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vinyl LP front cover design by Antonio Frasconi
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Somehow, it seems appropriate to publish an article about this album while the Corona virus (COVID-19) rages through the world as the album features Basil Rathbone reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe, one of which is a short story entitled, The Masque of the Red Death (link below).
vinyl LP back cover photo by Jules Alexander
photo of album cover by Styrous®
The Masque of the Red Death tells a tale about Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague, known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey. He, along with many other wealthy nobles, hosts a masquerade ball
within seven rooms of the abbey, each decorated with a different color.
In the midst of their revelry, a mysterious figure disguised as a Red
Death victim enters and makes his way through each of the rooms.
Prospero dies after confronting this stranger, whose "costume" proves to
contain nothing tangible inside it; the guests also die in turn.
Although the tale takes place in the middle ages,
it could equally apply to the situation occurring in our country at
this time and could also stand as a cautionary tale to those now in
power.
The disease called the Red Death is fictitious. Poe describes it as
causing "sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at
the pores" leading to death within half an hour.
The disease may have been inspired by tuberculosis (or consumption, as it was known then), since Poe's wife Virginia was suffering from the disease at the time the story was written. Like the character Prince Prospero, Poe tried to ignore the terminal nature of the disease (sound familiar?).
The Red Death may refer to cholera; Poe witnessed an epidemic of cholera in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1831. Others have suggested the pandemic is actually bubonic plague, emphasized by the climax of the story featuring the Red Death in the black room.
The Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, has the complete story on its website (link below) and the complete story read by Rathbone is on YouTube (link below).
The Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, has the complete story on its website (link below) and the complete story read by Rathbone is on YouTube (link below).
Poe first published the story in the May 1842 edition of Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine as The Mask of the Red Death,
with the tagline "A Fantasy". This first publication earned him $12. A
revised version was published in the July 19, 1845 edition of the Broadway Journal under the now-standard title The Masque of the Red Death. The original title emphasized the figure at the end of the story; the new title puts emphasis on the masquerade ball.
An illustration for the story by Harry Clarke, "The dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet", was featured in Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe in 1919 and published in London by G. G. Harrap & Co.
An illustration for the story by Harry Clarke, "The dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet", was featured in Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe in 1919 and published in London by G. G. Harrap & Co.
"The dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet" ~ Harry Clarke
Jules Alexander
whose photograph of Basil Rathbone is used on this album, was a fashion and
film star phototographer but is remembered mostly for his golf photography, in particular, professional golfer Ben Hogan (links below).
vinyl LP back cover photo by Jules Alexander
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC was born on June 13, 1892, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Rathbones fled to Britain when Basil was three years old when his father was accused by the Boers of being a spy after the Jameson Raid. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers and, occasionally, horror films.
His most famous role was that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series (links below).
vinyl LP back cover detail with album design credit for Antonio Frasconi
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, the second child of actors David and Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the
following year. Thus orphaned, the child was taken in by John and
Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him.
In 1827, under an assumed name, his publishing career began with the anonymous collection Tamerlane and Other Poems, credited only to "a Bostonian" and declared a firm wish to be a poet and writer.
In January 1845, Poe published his poem The Raven to instant success. He planned for years to produce his own journal The Penn (later renamed The Stylus),
but before it could be produced, he died in Baltimore on October 7,
1849, at age 40. The cause of his death is unknown and has been
variously attributed to disease, alcoholism, substance abuse, suicide,
and other causes.
Side 1:
A1 The Raven
A2 Annabel Lee
A3 Eldorado
A4 To ----
A5 The Masque Of The Red Death
Side 2:
B1 Alone
B2 The City In The Sea
B3 The Black Cat
Companies, etc.
Record Company – Caedmon Records, Inc.
Pressed By – RCA Records Pressing Plant, Rockaway
Credits:
Cover – Antonio Frasconi
Directed By – Howard Sackler
Narrator – Basil Rathbone
Notes:
Red, deep groove label.
The sleeve was probably printed ca. 1958-59, as the most recent Caedmon release advertised on the rear sleeve is Alice In Wonderland (Caedmon TC 1097, released 1958).
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Label): TC-1028-A
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Label): TC-1028-B
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout Etching): L8OP-6849-1 A1 R
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout Etching): L8OP-6850-1 A1 R
Edgar Allan Poe – Basil Rathbone Reads Edgar Allan Poe
Label: Caedmon Records – TC 1028, Caedmon Records – TC-1028
Format: Vinyl, LP, Red Labels
Country: US
Released: 1958
Genre: Non-Music
Style: Poetry, Spoken Word, Audiobook
Net links:
Jules Alexander images
Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia ~ Basil Rathbone
Baker Street Fandom ~ Basil Rathbone
Classic Monsters ~ Basil Rathbone
Golf Digest ~ Remembering Jules Alexander, iconic images of Ben Hogan
LA Times ~ Basil Rathbone obit
Jules Alexander images
Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia ~ Basil Rathbone
Baker Street Fandom ~ Basil Rathbone
Classic Monsters ~ Basil Rathbone
Golf Digest ~ Remembering Jules Alexander, iconic images of Ben Hogan
LA Times ~ Basil Rathbone obit
Sportsrip ~ Jules Alexander: A life well-lived
YouTube links:
Conversation with Photographer Jules Alexander The Macabre Death Of Edgar Allan Poe (23 mins. 28 secs.)
Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of The Soul (Documentary) (55 mins., 37 secs.)
Basil Rathbone ~ The Masque of the Red Death
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Conversation with Photographer Jules Alexander The Macabre Death Of Edgar Allan Poe (23 mins. 28 secs.)
Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of The Soul (Documentary) (55 mins., 37 secs.)
Basil Rathbone ~ The Masque of the Red Death
Take heed least once more, life imitates art!
Styrous® ~ Thursday, October 1, 2020
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