Map: Dude's Map of Yellowstone National Park

 

W. C. Handy -- Father of the Blues

 

A 6-cent stamp honoring W. C. Handy was placed on sale on May 17, 1969, at Memphis, Tennessee, the city he immortalized with two compositions, "The Memphis Blues" and "The Beale Street Blues." The stamp was issued during the sesquicentennial anniversary celebration of the city.

William Christopher Handy (1873-1958) was a US composer who is attributed with integrating blues into ragtime. Handy worked as a schoolteacher and bandmaster. He conducted his own orchestra even after he lost his eyesight at the age of 30. His autobiography, "Father of the Blues," was published in 1941.

The stamp was designed by Bernice Kochan of Cleveland, Ohio, winner of a nationwide contest sponsored by Memphis Sesquicentennial, Inc. The artist combined purple, light red, and light blue for a jazzy effect (source)

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Hall's Hair Renewer

 

This is a Victorian trade card advertising Hall's Hair Renewer. This type of advertising card was popular with advertisers and collectors in the late 19th century, before postcards became popular. Unlike postcards, there was not a standardized size for trade cards--this one is 3-1/8" X 4-3/4". Trade cards typically had a picture on one side and advertising on the reverse.

The advertising on the back of this card makes Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer sound like a miracle all-purpose hair product, but it really was a quack product. 

According to Hall himself the product formula was given to him by an Italian sailor hence the name Sicilian Hair Renewer. However the actual product formula changed over time. Initially the formula was composed of 60% water, 36% glycerine, 2% lead sugar, and trace amounts of sulfur, sage, raspberry leaves, tea, and oil of citronella. Later on though the formula was 52% water, 26% glycerine, 13% Jamaica rum, 7% bay rum, and trace amounts of lead, sulfur, and salt. The lead combines with the sulfur to form lead sulfides that darken the hair shaft. However, lead is also poisonous…(source)

See ADVERTISEMENTS AND OTHER IMAGES for more Hall's advertising images. The same website also has information and images of many other hair product advertising and bottles here.

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Map: Bermuda Islands

Washington Saves His Army at Brooklyn

This 3-cent stamp was issued on December 10, 1951 to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn. The central design of the stamp depicts the evacuation of General Washington's troops from Brooklyn at the site of the Fulton Ferry house. General Washington appears mounted on a white horse, directing his troops. A part of the Fulton Ferry house is shown on the right, and in the distant center, troops already embarked are seen crossing the East River.The maximum card was issued by Velvetone with a plain back.

The Battle of Brooklyn, also known as the Battle of Long Island or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was fought on August 27, 1776. It was a defeat for the Continental Army under General George Washington and the beginning of a successful campaign that gave the British control of the strategically important city of New York. In the American Revolutionary War it was the first major battle to take place after the United States declared independence on July 4, 1776. In terms of troop size, it was the largest battle of the entire war British General Howe failed to press the attack, and Washington managed to evacuate all the troops not already killed or captured.(Source: Wikipedia).

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Mr. and/or Mrs. Kaatskill

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Kaatskill from the Catskill Mountains of New York state. They sure look like the same cat to me. There are many similar looking cats, but not with the same distinctive leg markings.

I was surprised to see the "Mr." mate to my "Mrs." on 9teen87's Postcards blog a few days ago here. The handwriting and date ( 7-18-06) on the bottom of both cards looks the same. Her postcard says "Show this to Frisky." and mine says "This looks like Fluffy."

The cat on the postcards also looks like my late cat Tasha. Tasha, however, refused to wear a hat. The picture below shows her response to my attempt to photograph her wearing a Mrs. Santa pet hat. I put the hat on her head with a strap under her chin, but it didn't stay on her head long. I had to settle for photographing her with her paw on the hat.

Harmony House Restaurant

This postcard is a photo of a room with lots of pennants and tables. Fortunately the information written on the back tells what it is. It is "Harmony House Restaurant owned by Inez Thompson of 'Big Four' quartet."

The Big Four Quartet was the 1953 Sweet Adeline International Quartet Champion. The quartet was based in Chillicothe, Illinois and was made up of Inez "Junior" Thompson, Lucille (Miller) Bradley, Sarah LeMaster, Bertha Bradley and the replacement member Mary Waters. Sweet Adelines International is "a worldwide organization of women committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education, competition, and performance." Barbershop music is described on Wikipedia as follows:

Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord, usually below the lead.

Member Mary Waters wrote a book about the Big Four Quartette in 2000: 800 Pounds of Harmony: The Big Four Quartette. There is a CD recording of the group, Big Four Quartette, that can be ordered online. The CD is a remastered album the group recorded in 1958, plus several cuts from their live shows.

In the Harmony House restaurant photo, there are about 25 pennants on the wall, arranged around a map of the U.S. with pins placed at various locations. Both the pennants and pins probably represent places where the group performed. The quartet also performed on radio and several popular TV shows. On the far wall there is a portrait of group hanging behind some trophies. Here is an enlargement of the portrait:

I didn't find a recording of the Big Four online, but there are some recordings of recent Sweet Adelines champions. The video below is a recording of the 2014 champions, the Lovenotes.

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