Check Out The Sylphs

Recently I was able to select some photographs from a large collection of visual marvels including two Sylphs. I never had a photo of Sylph before; I never new of anything termed Sylph. That may be because the term is used mostly in Britain, but when you find out that one definition of the word is  'invisible mythological creatures who live in the air,' obvious reasons for my ignorance might arise.No wonder I hadn't seen them, they're invisible!  And that brought up a number of issues, as I determined to uncover more about these creatures. Looking at these two cartes-de-visite I thought of three immediate alternatives in this investigation.1) Sylphs are not really invisible and these photos prove it, or2) The photos of these Sylphs were taken by a magic camera which sees into the invisible world, or3) These are not Sylphs at all, merely women posing in costume.If you believe you see the Sylphs in these photos you are delusional.  These photos are blank.But let's assume that number 3 is true. What fabulous costumes! The dresses are decorated with buttons, patters, gewgaws and gimcracks. They wear beads, attach baubles to all parts of their clothing, don elaborate headdresses with feathers galore. And I'll bet those feathers were brightly colored - reds, oranges, greens, and blues. These shots would be almost as exciting in color, but I would not trade in the glories of the albumen print, the standard process of the era. I am not sure what these characters did on stage, or what function they may have served in a Victorian drama, but they have captivated me, even if they are invisible.