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
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Knitted, Pleated, and Plaid
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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
Thanksgiving Greetings from Columbia and Her Turke…
Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving
Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving
Day of the Turkeys
Greetings from the Philco Television Convention, A…
Santa Sends a Wireless Message of Christmas Cheer
The Everitt Family, Easton, Pa., April 8, 1917
Submarine Chaser
Christmas Candle Kissing Apple
Hearty Christmas Wishes
Santa Claus in Athens, Greece, December 30, 1961
Two Santa Clauses in Naples, Italy, January 1, 196…
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
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I Nearly Got in Hot Water in Cashtown, Pa.
Hearty Partiers
Hearty Partiers (Cropped)
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Can You Find Me? I'm in the Crowd, Keystone State…
Keystone State Normal School, Kutztown, Pennsylvan…
Snowball Fight
Dick Tracy Says That a Good Soldier Knows Jiu Jits…
I Want You To Be My Valentine
The Salesman—He Nags You Until You Must Buy
Union Steam Fire Engine and Hose Co., No. 1, Leban…
Saint Patrick's Day Greetings with a Heart and a H…
Saint Patrick's Day Greetings
Smooching in the Yard
Dear Sir, I Have a Peculiar Affliction—After Drink…
Nobody Can April-Fool Me
April 1st—The Sweetest Kiss
A Very Happy Easter to You
The Reading Depot, Landisville, Pa., 1909
Easter Greetings
Playground at Lost River State Park in West Virgin…
Playground at Lost River State Park in West Virgin…
The Instrumental Aires at the Sapphire Room, Hotel…
Boy with School Cone, Reichenbach im Vogtland, Ger…
A Joyous Easter—His Morning Drive
Easter Serenade for the Picnic Chicks
Jockey Chicks at the Easter Rabbit Race
Woman in Fur Coat
Getting the Pumpkin Ready for Halloween
Dr. LeGear, Largest Horse in the World
Mary and Her Little Lamb
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?
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Steamboat Mary, Wrightsville and Columbia, Pennsyl…
Children with Their Dog and Toys
You Are Too Slow for Me
The Way We Catch Them
Mirror Photo of a Little Girl Standing on a Chair
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Bemidji, Minneso…
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
There Are Some Freak Fish Around Here!
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July 5—The Morning After
Playing Indian and Fishing with a Dog in a Rowboat
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
Fred W. Hopping in Triplicate
Mirror Photo of Fred W. Hopping
Mirror Photo of Man with Straw Hat
Maypole March, May 1914 (Cropped)
Maypole March, May 1914
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I Do Not Hesitate to State
Something Fishy This Way Comes
Streetcar Chicks with Rooster Conductor for Easter
Easter Greetings, A. Steiert and Son
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You Are the Gorilla My Dreams
They Laughed When We Sat Down at the Piano
It's My Treat
Man Lighting a Cigar
I Am Simply Killing Time!!
Patriotic Toddler
Brother Rarick and Willis at Dixon Church of the B…
Fancy Cow and Calf (Cropped)
Fancy Cow and Calf
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Man's Portrait in Elaborate Border
Man in a Biplane
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Aquarama, Old Mill, Rock Springs Park, Chester, We…
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I Am Ach(k)ing to See You
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Olympia Typewriter Postcard
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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