The Genii Forum

There are a few things I always wanted....Top of the list is/was an original Dai Vernon cut silhouette. Last week my Mom threw me an expected bombshell. Two paper cut silhouettes of her mother from the 1940 New York World's Fair. They appeared to be cut at the same time, so that you can mount them with a left side and a right side. No signatures as far as I can tell. They are mounted on a "postcard" type frame that reads "Silhouette Portrait cut at the New York World's Fair 1940"

Didn't I read that Dai cut Silhouettes at this Fair?

If so, is there anyone who can Authenticate this cut?

Hi Max,

Lot of info in this thread right here on Genii.

http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubb ... 876&page=1

MaxNY wrote:If so, is there anyone who can Authenticate this cut?

It's a shame that David Alexander is no longer around, as he very likely would have been able to do so.

David Ben would probably be able to do so.

David Alexander told me he was going to write a book on silhouettes. He was also going to do one on Martin.

David was an expert cutter himself. He told me what kind of paper Vernon used and other things that unfortunately I forgotten.

Richard

Hi Max--
Vernon did indeed cut silhouettes at the 1940 New York World's Fair. It's on page 306 of Ben's Vernon biography. It turned out to be a financial failure for him. On his best day--the fourth of July--Vernon only made seven dollars with the scissors. He was competing against the futuristic exhibitions.

If Vernon was the only silhouette artist working the fair, it's a good bet that it's his work. It's also a good idea to look at Vernon's published silhouettes that are scattered around the literature and compare them to the one you own.