Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Wise sayings and more from the 1910 Wanamaker Diary


This pair of side-by-side pages from the 1910 Wanamaker Diary includes the journal space for March 14, 1910 (which was a Monday).

Each day's journal space includes a short saying along the lines of what one might find inside a fortune cookie. The slice of wisdom for March 14 is: "The silly man flings incense on a dung hill."

Here are some other daily sayings from throughout the diary:
  • A hungry man scents kraut a square away.
  • A wise man keeps salt on hand for all the advice he gets.
  • Swearing at bulls is safest from a second story.
  • A fence lasts three years, and a dog three fences.
  • A man canna bear all his kin on his back.
  • It is a sin to fell a tree unless another planted be.
  • A man wears out his wedding shoes in running to his wife with news.
  • Till Easter come no tree will bloom.1
  • Milk the cow which is near.
  • To get a good melon or friend you may have to try a hundred.
  • One aching tooth is enough to fret a whole mouth.
  • The honk started with the goose and spread to the motor.
  • Save your chips for kindling, not for wear upon your shoulder.
  • Money makes the mare go -- but not the nightmare.
  • To marry a dame with two daughters is three against one.
  • Some of the finest prayers are said in thunderstorms.
  • "If a cat licks her foot it is sure for to snow."2
  • An old man's shanks are not for dancing capers.
  • Choose your wife with her nightcap on.
  • Our neighbors' eyes are the costliest things in life.
  • A thoughtful chicken has no praise for chicken salad.
  • It's hard to teach an old parrot to quit such language.
  • Those who complain of cold feet should think of the North Pole centipedes.
Meanwhile, here's a closer look at the advertisements on the opposite page. They are for a trio of Philadelphia companies:
  • Garrett-Buchanan Co., a "hustling house" that offers everything in paper and twine.
  • Jules Wellens Sons, Ltd., which offers the new ramie and Roumanian linens
  • The Reyburn Manfg. Co., makers of shipping tags, pin tickets, gummed labels, paper fasteners, and more


Footnotes
1. That is decidedly NOT true in Pennsylvania this year.
2. This is also decidedly NOT true. I have five felines that can attest to that this winter.

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