Miscellaneous

An undated red-border Kodachrome slide of kids at a birthday party. The children are wearing feathered headbands in imitation of Native American headdresses , and the doll in the middle of the table appears to be a cake with white and light blue icing (if that's a red candle near the top of the cake, I hope it didn't catch the doll's head on fire!).

"Wishing you a fortune in happiness! Mr. Fortune. WCBM." Homer Todd, shown here holding a telephone handset and sitting in front of a microphone in this postcard-sized promotional photo, originated the Dialing for Dollars program on Baltimore, Maryland, radio station WCBM in 1939. As "Mr. Fortune," he would randomly call phone numbers and award cash prizes to listeners who answered the phone and could tell him the amount of money he was offering as a prize (the amount increased each time the phone went unanswered or the wrong amount was given as an answer). Dialing for Dollars turned out to be wildly successful and was carried on many different stations as a franchised program first on radio and then on television into the 1970s. Todd--his full name was Homer Ulric Todd, Jr.--apparently continued his career as Mr. Fortune at WCBM until at least 1950. He passed away in 1967 at the age of 56. .

Markings on the front of the crock: "12. Macomb Pottery Co., manufacturers, Macomb, Ill." An infant poses for a picture in a large 12-gallon stoneware crock. This obviously seems similar in concept to the more common baby-in-a-basin photos. For examples, see my own Baby in a Basin, Photographed by Galen Piper, Bainbridge, Pa. , photo (below) and elinor04's Baba a lavórban [Baby in a Washbasin] photo.

"What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta." Doodled drawing on a scrap of paper found at a store, Mechanicsburg, Pa., May 15, 2015.

The back of this Good Humor Man paper mask from the 1960s gives assembly instructions (push out the perforated ear flaps, attach elastic band, put it around your head) and then advises, "Hi, now you're a Good Humor Man, too. Always remember why Good Humor Ice Cream is by far the best. Good Humors are made from sweet ice cream and delicious fresh fruits.... And Good Humors are covered with a thick layer of rich Dutch chocolate." Yum!

"Western Union Telegraph Company, 1906, complimentary, frank no. 234D. R. C. Clowry, president. [International Bank] Note Co., New York."

"Our Gilt-Edge Goods. Nothing is too much trouble or too expensive to make these goods all that the name implies. The newest requirements of the people are satisfied with a pleasing completeness. The newest ideas are tested for practical worth and freely used, being carefully embodied when they contribute increased advantage. Selected workmen of special training and superior skill aid in securing perfection. The use of the purest pigirons only and the best materials for all fittings establish their superior quality, utility, durability, convenience, & beauty. Nothing better made. Reilly Bros. & Raub, Lancaster, Pa." Front cover of an advertising leaflet for Reilly Bros. & Raub, a hardware store that was located in Lancaster, Pa. (the building that housed the store is still standing). Note the distinctive typefaces and the devilish figure with pitchfork at top. An inside page from the leaflet (see below) contains an advertisement for the Valley Novelty Range. Compare this with a similar ad for the same stove on a separate advertising trade card from Lebanon, Pa. (below).

"Valley Novelty Range is the one to buy. Remember, every one guaranteed to bake and operate. Increase the heat of the oven as the bread bakes. Important! If you cannot come to the store, send in your address and we will call and see you and show you a photograph of this beautiful range and explain its many good points. It can't be beat, and the price is right. It provides the greatest comfort to the cook by having the greatest conveniences of the day." Inside page of a leaflet (see its elaborate cover below) for Reilly Bros. & Raub, a hardware store that was located in Lancaster, Pa. See also an advertising trade card with a similar ad for the same stove (below).

"The Valley Novelty Range saves fuel, labor, food, money. Labor avoided by conveniences. Food cooked nutritionally. Fuel burned economically. Large flues, large oven. Bakes perfectly always. The celebrated duplex grate. All the latest improvements: Beautiful high shelf. Elegant water closet. Hot water reservoir. Waterbacks for boilers meet every requirement. Every one guaranteed. Geo. Krause & Co., Lebanon, Pa." An advertising trade card from the George Krause Hardware Company of Lebanon, Pa., that extolls the virtues of a Valley Novelty Range. The same stove was advertised in a leaflet distributed by Reilly Bros. & Raub, a hardware store that was located in Lancaster, Pa. See Valley Novelty Range Is the One to Buy (below).

