From the readers: Howlers, poker chips, monkey astronauts and more

Ashar is a big fan of refrigerator magnet poetry, which is about as ephemeral as it gets.

And now for something completely different — the final "From the Readers" post of 2015, featuring 20 percent more Crunchy Frog.

Best copy of "The Boys' Life Book of Outer Space Stories": Tom from Garage Sale Finds writes: "I have that same book. I picked it up at a garage sale this past year. How can you resist a book about an monkey astronaut? I know what you mean about books with lives. I've been meaning to write a post about the things I've found in books over the years."

And here is a bundle of additional great comments from Tom, whose thoughts and feedback I appreciate greatly...

19th century advertising card: Liebig Company's Fleisch-Extract: Tom writes: "As a kid, I loved the smell of bouillon cubes dissolving in hot water, but I never went as far as to suck on one."

I think everyone should try sucking on a bouillon cube at least once. It's very ... intense.

Thanksgiving postcard from 1914, plus a little guffaw: Tom writes: "The mysteries can drive you nuts. Things forgotten to time, never to be known."

Vintage Christmas postcard: "Kiss Me Quick!" Tom writes: "It's kind of creepy that light is shining through that little Dutch girl's head. It's like her skull cap is levitating."

Agreed! I almost mentioned the shadow of the girl's head in the original post, too. I don't think the postcard artist fully thought that through.

A 1910 postcard that was processed on Christmas Day: Tom writes: "I have some postcards from around the turn of the century that were postmarked after 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve. I too was surprised that they would have been working so late."

12 toys Mattel wanted you to buy for your kids in 1967: Tom writes: "Great stuff. I would love to have that Fright Factory Thingmaker for the graphics on the box alone. I never knew there was a Twiggy doll, and it's almost as thin as the real Twiggy!"

* * *

Cheerful Card Company can help you earn extra money for the holidays: There have been two new comments on this popular 2012 post.

Anonymous writes: "I am 87 years old and this was my second job. My first was selling Cloverine white salve from the same type of ad."

And Tommy Samaha writes: "I sold these as a child back in the 1950s. They were beautiful cards. You could even have your name printed on the cards. This company was a legitimate company."

* * *

A postcard mailed in 1910 and some Sunday night reading: Anne Hagberg of Laurel Cottage Genealogy writes: "I'm thinking 'Tiney' might be the dog's name. An odd spelling, of course."

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1942 U.S. Civil Defense tips, courtesy Strack & Strine Funeral Home: Joan, in a possible attempt to poke fun at Yours Truly, writes: "Are calamity-howlers related to weather alarmists?"

Answer: Calamity Howlers are lesser individuals than Weather Alarmists. Weather Alarmists live to protect and serve, to let no potential snowflake go unmentioned. Calamity Howlers bring about chaos and panic and have no noble intentions.

As the holiday gift-buying season ramps up, consider opulent owls: Joan writes: "I want one very badly. But I have Some Concerns about who is painting it and the end results."

* * *

Illustration: "Revolving Poker Rack" from Pacific Game Company: Todd Scott writes: "I still keep a set of poker chips in this same box I got from my grandparents. Any idea how old it is? It is numbered 2043."

I think this particular set is circa 1970-1972.

* * *
Beautiful handmade bookmark and the "Alice and Jerry" readers: Janifa Prince writes: "I remember reading a book and one of the stories in that book was entitled Hastings Mills. I forgot the name of this book would love to remember the name and own a copy of it."

Janifa, here is a blog post on Vicki Lane Mysteries you might want to check out for further leads. Good luck in finding your book!

* * *

The 1970s: When air travel was like a big, wacky sitcom: Anonymous writes: "Is that Ricardo Montalbán? And where is Jennifer Aniston? Didn't she just do a commercial by the bar? Oh, wait, that was a different airline."

* * *
Kindertrauma to the rescue: It was Lon Chaney Jr., with a puppy: Sandi writes: "I wonder if the other scary movie you recall is The Dark Secret of Harvest Home. It was actually a two-part made-for-TV flick from the late 70s."

I don't think that's it, either. I would have remembered Bette Davis. (And Norman Lloyd was in it, too!) But keep the ideas coming!

* * *
Macmillan Reader presents a very 1950s in suburbia Christmas: Jean wrote in an email: "My mom [Janet Page] was an inker at Disney in the late 1930s and 1940s. She worked on Pinocchio, Bambi and Fantasia while there. She went on to do other illustrator jobs after she left Disney. We had many of her sketches that she'd bring home from work only to discover years later that she'd thrown them away! She didn't consider them to be worth anything. Hence I'm trying to track down whatever I can find. She passed away back in 2000."

Unfortunately, I had to tell Jean that I no longer have the copy of The Christmas Tree, featuring artwork by Page, that I wrote about in that 2013 post. If I did still have it, I would have sent it Jean's way. But I'll keep my eyes open for these books moving forward!

* * *

Mystery portrait taken in Littlestown, Pennsylvania: Anonymous writes: "I think it's a woman with white hair and a fancy black cap."

