Ticket Good for One Dance, Giffey's Hall, Ridgevil…
Halloween Greetings—When the Candles Flicker
On Halloween Be Wary and Look About
If He Gets No Puncture—Kreider Shoe Manufacturing…
You Might Get What I Gave This Stamp!
Cosmopolitan Club, Springfield College, 1926
Donkey Photography—"Look Pleasant"
Halloween—Witch with Jack-o'-Lantern
Halloween—Witch with a Black Cat on a Pumpkin
Ticket for a Chance on a $25 Suit of Clothes
Spangler and Rich, Dry Goods and Groceries, Mariet…
Woolen Suitings, Dress Fabrics, Housekeeping Goods…
Knitted, Pleated, and Plaid
Hell'o'een Masked Dance Ticket, Lancaster, Pa., Oc…
Black Cat Dance Ticket, Lancaster, Pa., October 27…
All Halloween Greetings—Jack-o'-Lantern Scarecrow…
Lovey-Dovey Couple in Boat
For Auld Lang Syne This Halloween!
A Merry Halloween—Corncob Jack-o'-Lantern Scarecro…
Halloween—A Witch Out for Mischief
Hallow Eve Party Ticket, Young Men's Society, Firs…
Thanksgiving Greetings from Columbia and Her Turke…
Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving
Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving
A Thanksgiving Wish—A Harvest without Measure
Day of the Turkeys
Greetings from the Philco Television Convention, A…
Santa Sends a Wireless Message of Christmas Cheer
Santa's Up on the Housetop!
The Everitt Family, Easton, Pa., April 8, 1917
Submarine Chaser
Frederick H. Stowe, Stove Founder and Manufacturer…
Christmas Candle Kissing Apple
Hearty Christmas Wishes
Merry Christmas Anyway
Santa Claus in Athens, Greece, December 30, 1961
Two Santa Clauses in Naples, Italy, January 1, 196…
Have a Gleeful, Fun-Filled Holiday!
Merry Lemony Christmas
Bear on a Car
A Happy New Year
A Happy New Year (Cropped)
Lee and Lester Shooting Birds Off the Church Steep…
My Wife's Gone to the Country
Faceless Family CDV
Faceless Family CDV (Cropped)
Leg Men
The Unisphere at the New York World's Fair of 1964…
A Picture of My Niece Who Has the Consumption
A Picture of My Niece Who Has the Consumption (Cro…
Women in Ladder CDV
I Nearly Got in Hot Water in Cashtown, Pa.
Hearty Partiers
Hearty Partiers (Cropped)
Cloyd in Front of the House, Xmas 1961
Man with Alligators and Coconut Tree, Miami, Flori…
Who's the Dummy Now?
The Braden Entertainment with Edison Talking Movin…
The Braden Entertainment with Edison Talking Movin…
A. W. Davis, Manufacturer of Carriages, Wagons, an…
W. B. Probasco and James P. Lott, Burch House, Blo…
The Famous Swedish Male Quartet in Their Picturesq…
Can You Find Me? I'm in the Crowd, Keystone State…
Philadelphia Electric Company Wheel Chart, ca. 193…
Philadelphia Electric Company Wheel Chart, ca. 193…
Stick to Me and You Will Wear Diamonds, L. M. Arno…
Getting the Pumpkin Ready for Halloween
Mr. E. H. White, Calling Card with Photograph
Dr. LeGear, Largest Horse in the World
Mary and Her Little Lamb
Oyster and Turkey Supper Ticket, Voganville, Pa.,…
W. R. Cheney, Carriage Builder, Lancaster, Pa.
Harvest Home Greetings, Methodist Church, Strasbur…
Harvest Service, Lutheran Church, Strasburg, Pa.,…
Harvest Home Display with Minister
Did You Know That Eleven and Twelve Make 23?
Commencement Ticket, College of Physicians and Sur…
Greetings from the Grange Encampment and Fair, Cen…
Accordion Kids (Cropped)
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Steamboat Mary, Wrightsville and Columbia, Pennsyl…
Children with Their Dog and Toys
Think
You Are Too Slow for Me
The Way We Catch Them
College Ribbon Cigar Box Label
Mirror Photo of a Little Girl Standing on a Chair
Hankerchief Flirtation Card
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Bemidji, Minneso…
Getz's Steam Calliope, 1971
Orphans Home Band, Loysville, Pa.
A Man and His Deer Head
Dolls and Bears (Cropped—Back Rows)
Dolls and Bears (Cropped—Front Row)
Dolls and Bears
Girl with Ductwork
Spangler and Rich, Dealers in Dry Goods, Marietta,…
Spangler and Rich, Dealers in Dry Goods, Marietta,…
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There Are Some Freak Fish Around Here!
Backyard Swingers, July 1965
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Lancaster, Elizabethtown, and Middletown Turnpike…
Berks and Dauphin Turnpike Road Company Ticket
Ice Cream, Clifford Sutton, 5¢
Russ Bros. Modern Ice Cream Plant, Harrisburg, Pa.…
Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Shoemaker, Dakota, Illinois
Rosey's Auto Graveyard, Lincoln Highway, Vintage,…
July 5—The Morning After
Admira Movie Camera Matchbox Label
Playing Indian and Fishing with a Dog in a Rowboat
Easy-Lite Gold Sparklers Box
Class of 1912, Clearfield, Pennsylvania
The Lemon
I'm Coming Some on Motorized Roller Skates
Palisades Hike, February 14, 1915
Hikers in Sages Ravine, Massachusetts, 1906
Those Who Know Everything in General Know Nothing…
Those Who Know Everything in General Know Nothing…
Putnam Fadeless Dyes and Tints Advertising Fan
Putnam Fadeless Dyes and Tints Advertising Fan (Ba…
Aieeeeee!!!
Aieeeeee!!! (Full Version)
Be Specific, Say "Union Pacific" (1952)
Bear on a Bicycle at the Steel Pier, Atlantic City…
See also...
" Cartes postales et photos historiques de partout dans le monde / Historische Postkarten und Photos aus aller Welt "
" Cartes postales et photos historiques de partout dans le monde / Historische Postkarten und Photos aus aller Welt "
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The Man with the Iron Mask—Walking Round the World
A postcard addressed to W. F. Esling, 26 The Grange, Beccles, and postmarked Colchester, July 16, 1908.
Has this gentleman arrived your way yet?
Handwritten message on the other side: "Dear Fred, Has this gentleman arrived your way yet? He was in Col. a day or two ago. I don't think he will manage it, do you? Thanks for nice P.C. I don't know where we are going at L-- yet but will let you have address, that is, if you like. I am looking forward to going. Yrs., Edith. Going to Ipo. on Thurs. to have photo taken."
So who was this gentleman that Edith wrote about, and why was he traveling around England in 1908? Furthermore, why was he wearing a helmet and pushing a baby carriage with a "Walking Round the World" sign?
After some searching, I found that the man's name was Harry Bensley, and he had to walk around the world to fulfill a bet that he lost. It required him to wear an iron mask (a helmet from a suit of armor) to conceal his identity, and he also had to push a perambulator (baby carriage) throughout his travels. He called himself "The Man with the Iron Mask" (inspired by the seventeenth-century Man in the Iron Mask), and the only way he could support himself during his journey was by selling postcards and pamphlets (see my gallery showing some of his other postcards that appear on Flickr).
I don't think he will manage it, do you?
In her message on the postcard, Edith expressed doubt that the gentleman would manage to complete his walk, and her suspicions were well founded. Newspaper accounts provide documentation that Bensley did travel through part of England in 1908 (see Tim Kirby's Research for an impressive Google Map that traces his route). Some sources claim that he continued walking through other countries for the next six years, stopping only when World War I began in 1914 (see the Official Story), but there doesn't seem to be corroborating evidence for this. In any case, it's clear that he did not "walk round the world" to meet the terms of his bet.
All bets are off!
In fact, it turns out that there wasn't even a bet! Bensley made the whole thing up! See, for example, Harry Bensley - Man in the Iron Mask: Hoax, a posting on the Big Retort blog. It reproduces an article, "The Great Masked Man Hoax: The True Story of an Astounding Fraud," which appeared in Answers magazine, December 19, 1908. The article is written in the first person but doesn't identify the Masked Man as Harry Bensley.
