Photos, videos and docs of Alan Mays, with the keywords: "roots"

Star-Shaped Logo with Extracted Teeth, Dr. A. A. Wasson Billhead, Dental Surgeon, York, Pa., April 22, 1893

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 03:52:02 +0000

A portrait of Dr. Andrew Aikens Wasson (1844-1918), a dentist from York, Pennsylvania, is the main feature of this star-shaped logo from the billhead he used in the 1890s. The design also includes a heart, a pair of pointing hands (manicules), and—holy molar!—two extracted teeth.

For the full billhead, see Dr. A. A. Wasson Billhead, Dental Surgeon, York, Pa., April 22, 1893.

Halloween Cabbages—Is My True Love Tall and Grand?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 04:40:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"O, is my true love tall and grand? O, is my sweetheart bonny?"

Mirrors, cakes, apple peels, and chestnuts (see below) have all figured in the Halloween fortune-telling games depicted on early twentieth-century postcards. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I found this postcard by Ellen H. Clapsaddle, which suggests that young women could use cabbages (or kales) to foretell what kind of husband–tall and grand? bonny?–they might marry.

In a discussion about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My!, Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains how picking a cabbage from the garden could predict a woman's romantic future: "If the selected cabbage or kale was difficult to unearth, it denoted difficulty in a relationship. Kale with clumps of dirt stuck to the roots signified a rich husband, and the size, shape, and taste of the kale foretold the physical attributes and personality of a future spouse."

Ellen Clapsaddle illustrated a number of other prognosticating postcards like this one. For another example, see Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After.

A Happy New Year

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 15:42:37 +0000

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The Face in the Tree

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 21:04:04 +0000

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Getting ahead among the roots and rocks.

The dealer from whom I purchased this photo speculated that it may have been taken at Devil's Den or some other rocky area on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania, but I have not been able to confirm this.