Leaders Lie. . . Cameras Tell The Truth
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Leaders lie . . . but cameras tell the truth (this time). Check out the photographers standing on whatever cast iron support they can find, getting shot after shot of…
Macabre Dance Postcards
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There is something extraordinarily creepy going on in both these macabre dance postcards by Alberto Martini of Treviso, Italy. Something political, too. This is pre-WWI Europe in the sights of…
Advertising Angels’ Gifts of Tobacco
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Despite continuing research, I cannot discover the origin of the legend telling of angelic spirits bringing tobacco to humans. It was part of the lore when tobacco-related imagery began to…
A Fish Font for an Advertising Trade Card
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It’s a fish font for this wonderful trade card printed by Stahl and Jaeger! You get eels, trout, cod, halibut, clams, and fishing rods. All this with a detailed description…
Erotic Hammock from the Victorian Era
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This lithographic counter sign of what appears to be an erotic hammock experience indicates that Victorian lithographic artists from printers Shober & Carqueville apparently knew what a female orgasm looked…
Warriors in Afghanistan
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Warriors in Afghanistan. My initial thought when I first inspected this 1860s carte-de-visite was – how similar it would be to a current photograph of tribal Afghanis? Instead of swords and…
RELIGION GONE WRONG – William Henry Jackson & Detroit Publishing
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In 1899 William Henry Jackson, founder and owner of the Detroit Publishing Company produced this photochrome image entitled “Utes – Chief Sevara and Family.” The photochrome was a process for…
Youthful Beard Pulling Incident
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Youthful Beard Pulling Incident Almost more interesting than this one-sixth plate ambrotype itself is – why was it made of a youthful beard pulling incident? The fact that three grinning…
Circular 1880s Cigar Box Label – In Passing
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Why do I like this little circular 1880s cigar box label so much? I’m trying to figure it out. Though it will be mostly about color – and there is…
A Children’s Wedding Day?
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Here is a fun photo of a Children’s Wedding Day for your amusement. There are many old photographs of children posed in wedding apparel. This photo from the 1900’s is a…
Happy Native American / First Nations Mother
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This 1920s real photo postcard of a Native American or rather First Nations mother was taken somewhere on the west coast of Canada. It just makes me happy when I look…
Happy May Day and a Dance Around a May Pole
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This turn of the century photograph captures an historic May Day ritual of a dance around the May Pole. From time medieval and, as some historians believe, with pagan origins, many…
Noted Indian Chiefs
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In the Victorian era the public in America wanted to see noted Indian chiefs; the brave faces of the conquered savages. This process of ennobling the victims of your genocide,…
Those Grand Masquerade Balls
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When I first set eyes on these big-time Masquerade Ball tickets from the 1880s I could hardly believe it. They are huge – 8″ wide or tall – with spectacular…
Pictorial Daily
