Florida! 1991 Postcard

 OK, first of all, I had to hurry and put something new on the blog because every time I logged in all I saw was "hemorrhoids" from the last post.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there kind of is. It's one of those words that make you pull back from the screen just a little and murmur 'oh my'. What better to detract from the previous post than a lovely picture of a palm tree, courtesy of Florida.

Someone from Denmark visited Florida in 1991. I can't make out the exact date, but for their sake I hope it wasn't too humid and hot. I'm so used to finding old things in my books, that these newer finds often throw me off center. In my mind, 1991 was like yesterday. You know you're getting older if you agreed with me when you saw this. Good thing we are all like a fine wine, we just keep getting better!

Check out the stamp, Harriet Quimby, Pioneer Pilot. Harriet Quimby was an early American aviator and a movie screenwriter. In 1911, she was awarded a U.S. pilot's certificate by the Aero Club of America, becoming the first woman to gain a pilot's license in the United States. I would recommend looking her up, she's quite fascinating. I had to add an image of her, check out those boots! Fashion creators of the world, let's bring those back! Actually, styles from the the 20's also, minus all the fur. Animal lover. :)

Hemorrhoids?

Indeed, I am posting an article I found on the 'Treatment of Hemorrhoids by Means of Injection.' It's a funny thing, going to Google translate and coming up with that sentence. The nurse in me wishes I could read the entire article, wondering what year it was published. The paper looks old, I would guess anywhere from 40's to 70's at the latest. And the other part of me, well, I debated. But then I wondered, why would someone save this article? And those thoughts alone have propelled me to post it.

Perhaps a doctor or nurse saved it, it's good information. Always best to be giving the latest treatments to your patients. Maybe a family member was suffering from hemorrhoids? Also good to keep informed as a patient, or family or friend of a patient. As someone who is translating an article for an antique book blog, a little surprising to say the least. I've never been one for dumb humor, I know, stick in the mud right here, so I didn't really find it amusing as say a 15 year old boy might, but I did find myself with half an 'oh my' face when I saw the title. Haha, maybe I have a tiny part of me that is silly like a teenage boy!

Ahem, anyway, here is your friendly reminder to get regular check ups, eat right, and exercise. I can totally turn this into a plug for being healthy!

All Dressed Up

Look at these two darling kiddos. First impression might say a little boy with his younger sister, but things were different back in the day. Even little boys got put in dresses until they were a little older. I have seen a picture of my grandfather as a very young child decked out in a dress. So, who's to say who is in this picture?

One interesting thing about this picture is that it's actually a postcard! Completely blank on the back, no writing, no year, no studio who created it, no names of the children, nothing. Maybe this is the proverbial Facebook wall of the day? Hey, here are our cute kids in their yearly picture, we made them into postcards so we could send them to all of the friends and relatives! That's probably a stretch of my ever active imagination. Whomever these two are, they are adorable. Maybe being adorable is enough to get your picture put on a postcard?

Tanks for the Drawing!

Someone got bored doing homework, or at least that is what I am guessing is on the flip side of this lovely picture. A pen and markers were handy, so schoolwork is completely plausible. I'm no military vehicle expert, but I can't help but think there are a few too many guns coming out of this thing.

I adore finding hand drawn pictures in my books. How old do you suppose this artist was? Part of me says 9 year old boy, but wouldn't it be awesome to find out that father of that boy actually drew this while on some boring work call or something. Growing up shouldn't mean we stop doodling tanks when the urge grabs us.

Surprising Kaj Munk Finding

 This is a wood carving of Kaj Munk that was found wrapped in plastic at a Lion's Club and was about to be sent to the flea market along with some other things they had in storage back in April of 1980. Whew, you have no idea how long that took me to figure out, longer than it should have. But, what can you expect from a girl giving up Diet Coke and who hasn't had a real piece of chocolate for weeks! Seriously, right? 

I have posted a few times about Kaj Munk, he is one of the people I most want to meet in the next life. So fascinating! And I typed that making the squint eyes, head nod, so fascinating face. So you you know how much I like this guy. If you don't know of him, check out my other posts or try your best at Google, but I warn you, not nearly enough information on Mr. Munk out there. I know, it's brutal.

The Neon Fair

This card could not be missed flipping though the pages of one of my books if I tried! The colors are either vibrant or blinding depending on the mood you are in. It was ripped out of something, I assume a magazine of sorts, one of those free cards to pull out and send a note on. I could be wrong, but I'm sticking with that guess.


You can see there is a note written on the back, of which I have about as much chance of deciphering as I do learning to lip read. Could happen, but with far more effort than I am ready to exert myself with at this time. I do know a few words of Danish, of course, but I'm having one of those 'ooh, look at the pretty picture' kind of night, not  a 'I want to learn everything right now' kind of night. I know you know what I mean, even if you don't admit it. It's alright. I never judge.

