Christmas-gift dust jacket on 1919 Harold Bell Wright novel

Today's Christmas post is presented by Mr. Angelino, who is excellent at sleeping, but is always intrigued by a fine old book or piece of ephemera.¹ What he has beside him is a copy of the 1919 novel The Re-creation of Brian Kent, by Harold Bell Wright.² This is the second novel by Wright to be featured on Papergreat; the first one, way back in 2011, was Helen of the Old House, which had some mystery photos tucked away inside.

What makes this Wright book interesting is that is has a second dust jacket, sitting atop the original jacket, which sort of doubles as a Christmas gift wrapper. Here's a look...

There are two inscriptions on this "Greetings of the Season" jacket. The first one is actually part of the illustration. It mentions Auntie Sue and Betty Jo, who are characters in the novel.³ Below that, we see that the book was gifted to Francois, from "Des Cones (HS and Co.)." I'm a little stumped about whether Des Cones is a person, place or thing.

While the gift dust jacket is, understandably, a bit worn, it's done a nice job of protecting the original dust jacket underneath.

Both dust jacket illustrations are the work of artist J. Allen St. John (1872-1957), who is well known for his artwork for Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and has the sweet moniker, according to Wikipedia, of "The Godfather of Modern Fantasy Art," inspiring the likes of Frank Frazetta.⁴

This novel was published by The Book Supply Company of Chicago and had a price of $1.50, which would be about $21 today.

One final cool thing is this "Ye Librarie Of" bookplate for Frances Jenkins, which is affixed to the inside front cover. Frances, I would guess, is "Francois."

Footnotes
1. Mr. Angelino, our youngest cat, is also known as Mr. A and Mystery. Mr. Angelino is the name he had at the shelter, so we didn't change that.
2. Despite being nearly a century old, The Re-creation of Brian Kent is well-reviewed on Goodreads.
3. This same illustration serves as the book's frontispiece.
4. Frank Frazetta is featured in the February 2016 post "'Creepy' would like to you drop that expensive smoking habit."

1911 holiday postcard sent to Hortonville, Wisconsin

This simple, peaceful postcard was postmarked on January 2, 1911, in Grand Rapids, Wisconsin.¹ It was addressed, somewhat sloppily, to what looks like "Gertrout Meshke" of Hortonville, Wisconsin.² There have been some people named Gertrout, but I'm guessing it's more likely this was a misspelling of Gertrude or Gertraud.

The short note, written somewhat like a haiku, states:

how are you
folks all
we are all
well
good by
in care of the
Hotell Dixon
G.R.
Here is an old postcard showing the Dixon Hotel in Wisconsin Rapids.

Footnote
1. On that same date, according to Wikipedia, Ray R. Myers, "the world famous armless musician", was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Now I totally have to look that guy up.
2. Not to be confused with Hortonhearsawhoville.

Cool illustrations: The New Human Interest Library (Part 10)

Pictured below is a full-page from "The Do-It-Yourself Book" section of 1929's The New Human Interest Library. (We're going through the book from front to back, by the way, and this is Page 57 of 397.) The illustrator for this collection of famous-building silhouettes is listed as "F.X.H." at the bottom. That's Frank X. Henke, an artist for whom biographical informational is scarce online.¹

On this page, Henke illustrates well-known structures such as the Pyramids of Giza, the Parthenon, the Taj Mahal, and Westminster Abbey.

There are also a number of structures that might not be as familiar to the general populace these days. The second row continues three mighty edifices from what is now Khorsabad, Iraq, but was once, many centuries before Christ, the Assyrian capital of Dur-Sharrukin.

King Sargon II's city included this observatory² and grand palaces. It was excavated during the middle of the 19th century, when Dur-Sharrukin was, for a time, mistaken for Nineveh, a later Assyrian capital that is believed to have once been the largest city in the world.

In March 2015, Khorsabad, which is about 12 miles northeast of Mosul, was extensively damaged and ransacked by the terrorist/military group ISIS. Last month, National Geographic provided an update, with the help of satellite imagery, of what is currently known about Dur-Sharrukin/Khorsabad. The article is title "Iconic Ancient Sites Ravaged in ISIS’s Last Stand in Iraq."

