Cows

An early label for Dwight's Cow Brand Soda.

This advertisement consists of two die-cut pieces--shaped like a cow and a milkmaid--that have been glued together. For the back of this two-part advertising trade card, see De Laval Separators Have Revolutionized Dairying . "De Laval Cream Separators. Save $10 per cow every year."

This advertisement consists of two die-cut pieces--shaped like a cow and a milkmaid--that have been glued together. For the front of this two-part advertising trade card, see De Laval Cream Separators . "De Laval Separators have revolutionized dairying. All styles and sizes, $50 to $800, farm and factory." "Nearly 500,000 farmers, all over the world, have found a De Laval Cream Separator the best investment they ever made. Send for catalogue and name of local agent if not stamped above."

"The Weary Farmer (Up to Date), designed & pub. by Frank W. Swallow, Exeter, N.H." I'm not sure why Frank W. Swallow of Exeter, New Hampshire, published this early twentieth-century postcard, which ridicules the "Weary Farmer," his family, and the hired help for living a life of luxury. One clue might be the well-off real estate dealer, who's standing in front of his office, where the sign says, "No deserted farms left. Fair farms, $5,000.00 to $50,000.00." Was there an economic downturn at some point that caused families to abandon their farms? Did Swallow feel that some farmers and real estate agents were profiting from the misfortune of others? I haven't solved this mystery yet, but in the meantime here's the cast of characters portrayed on the card: The Farmer is fanning himself while lying on a hammock and sipping sweet cider from a straw. The Hired Man is sitting beneath a tree as he smokes a cigarette and reads a dime novel ( Diamond Dick ) with his unused shovel and hoe by his side. The Son is out on the golf course. The Real Estate Dealer is wearing expensive clothing, including a diamond ring. An automobile is parked in front of his real estate office, where there's a sign that says, "No deserted farms left. Fair farms, $5,000.00 to $50,000.00." The Hired Girl is sitting in a rocking chair as she dries the dishes. The Wife and Daughter are dressed in fine clothes as they sip their tea. The Cow , however, is toiling away on a treadmill, supplying the power and the raw material--milk--for the butter and cheese machines, which apparently provide enough income to allow everyone else besides the cow to live a life of leisure.

"A Happy New Year. Haddocks. Come to your milk now." A Victorian-era New Year calling or greeting card with a hand-drawn sketch. "Come to your milk" seems to have had a specific meaning in the nineteenth century beyond pulling on a calf's tail to try to get it to drink out of a milk bucket. Besides a few hits on the phrase in Google Books, however, I haven't uncovered any source that reveals what that meaning might have been.

"Pauline - The President's Cow. Mrs. T. W. Cochran." According to Wikipedia, " Pauline Wayne was a Holstein cow which belonged to William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States....From 1910 to 1913, Miss Wayne freely grazed the White House lawn. She was the last presidential cow to live at the White House and was considered as much a Taft family pet as she was livestock." I haven't been able to locate any information regarding Mrs. T. W. Cochran, who presumably was the photographer or postcard publisher.

Judging from the Euclid Beach pennant visible on the right-hand side, this real photo postcard of a girl milking a fake cow while two fake bulldogs stand guard was probably a souvenir from Euclid Beach Park , which was an amusement park located along Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio.

"'Pansy' the Roller-Skating Cow, featuring Rose, Betty, and Harry Rapp (A Rapp & Rapp Production)." Pansy the Roller-Skating Cow performed for fairs, carnivals, and circuses throughout the United States during the 1940s and 1950s. Other than some newspaper ads and brief mentions in Billboard magazine that turned up in Google searches, I haven't been able to locate any information regarding Pansy or the Rapps.

An undated red-border Kodachrome slide, circa 1950s.