If Bentley was the Masked Man in the article and if we can believe this story, then we learn that Bentley concocted his scheme in 1907 while he was in prison. He set off on his journey on January 1, 1908, and immediately received newspaper publicity about his walk and the alleged bet. His main motivation, as far as I can figure, was to earn money from the sale of his postcards and pamphlets. He kept up the ruse for ten months, claiming that he traveled 2,400 miles while pushing a heavy perambulator and wearing an uncomfortable helmet the entire time.
For additional details about the whole strange affair, see Iron Mask: The Story of Harry Bensley's "Walking Round the World" Hoax (Bear Alley Books, 2018), a brief, unpaginated book by Steve Holland.
Other walking wagers?
While looking for information about Harry Bensley, I came across EastMarple1's Flickr photo of John Clark of Douglas, Isle of Man alias "Marcello The Walking King," 1905, who "alleged that he was walking around the world in 1905 for a wager of £1,000." That makes me wonder whether there were other travelers besides Bensley and Clark who said they were walking for similar reasons, real or imagined.
Has this gentleman arrived your way yet?
Handwritten message on the other side: "Dear Fred, Has this gentleman arrived your way yet? He was in Col. a day or two ago. I don't think he will manage it, do you? Thanks for nice P.C. I don't know where we are going at L-- yet but will let you have address, that is, if you like. I am looking forward to going. Yrs., Edith. Going to Ipo. on Thurs. to have photo taken."
So who was this gentleman that Edith wrote about, and why was he traveling around England in 1908? Furthermore, why was he wearing a helmet and pushing a baby carriage with a "Walking Round the World" sign?
After some searching, I found that the man's name was Harry Bensley, and he had to walk around the world to fulfill a bet that he lost. It required him to wear an iron mask (a helmet from a suit of armor) to conceal his identity, and he also had to push a perambulator (baby carriage) throughout his travels. He called himself "The Man with the Iron Mask" (inspired by the seventeenth-century Man in the Iron Mask), and the only way he could support himself during his journey was by selling postcards and pamphlets (see my gallery showing some of his other postcards that appear on Flickr).
I don't think he will manage it, do you?
In her message on the postcard, Edith expressed doubt that the gentleman would manage to complete his walk, and her suspicions were well founded. Newspaper accounts provide documentation that Bensley did travel through part of England in 1908 (see Tim Kirby's Research for an impressive Google Map that traces his route). Some sources claim that he continued walking through other countries for the next six years, stopping only when World War I began in 1914 (see the Official Story), but there doesn't seem to be corroborating evidence for this. In any case, it's clear that he did not "walk round the world" to meet the terms of his bet.
All bets are off!
In fact, it turns out that there wasn't even a bet! Bensley made the whole thing up! See, for example, Harry Bensley - Man in the Iron Mask: Hoax, a posting on the Big Retort blog. It reproduces an article, "The Great Masked Man Hoax: The True Story of an Astounding Fraud," which appeared in Answers magazine, December 19, 1908. The article is written in the first person but doesn't identify the Masked Man as Harry Bensley.
If Bentley was the Masked Man in the article and if we can believe this story, then we learn that Bentley concocted his scheme in 1907 while he was in prison. He set off on his journey on January 1, 1908, and immediately received newspaper publicity about his walk and the alleged bet. His main motivation, as far as I can figure, was to earn money from the sale of his postcards and pamphlets. He kept up the ruse for ten months, claiming that he traveled 2,400 miles while pushing a heavy perambulator and wearing an uncomfortable helmet the entire time.
For additional details about the whole strange affair, see Iron Mask: The Story of Harry Bensley's "Walking Round the World" Hoax (Bear Alley Books, 2018), a brief, unpaginated book by Steve Holland.
Other walking wagers?
While looking for information about Harry Bensley, I came across EastMarple1's Flickr photo of John Clark of Douglas, Isle of Man alias "Marcello The Walking King," 1905, who "alleged that he was walking around the world in 1905 for a wager of £1,000." That makes me wonder whether there were other travelers besides Bensley and Clark who said they were walking for similar reasons, real or imagined.
John FitzGerald, Deborah Lundbech, David Slater (Spoddendale), Smiley Derleth have particularly liked this photo
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Just fantastic!
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