Interesting thought! I don't think that possible answer can be ruled out.

* * *
1913 Christmas postcard from A.M. Davis Company of Boston: L.F. Appel writes: "That is my article on postcardy.com. I have been thinking of doing a new A. M. Davis article on my new postcardy2.wordpress.com blog/website."

Also in regard to this post, Sandi offers the following thought: "The signature looks like 'Sebastian B. Bishop' to me."

* * *

Saturday's postcard: Enjoy the view of Finhaut, Switzerland: Anonymous writes: "I have two of these stamps the 20 Helvetica on a envelope A. FRANCKE AG. BERN POST MARKED 1948 WHAT DO I HAVE."

YOU HAVE TWO VERY NICE STAMPS. THANKS FOR WRITING.

"Use of power saws — why not?"

The red-ink note shown above was written on the last page of a copy of 1971's A Layman and Wildlife and A Layman and Wilderness by Tom Messelt.

The copy once belonged to H.A. Streed of Whitefish, Montana, who put one of his return-address labels on the inside front cover. Whitefish is host of the annual Huckleberry Days Arts Festival, which includes a huckleberry dessert bake-off contest.

Huckleberry Days will next be held on August 12-14, 2016, if you want to mark that on the spiffy new calendar you just received for Christmas.

But I digress.

Here's the interesting transcript of that red-ink note at the back of A Layman and Wildlife and A Layman and Wilderness. (I'll forgo the ALL CAPS nature of the text.)

"They Call It Progress"
1. Gypsy crew trail mtce [maintenance?] — why not?
2. Use of power saws — why not?
3. The "fly in the ointment" is the true lack of experience. To gain this is hard work along with some personal initiative.
4. A degree bars no one from work.
5. Jobs are competitive, and the feeling of security for some hangs in balance.
6. The big problem in the big picture is just too many people.
7. "Chinaization" is something I never want to see again, never in this country. Still we have a good start in that direction.
"Casey"

— On Progress —
"Bigger isn't necessarily better and more can be less."
(an old adage)

Thoughts on any of this? I don't reckon we'll ever know the context of these notes, but they're certainly intriguing.

Peace and Goodwill 2015

Peace and goodwill to all
السلام والنوايا الحسنة لجميع
La paz y la buena voluntad para todos
Мира и доброй воли для всех
和平與善意所有
سب کے لئے امن اور خیر سگالی

Raphael Tuck & Sons "Christmas" Series No. C. 5328
"Art Publishers To Their Majesties The King & Queen"
Chromographed in Bavaria
Postmarked at 7 p.m. on December 22, 1912, in Niagara Falls, New York
Mailed to Miss Edna Berger in Foltz, Pennsylvania
"a merry Xmas to all from brother Frank"

Previous postcards to the Bergers

• 1912 Christmas postcard mailed to a place called Foltz, Pennsylvania
• In which angels descend to the Nativity on a ladder
• Old postcard featuring Markleton Sanatorium in Somerset County, Pa.

Ruth Manning-Sanders' signature on Christmas Eve 1930

Eight-five years ago today, on Christmas Eve 1950, Ruth Manning-Sanders inscribed a copy of her verse novel Pages from the History of Zachy Trenoy with "To Sheila."

This book came into my collection this year, and I wanted to share the signature with you on this Christmas Eve. It's very similar to her signature from Christmas 1931 that I post previously.

I'll write more about this rare volume in a future post, but, for now, Merry Christmas.

"Christmas Greetings" postcard mailed to Palmyra, N.J.

Today's timeworn vintage Christmas postcard features an elaborate border, a starry sky, a peaceful-looking forest church and snow, something that we won't be seeing any time soon here in the Northeastern United States.

The card was mailed about a century ago, but the postmark is only partially legible, and I cannot tell what the year was. It was mailed with the green, one-cent Benjamin Franklin stamp, which was part of the Washington-Franklin Issues that began in 1908.

It was mailed to Miss Anna Olson of Palmyra, New Jersey, in care of G.A. Peterson. The only thing written on the message side of the card is "From Home."

A couple of notable tidbits about Palmyra:

• It was the northernmost tip of the colony of New Sweden (1638–1655), which stretched along the Delaware River.
• Baseball Rubbing Mud is taken annually from the the banks of the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, near Palmyra.

Postcard: The helter skelter at Santa's Workshop in Colorado

This postcard, postmarked in 1972, shows off the Santa's Workshop village and children's amusement park, which is located near the base of Pikes Peak, Colorado, and has been in operation since the summer of 1956.

The card was mailed in October 1972 to an address in Baltimore, Maryland, with this note:

Hi Dear,
We made it to the North Pole. Amy & I came down Santa's Giant Slide twice & she rode everything in sight. Santa was a big hit c̅ her too.¹ We took lots of pictures — Amy feeding the reindeer & all — but the day was cold & cloudy so I don't know how they may turn out.
Love
Me & Amy
Didn't even get to see Pikes Peak from clouds

The Santa's Workshop in Colorado was modeled after the Santa's Workshop in North Pole, New York, which has been in operation since 1949.

