This is a beautiful embossed card with metallic silver details all over it which don't show up in the picture. They're literally everywhere! The card has a divided back and is partially addressed, but was never sent. It appears to be from the early 1900's. The recipient was supposed to have been Mrs. Ambrose Balmat and the message reads, "A Merry Christmas to you all from your brother Louie." This one's a beauty! View More...
So pretty, this image, and lightly embossed -- another sweet card from Germany. It's very clean and nice with just a spot of wear to upper left corner. It was sent to a Miss Mabelle Lindsay in care of Mrs. Jacobs, 330 Atwood, City -- that's it for an address! Can you imagine trying that today? The message reads "Many thanks for cards. Wishing you a Merry Xmas. (Signature illegible) View More...
Silver and purple make a pretty palette for a Christmas card featuring two children bringing home a Christmas tree in the snow. The card is embossed and is very nice with no corner wear. It was postally used, but the stamp has fallen off. The divided back has this short message: "From Aloina to Clarens" with the address as Clarence Nobis, Pemberville, Ohio" View More...
Beautiful, unused Christmas card fashioned from especially heavy card stock for use by the Regiment of Midshipmen. There is no date, but I am pretty sure that the image on the face depicts the chapel which may well date it from the 60's. It measures 6"x7x1/4" and opens to reveal a color painting of the U.S. frigate Constitution. View More...
An ornate design with a shiny gold background and embossing make this one a standout. There is a slight postmark to the front, so the price has been adjusted for same, but it's still a beauty with just a little corner wear! Note the kids in the whirl of smoke from Santa's pipe. There's no indication of origin, but there is a printed notation on the back that says St. Nicholas Series No. 3. The message on the divided back reads "How did you find everybody in Logansport? Am going to Niad (?) this afternoon and wish you could be there too. That candy was just fine. Mary." The card is addressed t... View More...
This is a lovely print with a Christmas theme rendered by Ethel Franklin Botts, a student of the great Howard Pyle, as was Jessie Wilcox Smith. Her style is a bit different though with a hint of a collage look at times. She was very prolific and an important illustrator of the day. I don't know exactly what children's book this print derives from, but I do know that it's an illustration for a James Whitcomb Riley poem. The book was published in 1906. Clearly, this was a page of the book - I purchased it from a long time dealer who salvaged plates from disbound and damaged children's books. He ... View More...
This is a lovely print which captures a sweet moment of children enjoying the treats brought by an old lady. It was rendered by Ethel Franklin Botts, a student of the great Howard Pyle, as was Jessie Wilcox Smith. Her style is a bit different though with a hint of a collage look at times. She was very prolific and an important illustrator of the day. I don't know exactly what children's book this print derives from, but I do know that it's an illustration for a James Whitcomb Riley poem. The book was published in 1906. Clearly, this was a page of the book - I purchased it from a long time deal... View More...
All dressed up for Christmas in a red coat, a fur-trimmed hat, and a muff. This card is German and is embossed which is why the penciled message on the back is virtually unreadable. It was sent, however, to Miss Sophie Nundahl of Perry, North Dakota. The date on the postage stamp is likewise obscured, but it appears to be 1908. Card will arrive in a plastic sleeve. View More...
Very clean attractive magazine presented newspaper-style and geared to women. It's quite large, though folded in the middle and has no mailing label. There's a bit of toning at the fold and several small edge tears which have been pressed and, if s9ignificant, repaired with archival tape. Measures 11-1/2"x16-1/2" with 16 dense pages. One of the most interesting stories is a first person account entitled "How We Spent Christmas Day in India" with accompanying drawings. Other topics include winter bonnets (hence the cover girl),the occupations of women college graduates, rich and spicy foods, ol... View More...
Book itself is clean as a whistle with no sign of use, other than a stamp on the front free endpaper which reads "American Dairy Association." Book measures 4"x7" and has 61 pages. Nice art throughout in the same design and colors of the cover. Among the recipes are these: Popcorn Christmas Trees, Brown Lace Cookies, Merengue Stars, Holiday Molasses Taffy, Chocolate Caramels, Cranberry Topsy-Turvy and much more. The book is in perfect condition -- the box (which is seldom seen) has been repaired at all corners with archival tape. Someone else did the top ones and I did the lower! There's also ... View More...
The Colonial Hotel was a fixture of downtown Cleveland from 1900 to 1929. This menu was for the hotel's 1908 Christmas dinner.The light blue cover shows pale stains, a few light spots, and a few scratches, but overall isn't too bad. The original ribbon was untied when I got it, but when I tried to fix it the ribbon tore in my hands like paper. Instead I used a heavy vintage satin ribbon in white. I also used a piece of archival tape to repair the split on the front cover. It'beneath the menu part, so you can't see it all. On then to the dinner --That Christmas the hotel offered celery, o... View More...