A Prohibition-era comic postcard that depicts a man dreaming about a change to the Volstead Act that would allow the sale of beer and create work—and prosperity—for brewers, farmers, and other laborers. As Wikipedia explains, the Volstead Act "was enacted to carry out the intent of the Eighteenth Amendment , which established prohibition in the United States " and banned the production and sale of alcoholic beverages beginning in 1920. Prohibition lasted until 1933, when the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified in order to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment. Franklin Delano Roosevelt used " Happy Days Are Here Again " as his presidential campaign song in 1932, and the repeal of Prohibition took place soon after Roosevelt took office. Signs and captions: "Free lunch today. Good old time lager beer. Free beer tomorrow. Happy days are here again." Dream of Prosperity Last night I dreamed that the Volstead law had been amended permitting the sale of beer (Oh! what a grand and glorious feeling!). Immediately 100,000 carpenters, bricklayers, and laborers went to work building and refitting breweries; 50,000 brewery truck drivers, helpers, vatmen, and coppersmiths were hired; and 100,000 printers were put to work printing beer labels. Bottle works and barrel makers engaged thousands more. Bookkeepers, stenographers, clerks, and salesmen found ready employment by the hundreds of thousands. Thousands of farmers left the city and returned to farms to raise hops and barley. 150,000 musicians went to work in the beer gardens. There was no unemployment. The country hummed with industry. The tax secured from the sale of beer was placed in a fund that was used for an old age pension. Then the scene changed–I saw 1,000,000 bootleggers holding a protest meeting. Disgusted, I then awoke.

"Mrs. Rousby. Stereoscopic Co." Clara Rousby (1852?–1879), a British actress who played Joan of Arc and other roles on the London stage, in a hand-tinted CDV by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company (see backmark below).

"Sorry, this seat Is occupied. National Airlines. NAL. Airline of the Stars. New York, Florida, Havana, Washington, New Orleans. If you wish to reserve the same seat through your trip, please leave this card on your chair every time you leave the plane at any of the intermediate stops." A "seat occupied" sign used on National Airlines in the 1950s. A Spanish-language version appeared on the other side:

"Lo sentimos mucho ocupado. National Airlines. NAL. La Línea de Las Estrellas. New York, Florida, Havana, Washington, New Orleans. Si desea usted conservar el mismo asiento durante su viaje, sirvase usted colocar esta tarjeta sobre su silla cada vez que baje del avion en alguna de las estaciones intermedias de escala." A "seat occupied" sign used on National Airlines in the 1950s. An English-language version appeared on the other side:

"The New Capitol Boiler. The Latest Development in Round Boilers. United States Radiator Corporation. Detroit, Michigan." Cover of a boiler catalog dated April 1928. See below for the covers of two other colorful boiler catalogs— The Capitol Red Cap: Masterpiece of Round Boilers, 1928 and Capitol Oil Burning Boilers, 1927 . For a variety of other interesting illustrations and graphics, see the Internet Archive's copy of the United States Radiator Corporation's 71-page catalog of Capitol Boilers and Radiators from 1934.

"The Capitol Red Cap. Masterpiece of Round Boilers. United States Radiator Corporation." Cover of a boiler catalog dated December 1928. See also Capitol Oil Burning Boilers, 1927 and The New Capitol Boiler: The Latest Development in Round Boilers, 1928 .

"Capitol Oil Burning Boilers. United States Radiator Corporation. Detroit, Michigan." Cover of a boiler catalog dated December 20, 1927. See also The Capitol Red Cap: Masterpiece of Round Boilers, 1928 and The New Capitol Boiler: The Latest Development in Round Boilers, 1928 .

"All my dreams came true." Info on the back of this postcard: "Genuine Frees Animal Series. Photographs of real live pets. No. 765. Christmas Comics. 6 designs....Publ'd by the Nyce Manufacturing Co., Vernfield, Pa." This printed postcard reproduces a photo by Harry Whittier Frees (1879-1953), who posed cats, dogs, and other animals in amusing scenes like this for magazines, books, and other publications. Mary L. Weigley's fascinating article, " Introducing Harry Whittier Frees, World-Famous Animal Photographer ," which originally appeared in Pennsylvania Heritage , Spring 2014, describes how Frees captured these images: "Frees's photographs were uncommon because he used live animals and no tricks were involved... He attired them in dresses, work uniforms, smocks, shawls, robes, and aprons made by his mother or his housekeeper Annie Edelman. The clothes were held in place by pins so the animals could be quickly dressed and undressed. They were then posed in human situations--ironing clothes, cooking on an old-fashioned cast-iron stove, hanging laundry, playing a piano, pumping water, even casting votes in a wooden ballot box! The work was challenging, time-consuming, and nerve-wracking. It caused Frees so much anxiety that he photographed his furry subjects for only three months a year." Weigley's article goes on to tell about the popularity of Frees's photos and his success in publishing books (such as Animal Mother Goose, with Characters Photographed from Life , which came out in 1921) and providing illustrations for magazines, advertisements, and picture postcards. Sadly, though, Frees died alone and ended up in an unmarked grave (check out the article for the full story). His imaginative photos, however, continue to delight us today. Here's another postcard from the "Christmas Comics" series:

"Here's hoping Santa won't forget you. Santa Claus Warehouse." Info on the back of this postcard: "Genuine Frees Animal Series. Photographs of real live pets. No. 765. Christmas Comics. 6 designs....Publ'd by the Nyce Manufacturing Co., Vernfield, Pa." This printed postcard reproduces a photo by Harry Whittier Frees (1879-1953), who posed cats, dogs, and other animals in amusing scenes like this. For additional information about Frees, see All My Christmas Dreams Came True :