A farm photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. When I first noticed this real photo postcard in a dealer's booth at an antique mall in York County, Pennsylvania, it was obvious that the photo wasn't in very good shape (and it did require a bit of touch-up to make it presentable for posting here), but I found the farm scene to be quite interesting. The sturdy stone house, windmill, large barn, and well-maintained outbuildings, along with the two dozen Holstein cows grazing in the pasture, make it evident that a prosperous farmer and his family lived here. The forebay--the overhang that extends from the front of the barn--and the corresponding banked entrance to the second level on the other side (it's not visible in the photo) identify this as a type of bank barn known as a Pennsylvania barn due to its popularity in the state during the nineteenth century. Taking a closer look at the scene, I realized that a man--the farmer, perhaps?--and two boys and a girl--his children?--were also out standing in their field (the man is standing in front of the cows just right of center, the two boys are on the left, and the white dress of the girl is visible near the building on the right). Later, when I viewed the photo under magnification, I discovered that the little white and brown dots located between the cows are actually chickens. As I debated whether to purchase the photo--its condition wasn't the best, and the price was a little more than I wanted to pay--I looked for any information on the postcard that might help identify the farm's location or maybe even the family. Unfortunately, there was nothing written on the back nor was the postcard sent through the mail, so there wasn't any postmark. But then I saw the dealer's tag, which said "Cowson Farm." That clinched it! With some research and a little luck, I might be able to determine where the Cowsons lived (probably somewhere in Pennsylvania and maybe even in York County). If I could identify the farm, then perhaps I could even take a photo of its current condition to compare with this earlier one. I took the real photo postcard to the main counter at the antique mall in order to pay for it. Since the cashier was removing the dealer's tag from the postcard, I wanted to be certain that I had noted the name of the farm correctly, and I asked to see the tag before she put it away. The cashier took a glance at the tag and then told me, "Well, the only thing it says is 'Cows on Farm.'" Doggonit! Even though I misread the tag and won't be tracking down any information on the Cowson family, I still have a decent photo of cows--and they're on a farm! 8-)

"The Land of Big Corn. Copyright 1909 by Martin Post Card Co."

Stamped on the back of this real photo postcard: "H. W. Haffley, photographer, Aaronsburg, Pa." The Holstein cow in the middle of the photo pauses to glance over at the photographer as the farmer hides behind two other cows on the right.

A giant Turkey Hill ice cream container and cow stand guard at the entrance to the Turkey Hill Experience, an attraction in Columbia, Pa., where you can find out how ice cream is made.

Now you know! A question posed and answered at the York County Heritage Trust's amazing Agricultural and Industrial Museum in York, Pennsylvania.

"The Guernsey Cow. Farm made ice cream. World's Largest Cow. Located on Lincoln Highway, U.S. 30, at Exton, Pa." Printed on the other side: "Meet you at the Guernsey Cow, Exton, Pa. Serving tasty luncheons. Internationally famous for our cream caramels, ice cream, and Golden Guernsey milk. Landmarked by the World's Largest Cow. Mellinger Studios, Lancaster, Penna." For more information, see Sean McGlinchey's site about The Guernsey Cow, Exton, Pennsylvania and his album about The Guernsey Cow on Flickr.

"S. C. Lord, dealer in meats, vegetables, & produce of every kind. All fruits in their season." This Victorian-era die-cut advertising trade card has apparently been trimmed down and probably originally included an address of "8 Cranston, St., Providence, R.I., opposite Hoyle Hotel." For a complete orange-colored copy, see the S. C. Lord card in Richard D. Sheaff's amazing collection of Diecuts .

An ice cream photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "#1248. A. Hoch's Cow in Patriotic & Industrial Parade, July 3, 1909, Newburg, Pa. Laughlin Photo. Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor." Photographer and postcard publisher Clyde A. Laughlin originally published a series of real photo postcards showing scenes from the Patriotic and Industrial Parade in Newburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1909, not long after it took place. This photo shows a boy riding a cow to advertise "Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor" (mouse over the image for a closer look ). The details in this photo are sharp, but I purchased the card knowing that it does not date to 1909. Unlike other early Laughlin photos, this one is reproduced in black and white rather than sepia, and the Kodak postcard backing was obviously manufactured much more recently than 1909. Fortunately, I have a copy of the book, Clyde A. Laughlin, "Postcard King of the Cumberland Valley": Biography of the Artist and Photographer and Checklist of His Postcards , written and published by Clyde's grandson, Walter Lewis Cressler, Jr., in 2000. The author explains on page 30 that his grandfather reprinted the photographic cards from the Newburg parade in 1961 when the town celebrated its centennial. So it's likely that this version of the Hoch's Cow photo is one of the cards from 1961. For another ice cream photo, see Eating Ice Cream at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania , and check out my Ice Cream album for additional photos and items of ephemera.

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard: