This is a 1950s photo of Basler Fasnacht (Basel Carnival), a festival and parade held in Switzerland. The festival traces its roots to the Middle Ages. It begins on the Monday after Ash Wednesday and is famed for masked parades featuring large papier-mâché masks known as Larven. Original red border Kodachrome slides do not have a date stamp, but the three-line format indicates these images were taken between 1955 and 1959.

This particular image shows a  masked brass band (a Fasnacht clique) is marching past. The players wear oversized caricature Larven with rounded bodysuits, tartan “kilt” skirts, and each carries a small colorful parasol while playing horns; a bass drum anchors the middle of the formation. They’re moving between tightly packed spectators on a confetti-dusted street—classic daytime Cortège scene.

At the time of this writing, I am listing approximately 15 images of this event, all taken by the same photographer from the same advantageous position. I’ve personally experimented with several of them and achieved very striking 8 by 10 enlargements, so this is a great series to consider if you’re interested in creating a decorative grouping. Just visit my store and search for “MONSTER PARADE” to see what else is available!

VISIT OUR STORE AND SEARCH INVENTORY TO FIND RELATED IMAGES.

***********************************
You are bidding on or purchasing one original photographic slide as shown. 

There are no watermarks on the actual slide you will receive.

SAVE MONEY: WE WILL COMBINE SHIPPING IF YOU PURCHASE MORE THAN ONE SLIDE. If you are interested in multiple slides, contact us once you have finished shopping and wait to pay until we combine the purchases and send a single invoice with a single shipping charge.

Original vintage slides may have dust, small scratches, or other imperfections. All slides have been hand-selected for content, quality, and presentability.

Slide images shown in this listing have been scanned "as-is." We have made no attempt to repair, improve, or clean up the images shown, in the interest of providing a 100% accurate portrayal of the slide being offered.