You can read all about the Colorado attraction on its website. The ride featured in the center of this postcard is still there. The park refers to it as the "Peppermint Slide" on its website, and the 1972 postcard refers to it as "Santa's Giant Slide."

The spiral slide around the outside of a high tower is an uncommon U.S. example of a ride called a "helter skelter" in Britain. The name "helter skelter' dates to about 1905 in the UK and, yes, it inspired the song by the Beatles.

If anyone has been to the Santa's Workshop in Colorado (or in New York), share your thoughts and memories in the comments section.

Footnote
1. Yes, that's exactly what's written on the postcard: "Santa was a big hit c̅ her too." The letter C with the line over it is a shorthand abbreviation for "with" that is most commonly used by doctors when writing prescriptions. So it's possible this postcard writer was a doctor.

Embossed postcard: A hearty Christmas Wish

As we kick off Christmas Week in the soon-to-be-sweltering Northeast, here's a mystery vintage postcard (no date, no publisher indicated) featuring a well-dressed girl pulling a small sled that carries her doll.

She has what looks like a sprig of some evergreen tucked into her hat, which is a festive touch.

Almost everything on this "A hearty Christmas Wish" postcard — girl, sled, borders and text — is embossed. The longer piece of text states:

I wish you a Merry Christmas
Just as grown Folks do and
I wish that all your Christmas
Dream may really come true

The postcard was never stamped or mailed, but there's a short note written on the back, in light pencil. Something about William, a cousin and "he will be taken." The sloppy cursive is too difficult to fully decipher.

The only other clue on the card is the "C-174" in the lower-left corner on the front. Which is not much of a clue.

I did discover a postcard, on CardCow.com, that clearly came from the same series back in the day. That one was used and postmarked in 1915, which sounds about right for this one.

Kindertrauma to the rescue: It was Lon Chaney Jr., with a puppy*

Lon Chaney Jr. in Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

On October 29, in the midst of Fortnight of Mild Fear, I wrote a post about a pair of hazy movie/TV memories that were lodged permanently in my brain and were driving me batty because I didn't have enough details to identify them.

Here's what I wrote about one of the mysteries:

There's very little to go by on this one. It's the ending of a horror movie from, I'm guessing, the late 1960s or early 1970s (based on my hazy memories of the production values and costumes). The "bad" guy, who is either a Frankenstein's monster type or a hunchback/Igor type, is trying to escape the police via a rooftop. But he is shot and falls to his death. Here's the part that stuck with me, though. He was carrying something bundled up in his clothes. As he lay dead on the ground, a few kittens emerge from his grasp and mew pitifully while walking around on his chest. That's it. That's all I have. I've long hoped that the moment involving the cats is specific enough to help lead me to answer. But, thus far, I've had no luck.

Tom from Garage Sale Finds recommended that I seek help from the brilliant and disturbed Kindertrauma website. I did, and Kindertrauma posted my two queries on November 9. That same day I got an answer to the above mystery.¹

Turns out I was remembering 1971's Dracula vs. Frankenstein, a horrific dud of a horror film if ever there was one. I was correct about many of the details, too. And the Igor-like character was played by none other than the iconic Lon Chaney Jr. (1906-1973), in what was, sadly, his final film role.²

My biggest memory error involved the kittens. There were no kittens. It turns out there was only one animal, and it was a puppy — the only friend in the world that Chaney's character (named Groton) had.³

There are more than 40 online reviews of Dracula vs. Frankenstein, according to this index on imdb.com. Here's a representative excerpt from one of them, written by Nate Yapp at classic-horror.com:

"The mad scientist is developing a serum made from the blood of exceptionally traumatized women. His specimens are collected by his hulking, mute manservant Groton (Lon Chaney, Jr.), who clutches a puppy to his chest when he's not wielding an ax. ... His body bloated from years of alcoholism and his voice silenced by the ravages of throat cancer, Chaney is a pathetic figure who lumbers through the movie, desperation etched into the lines of his face. His character, Groton, spends much of the film in a child-like state, so Chaney mugs wildly and pets a puppy, a shadow of his Lenny from [1939's] Of Mice and Men."

Footnotes
*Sorry to plop this down right sugar plum in the middle of the Christmas season, but I've been itching to get this posted.
1. My other query remains open, as far as I'm concerned. Regarding my memories of a short tale of evil spirits and a burning inn, someone has suggested that I'm remembering an episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker. But I don't think that's right. The mystery lives on.
2. According to Wikipedia, Chaney Jr., who portrayed Larry Talbot/The Wolf Man in so many memorable Universal movies, died of heart failure at age 67 on July 12, 1973 in San Clemente, California. His body was donated for medical research and was dissected by medical students. The medical school kept his liver and lungs in jars as specimens of what extreme alcohol and tobacco abuse can do to human organs. There is no grave to mark his final resting place.
3. I might need a tissue now.