Christmas Toys Through American History 1914
The piece traces how Christmas gifts and traditions evolved from Puritan New England to New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It notes Dutch and German influences, the rise of Christmas trees, stockings, and Father Christmas, and the shift from simple homemade toys to advanced mechanical and militaristic playthings by 1914, including dolls, toy soldiers, trains, airplanes, and automobiles. It highlights the expanding array of gifts and persistent festive spirit amid wartime hardships.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Virginia
Church of England
New Amsterdam
New York
Knecht Rupert
Pennsylvania
Far
Valley Forge
Santa Claus
New England
St. Nicholas
Ti A Hoy
North
Europe
Christmas Revelry and the Lord of Misrule Across Ages
A compact survey of Christmas festival leadership from the Lord of Misrule in medieval times to the Abbas Stultorum in France, noting shifts after suppression laws in Scotland in 1855 and detailing feasting customs such as the boar’s head, peacock dishes, and the festive pomp of aristocratic banquets. The text also includes a collage of dialogue snippets reflecting social satire and cross-cultural humor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scotland
France
Abbas Stultorum
Confessions and a Meal Order Man
A country reaching tale reveals a salesman and two bosses plotting a furniture department. They caption cheap goods in catalog illustrations by enlarging legs and widening chests, inflating promises while demanding cash, then naming the country buyers as easily fooled. They justify deception by noting they hold the money.
Christmas Tree Traditions Across Ages and Myths
A fragmented note recounts Christmas tree origins from medieval Europe to Strassburg in 1605, Luther's spruce with lights, Egyptian winter-decor traditions, and myths of a service tree. It notes calendar shifts, early mentions, and various cultural practices, with assorted digressions on electricity, moving pictures, and domestic humor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Martin
Braga
Htte
Strassburg
Englard Gs
Prince Consort
Pacean Helens
Jenburg
Martin Luther
Fraudulent catalogue phrases mislead buyers in furniture sales
The excerpt exposes a deceptive catalog practice where terms like genuine solid mahogany and solid golden oak masked painted woods such as birch and besswold. It details altering dimensions in pictures, inflating appearances while keeping exact measurements, and persuading housewives to trust prices based on illustrations rather than real specs. A San Gregorio dog detects counterfeit coins, underscoring truth over appearance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Gregorio
Cal
San Francisco Chronicle
John Marshall
Marshall
Coastside
Mary Garden on Royal Audiences and Anarchist Curiosity
TheTumour opera singer Mary Garden recalls staging before European royalty, saying it bores her to distraction and recounting moments with the English court, Windsor visits, and admiration from Greece. Interwoven quips include humorous exchanges and short anecdotes about domestic life and common wisdom.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mary Garden
Europe
Edward
Alexandra
Greece
Windsor
Tom
Marconi
England
Man's First Wings and Growing Line in Politics
The piece recounts Wat Quinby Delaware inventor who patented wing apparatus over forty years ago inspired by bat wings yet failed to achieve sustainable flight. It also notes a political quote about party discipline from Senator B. Coghbum amid debates on leadership and control.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Watson
Quindy
Delaware
Quinby
Quips and Advice Fill a Quirky Page of Miscellany
A scattered page offers odd tips and brief anecdotes. It promotes Culicura skin treatment with faded promotional text, hints at social quirks like costly hotels, and includes Stray Stories humor about lawyers and a lone British soldier deprived of tobacco, all stitched into a collage of miscellaneous notes.
Mesmerized A Poisonous Drug Still Freely Used
A letter touts Postum as a cure for coffee’s health harms. Mrs Hattie Creek and her husband report improved weight and digestion after switching to Postum. The ad promotes Regular and Instant Postum with prices 15 to 25 cents and 20 cents to 30 cents per package and urges readers to buy from grocers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bysband
Postum
Postum Co
Hattie Creek
Mich
Wellville
Also Mentioned on This Page
Moussachuinetta
Christ
Cotter
Hallander
Amsterlam
Om Century
Providence
Science
Mr. Gabb
Mrs. Gabb
Eve
Jay Towns
Cominy
Sot
Harrow
Mr. Y
Joseph of Arimaiden
Glaetonbury
Wille
Laura
Mary
Daily Thought
Robert Louis Breventon
Carlyle
Liscom
Goethe
Judee
Mr. Twobble
Mrs. Twobble
Uncle Eben
Ing
Ces
Samoa
Forges
Bode Tiom
Gastoria
Bears
Castoria
Colt Distemper
Cutieura
Boetan
Ady
Answ
Louisville Courier Journal
Ine
America
U.S
Pelen
Reinary Leonder
Art
Uf Rowroull
Dean
Bex
ILL
ARTE
Micah Gord
Pophaim
Fraser Mfg
Caan
Raewrecacrere
Wu Nor Ray
Tacoma
Washington
Akar
Raver
W.N. Uy Fort
Waynnt
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!