From a collection of photographs produced by the L.M. Melander & Brother Company of Chicago between 1874 – 1889 depicting posed clichés, humorous situations and examples of the popular spirit photography genre of the time. Image credit.
Dress Up the Dining Room Table with Dinner Gongs and Napkin Holders
Standing pertly on round bases, with a mallet hanging from one hand and a dinner gong from the other, these gay little figures will add a touch of color to your table. If desired, they can be mounted on large, square bases and used in restaurants and tea rooms to hold napkins and menus as [...]
The Marvelous City: Rio de Janeiro from 1909 to 1919
In 1912, William D. Boyce, the American businessman, explorer and founder of the Boys Scouts of America wrote of Rio in his book, Illustrated South America: A Chicago Publisher’s Travels and Investigations in the Republics of South America: The Bay of Rio de Janeiro has been the subject of poetic praise and description since it [...]
In Dash Navigation is Nothing New, This Motorcycle Had it in 1922
Motorcyclists will appreciate a handy and inexpensive map holder which can be fastened to the handlebars of the machines, and is always in plain view. The road map is folded to show the route to be traveled and then inserted in the holder, which has a transparent celluloid cover. The rider thus has the map [...]
Don’t Pity the Poor Fish: Trout Benefitting from Advanced Hatchery Sciences
There is no longer any need to pity the “poor fish” because today there are fish with calling cards, fish doctors, surgeons, and dietitians, water-conditioned buses for fish, trout engineers and architects, fish elevators, modern rest rooms or pools for trout and home-coming days for wandering salmon. There are a few of the piscatorial wonders [...]
Hand Camera Takes Snapshots and Shoots Motion Pictures
There is now being manufactured a camera which can be carried in the pocket, operates automatically with the precision of a high-grade watch, and takes either motion pictures, snapshots, or time exposures simply by pressing a button. No tripod or hand crank is required, the camera being held in the hands and the image located [...]
Strongman Supports Merry-Go-Round Holding Eight Men
In an effort to excel in their chosen profession, performers are constantly devising new ways of showing their skill or strength. As an example of this nature, a circus performer of Berlin makes himself the center support of a merry-go-round on which eight full-grown men ride. The strong man lies on his back on a [...]
Radio Megaphone Doubles as a Massive Diving Board
Terminating at the edge of the pool, a radio megaphone has been constructed at a California bathing resort, that, for size, eclipses anything of the kind that has been built, up to date. The opening of the megaphone is rectangular, and is so large that it can be used as a diving platform by at [...]
Lawn Checkers a Popular Pastime for those Seeking Fresh Air Outdoors
Checkers, that staid old game usually pondered over in the quiet corners of the home, has lately been introduced as an outdoor novelty by a New Jersey inventor. The “board” consists of a specially prepared lawn, the regulation number of “white squares” being made by removing sections of sod, while the “black” are designated by [...]
Innovative Baby Carriage is Powered by Gasoline Motor
A baby carriage driven by a gasoline motor is the latest novelty in England. The small motor is geared to an extra wheel at the rear, and there are footrests on either side of this wheel for the nurse-chauffeur, who stands upright and controls the carriage by means of levers on the handlebar. The odd [...]
I’ve Wondered What It Would Have Been Like For Me If That Shark Got You
If you love a man so badly that it hurts, and you know you’re only a counterfeit like me, should you take what the gods offer, or should you leave him for some other girl who could give him children with real blood instead of the counterfeit thing? That was Peggy’s problem. Image credit/Copy credit.
Vintage Valentines from the Turn of the 20th Century
Ahhh … Valentine’s Day! It’s interesting to see how the day has changed and how the childhood innocence of the cards of yore has been commoditized and replaced with racier fare and the impersonal touch of e-cards. However, below we harken back to the turn of the 20th Century with a collection of sweet and [...]
The Game of Push-Ball Becomes an Extreme Motor Sport
“Push ball,” a game which is usually played by men on foot, was enjoyed recently by the drivers of six automobiles and numerous interested spectators. The cars were stripped of windshields and tops, lined up at opposite ends of the field, and, at a given signal, furiously charged the large inflated ball. Although the sport [...]
Ballet Dancer Performs on Typewriter Keys
Operating the keys of a typewriter with her toes is the accomplishment of a talented ballet dancer now appearing on one of the vaudeville circuits in this country. Balancing with one toe on the roller carriage of the machine, the performer gracefully sways and gestures in perfect time with the music. With the other toe, [...]
Sharpshooters on Miniature Pistol Range Vending Machine Win Candy Prizes
Shooting pennies from a pistol, at targets in which are holes for bull’s-eyes, is the principle of a vending machine manufactured by a Wisconsin novelty company. A penny is inserted in the spring gun, careful aim taken, and with the pulling of the trigger, the penny is shot at the target. When a bull’s-eye is [...]
New Semicircular Toothbrush Cleans All Surfaces of the Teeth
In one form or another there have been toothbrushes almost as long as there have been teeth, but hitherto in all forms it has always been necessary to replace them from time to time. Now there is a new form of toothbrush that is almost everlasting, only a small part of it having to be [...]