Footnotes
1. Interestingly, though, it looks like his name kept being handed down. I found multiple online references to businessmen who I can only assume are his descendants — Frank Xavier Henke III and Frank Xavier Henke IV.
2. Some illustrations of the "Observatory," which is also called a temple by some: 1. Conjectural Restoration at All Mesopotamia Tumblr, 2. 1867 engraving of reconstruction, from Getty Images, 3. "Actual Condition of the So-Called Observatory," and illustration from an 1884 book.

When that Christmas holiday angst creeps up on you

2¾-inch by 3½-inch Victorian trade card with no identifying information.
Now back to thinking about what you're giving your Aunt Rufetta for Christmas.

Vintage Christmas postcard featuring dangerous escapades

Don't try this at home, kids!

This colorful Christmas postcard features a not-so-bright boy who is simultaneously:

• ice skating
• blowing a trumpet
• holding onto the leash of a harnessed, running dog

If this postcard was part of a series, the next one likely involves bruises, scrapes, tears ... and possibly much worse. His Christmas might not be "joyful."

There are a lot of good details on this vintage card, such as the snowman, the chain of beginner skaters, and the boy's multicolor shirt. Also, the tree closest to the forefront looks a little odd, doesn't it? Sadly, there is no artist listed, nor is a publisher for this postcard noted. It was never mailed. The stamp box on the back calls for a one-cent stamp in the United States, which still allows for a wide range of years of publication.

Cool illustrations: The New Human Interest Library (Part 9)

For today's illustrations from 1929's The New Human Interest Library, we're still in the "Drawing Made Easy" section and we're back to some work by Cobb Shinn, the artist who was also featured in Part 7. These drawing instructions detail how to create Humpty Dumpty, Little Tom Tucker, and a Japanese woman. The page has some doodles and blemishes, so this was obviously a book that was used, which I think is also part of its charm.

There are also instructions, which I have not included here, for drawing Uncle Sam, a coffee pot, a doll, and a character with the unfortunate and quite racist title of Ching Chong.

Vintage Christmas greetings featuring a holly-jolly snowman

This vintage Christmas postcard features a cute little girl with knee-high red boots hanging out with an snowman who has a branch of holly and hat that looks like a brass bucket or pitcher.

No artist or manufacturer is listed for the postcard. The only words of note on the back are "Printed in Saxony" and "Import." I was able to find, in an Internet image search, a very similar card with different wording and some slight changes in the illustration. Here they are, side by side...

My card is dated December 22, 1915.¹ It wasn't mailed, but it was addressed simply to "Ethel Deibler."

The short note states: "Wishing you a Merry Xmas and a Happy new year from Ellen."

Footnote
1. Also on that date, Barbara Billingsley was born. And that's no jive.

1962 receipt from Dynasty Salon in Hong Kong

This 54-year-old receipt — dated April 17, 1962 — is from the Dynasty Salon in Hong Kong.¹ It's from the second month of my great-grandmother Greta's trip around the world. She purchased some kind of goods or service (hair styling?), for which she paid a deposit of $25.95 and 15 cents stamp duty.² She paid by traveler's cheque.

Dynasty Salon was located at 103-105 Peninsula Hotel Kowloon in Hong Kong. I found some history about that place on the Vintage Fashion Guild website:

"The Dynasty Salon was located in the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.

"The Dynasty label was established in 1953, when designer Dora Sanders started manufacturing clothing sized and styled for Americans who were traveling in Asia.

"By 1959 Dynasty clothing was sold by 600 stores in the US and was the leading fashion exporter in Asia. Sanders cleverly let important US department stores like Neiman Marcus, I. Magnin, and Lord & Taylor have exclusive rights to new styles for six months before the designs were sold directly to customers in Hong Kong.

"In 1964, Dynasty hired a new designer, Urleene Chaplain, and she started to use materials other than the fine Asian silks the company had used exclusively up to that point. Italian couturier Patrick de Barentzen joined the Dynasty design team in 1966. During that year the company opened its first retail store in London."

So, I'm now guessing that it was a piece of clothing and/or accessories that my great-grandmother purchased on this date. VintageCouture.com shows examples of some of the clothing that was sold there.

Footnotes
1. Also on April 17, 1962: The United States and South Vietnam jointly launched the doomed-to-failure Strategic Hamlet Program and the Cleveland Indians beat the visiting Boston Red Sox, 5-0, behind a complete-game shutout by Dick Donovan and a 4-for-4 day at the play by Willie "Boom Boom" Kirkland.
2. Something that cost $25.95 in 1962 would cost about $205 today, according to The Inflation Calculator.