Puzzles, Tricks, and Games

Cracker Jack Riddle cards like this one were issued in sets of twenty in 1906. They included well-worn humorous riddles that circulated widely in books and newspapers at the time. A book of Conundrums, Riddles, and Puzzles by Dean Rivers that appeared in 1903, for instance, contained all the riddles on this card and probably most or all of the ones on the other nineteen cards. Cracker Jack It is not often one can find A candy good for body and mind, But our old doctor says it's true That "Cracker Jack" is good for you. This famous confection is manufactured from choice, wholesome materials and blended together in a scientific manner. Cracker Jack is a combination of candy, popcorn, and peanuts, and it is very nutritious as well as palatable. It is more easily digested and assimilated than richly made candies. It is good alike for young and old. The more you eat The more you want. Manufactured by Rueckheim Bros. & Eckstein, Chicago, U.S.A. See riddles on other side. "Cracker Jack" Riddles What relation is a door mat to a door step? A step farther. What is the difference between one yard and two yards? A fence. How do we know that Noah had a pig in the ark? Because he had Ham. When is money damp? When it is due in the morning and missed at night. What is the cheapest way to buy a fiddle? Buy a little medicine and get a vial in? How may book-keeping be taught in a lesson of three words? Never lend them. Why are records brittle things? Because they cannot be lowered without breaking. When did George Washington first take a carriage? When he took a hack at the cherry tree. What is the difference between forms and ceremonies? You sit upon one and stand on the other. Why do girls kiss each other and men not? Because girls have nothing better to kiss, and men have. Why were the brokers in the panic of 1873 like Pharaoh's daughter? They saved a little prophet from the rushes on the banks. Send name and address with 2c stamp and receive a full set (20 different kinds) of our famous "Cracker Jack" Riddle Cards.

A membership card for a children's fan club celebrating cartoon character Felix the Cat . The card also served as a way to encourage kids to watch the cartoons on Satellite Six , a TV show hosted by Glendora (Glendora Vesta Folsom) on WRGB in Schenectady, New York, in the early 1960s. 13 22-3-7-1 13-17 26-13-26-19-17 17-12-2-1 11-3-8 17-3-3 10-3-19-5 17-3 26-1-6-3-26-1 17-22-13-4! 8-) Felix the Cat Fan Club This is to certify that Eloise Trainor is now enrolled in Glendora's Satellite Six Felix the Cat Fan Club and is entitled to all privileges and special information reserved for members. Glendora, Commander, WRGB Satellite Six, 4:30, Monday-Friday. No. 65271. Felix the Cat Secret Code For members only! (1) E, (2) K, (3) O, (4) S, (5) G, (6) C (7) P, (8) U, (9) F, (10) L, (11) Y, (12) A (13) I, (14) B, (15) J, (16) M, (17) T, (18) Q (19) N, (20) W, (21) Z, (22) H, (23) X, (24) V, (25) R, (26) D Messages will be given by numbers. Simply copy the numbers, then figure out the message.

An early twentieth-century postcard of a devilish fellow who's evidently been doing too much smoking and drinking.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of trick or treat (go crazy with this one and post as many photos as you want--no limit! Halloween, costumes, masks, skeletons, devils, human monsters, things that go bump in the night, ghostly apparitions, or anything you find scary or creepy) . A real photo postcard addressed on the other side to Miss Lizzie Moyer, Frackville, Pa., and postmarked in Selinsgrove and Frackville, Pa., during December 1905. Handwritten message: "I suppose you will know one among the crowd, Lily Row." The presence of the two jack-o'-lanterns in front of the group suggests that the photo was taken during a Halloween party. In front of the jack-o'-lanterns are ears of corn wrapped in paper or cloth. There's also another pumpkin in the lower left-hand corner of the photo, but this one hasn't been carved into a jack-o'-lantern. Instead, the letters of the alphabet have been stenciled on the pumpkin (see a cropped version of the photo for a better view of the details). I haven't figured out how the partygoers used the ears of corn, but I was able to determine what they did with the stenciled pumpkin. A fortune-telling game listed in a book of Games for Hallow-e'en (Barse and Hopkins, 1912), by Mary E. Blain, p. 21, provides an explanation: Pumpkin Alphabet Carve [or stencil, in this case] all the letters of the alphabet on a medium sized pumpkin. Put it on a dish and set on a stand or table. Each guest in turn is blindfolded and given a hat-pin, then led to pumpkin, where he (she) is expected to stick pin into one of the letters on the pumpkin, thus indicating the initial of future life-partner. Perhaps the wrapped corn was used in a party game, too.

Notice how the letters of the alphabet are stenciled on the pumpkin that's visible in the lower left-hand corner of the photo. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of playing cards and board games . Two young men pretend to play Parcheesi against themselves as they pose (two times!) for this double exposure photograph. Take a look at a cropped version of the photo showing a close-up view of the Parcheesi board on the top of the table. This is an unused real photo postcard with the words "Post Card" and "The address to be written on this side" printed on its undivided back, which suggests that it may date to sometime during the first decade of the twentieth century.

