Type and Lettering

"Hey kids! Look. New novelty. Thrills! Fun! Action! The Bazooka Blow Gun with approximately 10,000 rounds of ammunition. 10¢ complete."

"Grand Fireman's Dress Ball, American Fire Company, No. 5, at Fulton Hall, on Friday evening, March 8th, 1872. John Snyder, president, Rob't McDonnell, sec., Sam'l H. Price, treas. Tickets one dollar, to be prepaid."

Notice! On account of bad weather and roads the New Year's Party at Hotel Curtis, Barnes Corners, N.Y., was postponed until Friday evening, Jan. 10th, 1896. All are cordially invited to attend. G. S. Curtis, prop'r.

Spelling Bee to be held at the West Terre Hill School, Friday eve., April 3, 1925. There will be three classes: 1st--Spelling, open to pupils 14 years and under. 2nd--Spelling, open to all. 3rd--General information class. Three prizes given each class. A special program will be rendered, consisting of recitations, dialogues, and singing. Admission, 15c. Everybody invited. Doors open 7:00. Bee to buzz, 7:30. Helena Becker, teacher. Times Print, Terre Hill, Pa.

Correspondence from "Marion" to "Charles" that 's constructed using words and illustrations cut out from one or more New York City newspapers in the manner of a stereotypical ransom letter. Charles was evidently a soldier in 1917 as World War I raged in Europe, and there are references to "the captain," "pass time," the Quartermaster Corps , and Madison Barracks that may provide clues to where he was stationed (300 miles away at Madison Barracks in Sackets Harbor , N.Y., perhaps?). The letter also mentions popular entertainments of the time--Ward's Jazz Band performing at dances, silent film actress Theda Bara appearing in Cleopatra at the Lyric Theatre on 42nd Street, and music playing on the Victrola . -------- Oct. 30, 1917 Dear Soldier, Latest news from New York. Friends and fellow citizens, hear us. Special gossip of a day. Prepare now. Advice free. Every time is pass time--nit. And the captain answered, this way out! The land of joy. Dance awhile, no charge for dancing. Splendid dance floor, Ward's Jazz Band, windows and light on all sides. Business before pleasure. See mummies come to life again when they see Theda Bara in Cleopatra, the William Fox production, Lyric Theatre, 42d St., W. of B'way . . . . Charles, now is the high cost of living so save rice. Don't marry. Oh, boy, take me to motion pictures at Madison Barracks and have lively music on Victrola. Have you fancy groceries and table luxuries at the Quartermaster Corps kamp? The very idea! We specialize in all kinds of sea food. I have a nice can of jam for you, big friend. Yours very truly, Marion

"Good for a ride, Pittsburgh Traction Co., Pittsburgh & East Liberty."

"Geo. Arnold & Co., successors to Alonzo Chapman, wholesale and retail dealers in Virginia rock oil, the best and cheapest now in use, for lubricating machinery. Also, kerosene oil, and petroleum turpentine, for painters' use. 109 State St., Rochester, N.Y. Geo. Arnold. R. N. Warfield."

"Fastnacht Sociable, by the Altar Society, Grace Ev. Luth. Church, Lect. Room, N. Queen and James, for new church improvem't fund. Admission, refreshment, and entertainment, 10 cts. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1904. Admit one. P.A.P." -------- Although this 1904 ticket for a "Fastnacht Sociable" in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, doesn't specify what refreshments were served during this church fundraiser, its shape and the event's name suggest that "fastnachts"--a type of fried doughnut--were on the menu ( fastnachts , however, aren't necessarily round in shape and may not have a hole in the middle). As Wikipedia explains, " Fastnacht Day , is an annual Pennsylvania Dutch celebration that falls on Shrove Tuesday , the day before Ash Wednesday....Traditionally, fastnachts are made to use up the lard, sugar, butter, eggs and other rich foods in a house before the austere diet of Lent begins." Fastnacht Day--which fell on Tuesday, March 4, in 2014--continues to be observed in central Pennsylvania, and a number of Catholic and Protestant churches in the area each make as many as 100,000 fasnachts to sell. Some fastnacht makers use special recipes, such as one which produces an uncoated yeast-raised potato doughnut that's square in shape with no hole, while others--including many grocery and convenience stores--simply repackage their regular sugared or glazed doughnuts and label them as fastnachts. See Sue Gleiter's article, " What Is a Fastnacht? Apparently More Than Just a Fried Doughnut ," PennLive.com, March 3, 2014, for additional information on making, selling, and eating fasnachts. -------- For a ticket to another church-sponsored "fastnacht social," see Annual Fastnacht Social, St. Andrew's Reformed Sunday School, Reading, Pa., Feb. 21, 1950 .

"Holiday House. Fireproof Christmas Snow for decorating Christmas trees." Front panel of a cardboard box that still contained a few of the shiny fireproof Christmas snowflakes (these were mica flakes, fortunately, and not asbestos snow ).

"Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance. We educate to love truth & temperance. This is to certify that ________ is a member in regular standing in ________ sect., no. ____, I.O. of C.T. ________ G. ________, 18____. Elliott, printer, cor. 4th & New, below Vine." For a similar membership card, see Theodore K. Young, Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance, 1858 .

"Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance. We educate to love truth & temperance. This is to certify that Theodore K. Young is a member in regular standing in Crystal Fount Sect. No. 15, I.O. of C.T. Geo. King, G. Sep. 15th 1858." For a similar membership card, see Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance .

"William T. Haig, house & sign painting, graining & glazing, 1902 Harland St., Philadelphia." A Victorian business card illustrated with some tools of the painting trade.

An advertising ink blotter for Lee Tires. A manufacturer of automobile tires, the Lee Tire and Rubber Company factory opened near Philadelphia, Pa., in 1912. See Burn Rubber to the Conshohocken Historical Society for a brief history of the company. For another Lee blotter, see Better Quality Lee Tires .

"Scotch 'n Soda presents Molecule Man: An Atomic-Zany Musical Satire, 1949, 7th annual production." Cover of a wonderfully illustrated program for a college musical staged in 1949 by the Scotch 'n Soda Club , a student theatrical organization that's still in existence at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The ticket order form (see below) for the show described the production as "a witty satire on comic book writers, [set] against a background of sparkling music."

Ticket order form for a college musical staged in 1949 by the Scotch 'n Soda Club , a student theatrical organization that's still in existence today at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. See below for the illustration from the cover of the program for Molecule Man. Excerpts from the text of the order form: Molecule Man, written by Bill Putch and Dick Riebling, directed by Talbot Pearson. * Scotch 'n Soda Club invites you to attend its 1949 stage production, Molecule Man--an exciting change of pace in college musicals. * A cast of over 100 presents a witty satire on comic book writers, against a background of sparkling music. * It's something new--and different! Don't miss it!

Printed on light paper. Possibly intended for use as a label.

"Sun-Ray Cigar. Pleasing to all. Mild and fragrant."