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Back nBlacKollectible lack- nd-whites lhouetteadda graphtc unch o ary room

Bv Parntct l SHacxgl roPo

A te yo u wondering f si lhouettes re oh -F\so-over? So as tyear?Hardly. he yar enot evenso lastcentury. n fact, ou have ogo backwell over 20 0 years o uncover hebeginnings f this last ingcraft and, somebel ieve, rt form Origlnat ingn France' l l-houetteswere an engagingway to capturesomeone's ikenesswithout the expenseor wait-t ime of a portrait The quali ty ofth e work ranged rom hobby-by itinerantworkers-to highlydetai ledan d respectedar t forms.As with so much of French hic,th e craze or si lhouette uttingsoonspread'and artists began o move nto other parts

Clockwisero m left: gth-centurg ut ,gentlemonwith hat' Tw o

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of Europe nd eventual lyhe UnitedStates,where t wascornnron or artists o travel opolrular esort ocal ions o make )orlrdrtsof he ourists.

While the huge demand for s i lhou-et tes decl ined with th e invent ion of th edaguerreolpe. t l re f i rst )ot)ular nel od o[photogralrhy,oday their appeal remainsstrong. l can keep them in," reportsEl izabeth lson,who hasa booth at MissionRoacl nt iqu e Mall "For th e last three tofour yearssi lhouetteshave been so lrot .High-qual i tymid-lalh-cenlury pietes aredef ini telyn dernand Tlrerewas a renais-sance f s i lhouettesn the 1950sbut thesedonot eal ly ppeal o collectors,"hesays ft l re ' iecec lrc l rvs olten 11]reNortheast.

Local dealer Elva Needles rt rajors nsi lhouettes,oo: She has examplesof al lthree fornrs on display First , and leastfamil iar s the hol low-cut i lhouette,which

is cu t f ronr wl-r i te aper.Then he negativeirnage t lre 1' l rul i lelsel l , s cul oul Firral l lt l re remairr ing iece, he out l ine, s backedwit l r bl . rck )al)ercredl ing gral, l r ic l fect

Muclr more ex1. lected.rre Needlesexdrnl) les f eut-orr l i l l rouetes wlrere lre

irnape . cr i l f ror lra niece of black-coatel)dlrer

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L.;,tu@;^ft;/,1!/"I have o linritr / - I -mvsell somenowvYllso now I onlY DUY.1 I t l .. / ,I u,sllhouettes thatI ' lresemDleOrremindmet - t - ' I lDoI Inends !-Bruce Bttrstert

house. l haveone clientwh o has a numberof f ireplaces n her lrouse-f ive at least-and she hassi lhoueltes anging l l aroundthe mantels.Theyar e such a good size orevery oo m from livingroom to bathroom

We hardlY need to mention-bul wewil l-thal a lovely ai rof si lhouettes ouldmake he perlectgif t lor an yValent ine