VTT - Mary Frances Learns to Sew

I chose this Whitney Valentine postcard to show today because it pictures a little girl sewing and is from the same era as the sewing book that belonged to my mother.

The Mary Frances Sewing Book by Jane Eayre Fryer was published in 1913. My mother's name was Mary Francis, and she received this book for Christmas in 1917.

The Mary Frances Sewing Book begins with instructions for basic sewing stitches and common sewing skills. The instructions are woven into the story which has the Thimble People teaching little Mary Frances how to sew and make clothes for her doll.

Mary Frances was staying with her grandmother for the summer while her parents were away. When her grandmother was out of the house, the grandmother's sewing bird started speaking to Mary Frances. The sewing bird spoke in rhymes throughout the book. For example, when Mary Frances asked if she could learn to sew for her dolly, the sewing bird replied:

Why, certainly, dear little Miss,
You can learn to make all this:
A pin-a-fore, some under-clothes,
A little 'kerchief for her nose;
Kimono, bloomers, little cap,
A nightie for her little nap;
A dress for morn, for afternoon,
A dress for parties, not too soon;
A little cape, a little bonnet—
Perhaps with roses fastened on it;—
A nice warm coat to keep from chill,
A dainty sack, in case she's ill;
All this and more we'll gladly teach,
If you will do and follow each—

Sewing lessons were given when grandmother was not home. Mary Frances was told to keep the lessons a secret and not let any grownup hear the Thimble People. After a few lessons, Sewing Bird revealed that she could turn into a Fairy Lady. The other sewing tools also turned into Thimble People.

After learning the basic sewing stitches, Mary Frances was given a pattern to make a cross-stitch sampler. Next came instructions for a doll's laundry bag, apron, and handkerchief.

Then the instructions for a variety of doll clothing to fit a 16-inch doll began. The book includes both traceable patterns and tissue patterns. There are a total of 33 patterns.

The Mary Frances Sewing Book has been reprinted in both paperback and hardcover editions. Companion items like a sewing bird, doll pattern, and doll are also available from Lacis.

Finished doll clothes recently made from the patterns in The Mary Frances Sewing Book are shown at Mary Frances Fashions.

I'm participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday

Vintage Valentine Card Party - Gibson Valentines

I am participating in the Vintage Valentine Card Party at The Potting Shed/Anything Goes Here. There will be many participants showing off their vintage valentines, so be sure to look at as many as you can.

I don't have many valentines, and I mainly collect postcards. I like to look for valentines with kittens and cats. For this post I am focusing on Gibson valentines because I happen to have a bunch of those. The first pair (above) are folding cards with fuzzy flocking and greetings inside. They about 4" X 6" and are dated 1946. I really appreciate the fact that many people dated their valentines. If anyone has dates for any of the others I am showing here, please leave a comment.

The next group of fourteen valentines are unused ones I bought as a set. They are about 4" X 5". I was just looking for cats, but I am glad I had to buy the whole group. I can really relate to the ones with children more than I do to the cats. I don't know the date of these, but I am guessing early 1950s.

The next one the same size as the above group and is my favorite because I have two brown tabby cats. One of my cats likes to lie on her back, so this card makes me think of her. I am really amused by the idea of my cat calling me on the phone!

The last two are smaller in size, about 4" high. The one on the left has tabs on the bottom, and the one on the right is a folded card with a greeting inside.

The backs of these cards are shown below.

PFF - Little Valentine Mailman

Here's another Whitney valentine postcard. Isn't that little mailman cute? I like the fact that there is snow on the ground and the kids are dressed appropriately for a winter holiday. It seems like most of the outdoor scenes on valentine postcards look like spring, not winter.

VTT - Big Red Heart Valentines

Here I have some more Whitney valentine postcards. I think of all the valentine postcards that they made, my favorites are the ones with big red hearts. The first postcard is postmarked 1925. The others are undated but are from the same approximate time.

I have had the Snoopy planter for a long time, and it wasn't new when I got it. I found a picture of the same one on a Peanuts Collectibles website and learned that it is from the mid-1970s. It has a "Made in Japan" label and is 3 inches high and wide. The Peanuts Collectibles website has all sorts of Peanuts items but no postcards. I like Peanuts collectibles but limited myself to a few. There are so many that a collection of them can easily get out of hand.

I'm participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday

Empire State Building Freedom Lights

This is an oversize (6" X 9") postcard of the Empire State Building in New York City and its Freedom Lights. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building from 1931 to 1973.

The Freedom Lights were four large revolving beacons installed in 1956 at the 90th floor level at the base of the building's television antenna. The lights were five feet in diameter and weighed one ton each. The Freedom Lights symbolized "not only a welcome to this country but also the unlimited opportunities in America and the hopes and prayers of the American people for peace. "

Below the picture on the postcard is the text of a prose poem by MacKinlay Kantor (a famous novelist) written for the May 3, 1956 dedication of the Freedom Lights. These words were placed on plaques in the building.

Whence rise you, Lights?
From this tower built upon Manhattan’s rock. Its roots are deep below forgotten musket balls, the mouldered wooden shoe, the flint, the bone.

What mark you, Lights?
Our Nation’s doorway.

Who sleep or toil beneath your good warm gaze?
All who love this land: they who are of the Land’s stout seed, and they who love the Land because they chose to come.

Sing you a song, Proud Lights?
We sing silently. We chant a Mass and spiritual, Doxology and Kol Nidre, battle hymn and ballad.
We tell of village and of jet, of wheat and cotton, turbine, oil and goldenrod, the wildest mountains and the cities’ roar.

This is a strange new time. Strong Lights, why never do you fear?
There is something more powerful. The heart and soul of all Mankind.

What build you with your beams?
A bridge to the stars.

What offer you to God, Lights?
America’s devotion.

The Freedom Lights have been replaced by newer tower lighting systems. The Empire State Building official internet site has a Tower Light History page with a timeline of how the tower lights have evolved and a Lighting Schedule that lists the occasions and colors of special lighting schemes.

This post was written for
A Canadian Family
A Festival of Postcards Blog Carnival
7th Edition, February 2010: Light

SS - George Diamond Steaks , Chicago

This is a 1956 postcard from the George Diamond restaurant in Chicago. At that time there were three locations listed. The address of the Chicago restaurant was then 512 S. Wabash. Later the restaurant was located in the Dexter Building at 630 S. Wabash. The Dexter Building was a Chicago landmark building designed by Adler and Sullivan. The restaurant had been closed for some time when the building was destroyed by fire in October 2006.

The George Diamond restaurant was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. There was seating for 600. It was carpeted in red and decorated with kitschy velvet paintings. George Diamond died in 1982. In later years the restaurant deteriorated and was known for its seediness. Some 2006 photos of the building before the fire are here.

The restaurant was known both for its steaks and its salad. The salad was a wedge of iceberg lettuce with a special dressing. Here is a salad dressing recipe that I found on the internet:

George Diamond's Salad Dressing

Makes 40 servings.

1 (10-ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil*
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small onion, peeled and grated
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved

Place undiluted soup, vinegar, oil, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, onion and garlic in a blender or food processor.
Cover and blend or process on high speed until pureed, about 2 minutes.

Serve chilled.

* another version has 1 teaspoon dry mustard and 3/4 cup salad oil

PFF - Valentine Mailbox

This is one of the many Whitney Valentine postcards with sweet little kids. I wonder what comes next. Will they put the Valentines in the mailbox?