An enlarged view of the board, game pieces, and dice cups in a trick photo of two young men playing against themselves in a game of Parcheesi. The photo is well composed with only a translucent part of the Parcheesi board underneath the hand on the right and a slightly darker streak running vertically through the middle of the photo to give away the double exposure. I'm not certain what might have caused the dark shape on the side of the building directly above the board. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard. .

A Halloween postcard addressed on the other side to "Miss Bertha Duncan, Cresson, Penna.," and postmarked in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on October 24, 1912. Handwritten message: "This card is a little soon for Halloween but I will send it anyhow. Aquilla." Printed on the back: "Printed in Saxony 0624." In a candlelit room at midnight on Halloween, a young woman gazes into a mirror through the steam from a cauldron so she can catch a glimpse of her future husband. For other Halloween postcards with a mirror-gazing theme, see: -- Halloween Greeting—I Gaze in the Mirror My Future There to See -- Halloween Greetings—Look Out for Ghosts -- Wishing You a Lucky Halloween

"You are the [apple] of my [eye]. We should make a good [pear]." A postcard addressed on the other side to "Miss E. Jonkin [or Tonkin], Trescobease Manor, Falmouth, [Cornwall, England] ." Handwritten note on the verso: "Dear E., So sorry we shall not make a pair this year on account of this terrible war. Your devoted G." Printed on the other side: "'National' Series. Made in Gt. Britain. No. 1866." Although there's no date or postmark (and the stamp once affixed to the back of the postcard is missing), "G." was evidently writing to "E." sometime during the "terrible" years of World War I (1914-1918). For other romantic rebuses featuring fruit and vegetables, see You Had Better Ask Papa and A Farmer's Love Letter .

"Beam Eye Bow. This is a puzzel." Have you figured out the puzzle? The illustration accompanying "Beam Eye Bow" (say the words quickly a few times) is a rebus that translates to "Be My Beau"(a beau , of course, is a boyfriend or sweetheart). This is a postcard designed to look like a school slate , and its playfully flirtatious message reminds me of an acquaintance card (compare it with May I See You Home? ). There's no date on this postcard, but I have a second copy with a 1907 postmark, and a web search uncovered another example from 1909. For another bow/beau postcard, see To My Affinity From One Who Has No Bow .

Rebus: "Eye wood l-eye-ke two meat u." Translation: "I would like to meet you." "You will find the solution of this riddle underneath the stamp." Handwritten message: "Read the riddle and you shall feel happy and think of me." This postcard was addressed to Miss Annie Klick, R.F.D. #2, Lebanon, Pa., and postmarked in Mount Zion, Pa., on Jan. 17, 1907. The stamp on the other side was torn off to reveal the solution printed in the stamp box underneath it: "I would like to meet (or to roast) you." The rebus here conveys a playful message similar to the ones on acquaintance cards , such as May I See You Home? and I Am Uriah E. Heckert . This is Huld's Riddle Series No. 5. For other postcards in the series see I Would Like to Make a Date with You and I Would Like to See You Here .

Rebus: "Eye wood l-eye-ke two m-ache a d-eight with u." Translation: "I would like to make a date with you." "You wii find the solution of this riddle underneath the stamp." Handwritten notation: "656 York, Pa." This postcard was addressed to Miss Martha Smith, Wrightsville, Pa., and was postmarked on Nov. 2, 1906, in York, Pa. The stamp on the other side is intact, and the solution--presumably "I would like to make a date with you"--that's printed underneath it is hidden. This is Huld's Riddle Series No. 13. For other postcards in the series see I Would Like to See You Here and I Would Like to Meet You .

Rebus: "Eye wood l-eye-ke two c u h-ear." Translation: "I would like to see you here." "You will find the solution of this riddle underneath the stamp." Handwritten message on the front of this postcard: "From a friend. Haven't you forgotten me? Hope not, come to see me. I often think of you." The card was addressed on the other side to "Miss Laura Fisher, Carlisle, Penna., c/o Lindner Shoe Co.," and was postmarked in Carlisle, Pa., on April 12, 1906. A sticker with a Bible verse is affixed to the other side: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48." This is Huld's Riddle Series No. 9. For other postcards in the series, see I Would Like to Meet You and I Would Like to Make a Date with You .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of playing a trick: high jinks . Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "Aunt Maggie trick shot by Art." Aunt Maggie certainly played her cards right! This trick photo uses a double exposure to make it look like she's playing cards with her doppelgänger. This is an undated photo mounted on cardboard (see the full photo ) with no further identification of "Aunt Maggie" or her photographer "Art."

Aunt Maggie is playing cards with herself! For more information, see the cropped version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of children at play . Three kids pause their puzzle playing to pose for a picture.