUN," "MERCURY," "MENSALIS," "NATURAL," "L OF LIFE," "PROSPERITY," "MT OF VENUS," "MT OF MOON," and "RASCETTA."
The wording on the large sign to the viewer's left reads: "THE TEMPLE OF/PALMISTRY./YOUR HAND READ 10¢". The wording on the large sign to the viewer's right reads: "SCIENTIFIC PALMISTRY 10[¢?]". Three smaller signs above the tent entrance each bear an image of a palm above a name; the names are: "WM DEAN HOWELLS," "JOHN L. SULLIVAN," and "PROF. R. L. GARDNER." A sign within the tent, behind the standing man, reads: "ENTRANCE." The signage for a business adjacent to the palm reader's starts with the letters "PH . . . ."
Wording on other signs within the composition may become legible with good photography, sharpening, and magnification.
ProvenanceOwnership prior to CWF's source (Walters) is undocumented.