This one's a charmer! Cute little girl on snowshoes holding a squirrel in the palm of her hand and superimposed on a giant holly leaf. It says Merry Christmas, but very small at the lower right hand corner. The card is in fine condition and is postmarked Detroit, Michigan 1914 and addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Braderick (?), Menden (?)City, Michigan. It's embossed, but does not say it's from Germany. Divided back. View More...
The Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalog is legendary. It's to(rich)grown-ups what the Sears & Roebuck Christmas wish book was once to kids. This year's issue is especially interesting because it marks the 25th Anniversary of the infamous His & Hers gifts which began in 1960 with two Beechcraft planes -- one customized to her taste, one to his! The former owner laid-in an article from a 1985 USA Today which recounts every glittering gift year by year. 1985's was two heavyweight diamonds priced at a cool two mil! The catalog is in full color and measures 8-1/2"x12" with 109 pages. There's just a sma... View More...
A Christmas novelty that has been nicely kept. The ribbon at the top was there when I bought it, but is not original to the toy. It came with nothing in the holes so that a long string can be inserted for Santa to move along on -- of course you can take the ribbon out and do that. The center section reminds me of the lath for plastering walls, only made of cardboard. Its the spaces between the slats which help Santa jump and dance when held by the top of his head. He also folds down to a reasonable size for shipping. Santa is 16" tall when fully extended and 10" across elbow to elbow. Pretty c... View More...
If you're an OSU student, or alum, this is a fun souvenir of the old alma mater in the Roaring Twenties. The cover art is charming and is slugged with the caption "Let the Wild Belles Ring Out". The emphasis here is all about humor -- as they say, Sun Dial has been "making OSU laugh since 1911." Great local ads and there's a portrait (see second picture) of basketball coach Harold G. Olsen. Magazine measures 9"x11" and has 44 pages. I repaired two tears -- one at top of spine and one at lower staple using non-browning, virtually invisible archival tape. The format and cover is remarkably simi... View More...
Scarce magazine published by the Bronson Music Company of Detroit. Very clean and tightly bound with just light soil to cover. Handsomely printed with green ink and green tinted photographs showing children and adults across the U.S. who were making great progress on the guitar. Some are individuals, others groups, others entire classes. Nice photo of the Maxwell Conservatory in Cleveland. Magazine is interspersed with advertising for Bronson Music products. The company specialized in both Hawaiian and Spanish guitars. 20 pages measuring 8-1/2"x11-1/2" View More...
This gorgeous unused postcard is a thing of beauty, a little gift to give or keep. The card is heavy (for a postcard) due to the metallic-looking portions and the padded red fabric trimmed with red ribbon that makes a bow in the upper left corner. The center section shows a Christmas tree beneath which are the words "Merry Christmas." The outer frame is a bronze color and the center is gold. The card is very textured and very clean with just minor wear. No writing on the divided back. Card will arrive in a brand new plastic sleeve. View More...
Junior Leagues over all the U.S. create amazing cookbooks in both hard cover and soft. But this one, though it's a simple design, has two secret goodies.The first is an introduction by the humourist, Art Buchwald, who wrote for the Washington Post. He also received two Pulitzer prizes -- 1982 and 1986. But back to the other good thing -- the book has the usual, but unusually good recipes, and has an extensive list of ideas and crafts to make the holidays beautiful. Here's a few examples centerpieces, mini trees, tree trimming, wreaths, mantles, gifts for family and friends, potpourri, gifts ... View More...
This is a Christmas booklet for everyone, especially if you grew up in Cleveland and remember well the beauty that transformed downtown into a Christmas fairyland. But even if you grew up somewhere else the story imparts to both children and adults the magic of the season. There are mentions to many Cleveland icons -- Terminal Tower, the Ritz Carlton Hotel, The Avenue, Higbee's department store and The Rapid. Booklet comes with its own unused bookmark, as well as a bookmark indicating that the author is a local and that the original price went to Trinity Cathedral's Sunday Lunch Ministry. Bo... View More...
Temple Bailey was a prolific author who turns up frequently in old magazines from the 30's and 40's. This little gift book contains just the title story which originally appeared in a collection of Bailey's short stories titled "So This Is Christmas." The story is about a family heirloom and a sudden decision which brought back hope, harmony, happiness and love. Both the book and its jacket are very clean and nice, save browning to outer edges of jacket and to the front free endpaper in the shape of of a rectangle. Whatever caused it was no longer there when I got the book. Book measures 5" x... View More...
