Blank Bertillon Police Identification Card

Back in November I posted a look at Joe Broers' excellent arrest papers for Old Castro from "The Call of Cthulhu". Since then I've featured several other of his creations, most recently his re-creation of the amulet from Lovecraft's "The Hound". Yesterday he dropped me a line and was kind enough to send over the source files for making your own Bertillon card like the one in his prop set.

Sometime back i sent you some images of a Bertillon Card I made for 'Old Castro'. I've since reworked the card a little to make a generic version that can be completed with photos and details. The jpg image is set up that if it's printed it should be the right size.I've added marks so one can crop the paper. It should be card stock on the front and back. The photo would have been printed separately and glued to the card. Here is a link to an original card that also provides some links to others. Plus a little research will provide some other images, etc. for anyone interested.

http://nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/sept2002/bcd1.htm

Just click through for the front and back of the Bertillon style police identification card.





My sincere thanks to Mr. Broers for his generosity.

The Order of Alia

Benjamin Castro brings us this tome from the Order of Alia. The craftsmanship is just outstanding. The hand bound cover is natural leather with custom made metal clasps and adornments.

The Book of Blood

Benjamin Castro brings us the scientific journal of Dr. Prometheus Evergreen. Sadly, his innovative hematological research is but a footnote in the scientific record because of its monstrous side effects.

There's a lot to like here, from the beatiful marbled end papers to the rich finish of the leather binding.

Atlantean Journal

Benjamin Castro brings us this detailed recreation of the Atlantean journal from Disney's "Atlantis: The Lost Empire".  It's parchment bound in leather with genuine metal hardware.

"Call Of Cthulhu" Paper Props

I've linked to artist Joe Broers' work a few times before, and he was kind enough to send me over some extra material that he includes with his Cthulu Cultist's Dagger. This is a beautiful set of paper props based on Castro's arrest in "The Call of Cthulhu". Just click through for the full sized picture.



It's little touches like this that turn a good prop into a great one.

The Realm of Salama

Benjamin Castro brings us this beautifully handcrafted tome.

Stop Motion Nightgaunt

In an alternate universe not too far from our own, George Pal's 1978 production of "The Call of Cthulhu" is still hailed as a classic. After his attempted production of "Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze" fell apart because of rights problems with the estate of Lester Dent, Pal was searching for a possible franchise. Following up on a suggestion from writer Phillip Jose Farmer, who had drafted one of the Doc Savage screenplays, he discovered the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

It was a classic example of the right story at the right time. Pal was still bitter about the studio's effort to "camp up" his Doc Savage film and decided "The Call of Cthulhu" would be a serious drama. Suprisingly, the studio agreed, thanks in no small part to the box office success of period efforts like "Chinatown" and "The Sting". Michael Rennie, David Suchet, and Michael York were signed to star, but it was veteran character actor George Coulouris who would garner an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting actor in the role of "Old Castro".

Despite it's relatively modest budget the film boasted incredible animated sequences produced by Ray Harryhausen and Gregory Jein. For over a year after principal photography ended the pair slaved away in a small studio bringing "Cthulhu" to life using a new filming technique. In traditional stop motion animation the puppets are moved a fraction of an inch each time a frame of film is clicked off. When projected at normal speed those individual frames blend together to produce the illusion of a living creature, but the results can be jerky and look artificial. Harryhausen and Jein used small rods to actually move the puppet while the film was being exposed, producing a far smoother and more realistic blurring effect. The puppet footage was then combined with additional rotoscoped effects and the live action plates in one of the new, high registration optical printers developed for Star Wars. The result was an epic sequence that helped redefine the capabilities of stop motion animation.

That exercise in alt history is my hopefully entertaining way of introducing this old school animation puppet of a nightgaunt from Richard Svensson. It has a very Harryhausen-esque feel, and I mean that as a high compliment. You can see it in action over here.