VINTAGE, OLD HARPERS WEEKLY JOURNAL NEWSPAPER, SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1865

Here is an item you do not see very often. This a newspaper that is original and is over 146 years old. This edition was printed three months after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. The pictures are artist renderings since the camera was not widely used yet. The reading of this print is interesting as the way they spoke was a bit different from the way we communicate now. Their humor was also unique in its own way as it was mildly amusing. No George Carlson or Richard Prior back then. ( Example: When can a donkey be spelt with one letter? When it's U. Nothing personal meant.) One page even shows Paris Fashions for July. The only skin you can see are the faces and hands. The last pages are reserved for advertising. Examples :( Derby's Sure Cure For Piles), (Beautiful False Mustaches 50 cents and $1 per pair. Sent Free) ( Whisker and Mustache Potion to make it grow in 3 to 5 weeks on the smoothest face) ( Gold Rings $3 to $25 Each) (European Pocket Timekeeper $1)( Harpers Weekly Newspaper subscription for one year $4) (Paper Collars) (Old Eyes Made New , without spectacles, doctors or medicine, pamphlet mailed free upon receipt of 10 cents) Very interesting articles and scams as you can see. This was a period of time when the country was still in turmoil after the Civil war. It would take a long time before the country came to be what it is today.

Trivia:  Minimum wage in 1950?   75 cents an hour

Did You Know?  Trinidad's paradoxil frog starts as a foot-long tadpole and grows into an inch long frog.

HAWKS " SILLY SURFERS"MODEL, "BEACH BUNNY CATCHIN' RAYS", " 1960's WEIRD-OHS MODEL

Here is another strange but cute model from the 1960's. They were fun to build and paint the way you wanted them to appear. I made sure this little beach girl had some "bling", such as a pearl necklace, finger ring and toe ring. I made sure her makeup suited her smile. I like this little surfer as she has my wifes figure, not her feet.This was around the time when the Beach Boys were singing their surfin' songs so these models fit into that time frame. Hope you enjoy.


Trivia: Chicago's average winter temperature is colder than that of Reykjavik, Iceland.


Did You Know?  Uranis is green. ( More fun to say it than read it )

QUILTS AND A VINTAGE "RENWAL"TOY DOLLHOUSE FURNITURE SEWING MACHINE #89, 1940's TO 1950's

My lovely wife's passionate hobby is sewing and especially making quilts. She is very proficient at whatever she endeavors to do with her favorite crafts. Over the past few years we have upgraded her sewing machine purchases because she gets better and more skilled in her love of quilting. She was introduced to quilts by our oldest daughter, Melanie, about seven years ago. My wife took to quilting like a duck takes to water. I am amazed at the end product of her cutting, sewing and pieceing of her materials. We had just purchased a top of the line machine a month or two before Christmas so I would joke with her that she shouldn't expect a new machine under the tree this year. Until I came across this old (50-60 years) dollhouse toy. It was made by the Renwal toy company that made these in the 1940 to 1950's era. This toy is known as SEWING MACHINE #89. It has a blue flip top, inside pop up red sewing machine, spin the yellow wheel and the needle moves up and down, two front pull out drawers and a yellow bottom treadle. It is awsome for its time. I have also included some of her quilts because they are terrific. Enjoy.

Trivia:  All spiders are cannibals.

Did You Know?   The ears and nose are the only things on the human body that keep growing your entire lifetime. (Remember Jimmy Durante?)