Little Miss Gina

This is a ritual nearly all parents participate in, I say nearly because I failed horribly at this obviously important and life changing tradition and it has irritated my mother to no end. I am one of five children and the only one that has been unable to supply "Nana" with her bi-yearly, professional pictures of my offspring. Sigh. No worries, I am not one of those mother's who hold up my parenting skills against every seemingly perfect parental unit I see. I know my strengths and my weaknesses, and I more than make up for where I fall short. I did teach my children to read early on and gave them a love for knowledge, reading, and travel. HA! Take that picture takers of the world!

But I digress. Here is a cute picture of miss Gina at her two and a half years mark. See how on top of things her parents are?  The back of the picture has Gina's name, 2 1/2 yrs old, and August 1982. Little Gina would be.....whoa, 32 years old! I swear 1982 didn't seem like that long ago. And now I am aging myself! Cute picture Miss Gina. And, again, sorry mom.

The Olsen Gang Sees Red

This paper is about 3 by 5 inches and is actually rather flimsy. I honestly thought at first it was an advertisement for a place to eat. Turns out, its promoting a movie. Olsen Gang Sees Red, which was released in 1976 and has a 7.6 rating on IMDb. Who knew! 

So here's the skinny. The Olsen Gang is a fictional Danish criminal gang in the eponymous film series. The gang's leader is the criminal genius and habitual offender Egon Olsen and his accomplices are Benny and Kjeld (Kjell in Norwegian). The gang members are harmless and never use violence. A Norwegian version of the film series was also made (a total of 14 films from 1969 to 1999), in most cases based directly on the scripts for the Danish films. Later, starting in 1981, Sweden also produced their own version.

In The Olsen Gang Sees Red, Egon and the gang are hired to stage a robbery of an antique Chinese vase for an economically challenged baron. Naturally they fooled, which infuriates Egon. The gang tries to get back at the baron by switching the vase with a cheap Hong Kong copy. One attempt is made during the barons hunting party, where Egon ends up being bricked up in the catacombs. In another attempt, the gang has to coordinate breaking through several walls at The Royal Theater in Copenhagen with the "Elverhøj" overture.

While my poor, secluded self in San Diego has never heard of this series of movies, I am sure my friends in Europe have. 

Leaf and flower

This is about 4 inches long, maybe 2 inches at widest point. I swear it looks as though the leaf is a real leaf that has been spray painted gold. Very detailed and delicate. The flower picture is on both sides of the leaf, but the "R" is only on one side. I'll proclaim it stands for READ, and a teacher gave it out to students at the end of the year. Just too cute!

Counting and Doodling

This is a fairly small piece of paper, maybe three inches by 2.5.  I am guessing that this person was put in charge of recording the quantity of something while someone else called out the numbers. Whatever it was, it was incredibly boring. Barrels of nails, pints of paint, certainly not a food item, food is rarely boring.

In the meantime, our scribe got bored and started to doodle. I always say, and I firmly maintain, that faces are difficult to draw. Hands, also. You can practically read his/her mind as they are going along, starting a fresh drawing every time the nose isn't quite right. I don't know what is hanging off the neck of what looks like a flat chested girl. The face, totally a girl. Perhaps in peasant clothing, hiding the figure. Anyway, no clue what that could be.

Eventually, our scribe decided faces are just too darn hard and drew a bird. Lovely.

Union Jack

 The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. The flag also has an official or semi-official status in some other Commonwealth realms; for example, it is known by law in Canada as the Royal Union Flag.

This little card was apparently a trading card that was issued by BOVRIL LTD in the 1930's. It unfold into three sections featuring the Flag of St George, Cross of St Andrew, and the Cross of St Patrick.

You can read a little bit about it on the back of the card. The red cross portion flip up, while the red and white X can be totally remove, turned over, and is all red.

Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty meat extract developed in the 1870's by a Canadian named John Lawson Johnston. You can dissolve it in hot water and make tea. As the card says, "Bovril" is British to the backbone. Bovril was used to help feed troops during several campaigns and you can see the ads for Bovril with the "Bovril" Bull standing outside an army recruiting tent with the tag line "Bovril recruits its strength from the power of beef". So this was a fun way to advertise and be super patriotic all at once. Pretty cool history.  

Resurrection of Jesus article, 1954

The headline of this article reads, Are The Stories of Jesus Resurrection Misguided?  Seriously not getting into a religious debate. The Danish professor, N. H. Soe,  has apparently written some scholarly articles on the subject and I can find his name and works cited in other papers, but I cannot find a stinking thing about the man himself. I imagine that someday the Internet will truly be full of absolutely everything we want to know, and much we wish we could take back, but until then, I am stuck with certain limitations. 


The gist of what I have translated seems to revolve around the ethics of interpretation and looking at the gospels of the New Testament from every angle, while taking into account the research and researchers you are getting your information from. Yikes, everything I can find reads like a something I would need a dictionary and thesaurus to figure out what they are saying. And even then only after a large Diet Coke, some frozen M&M's, and some peace and quiet. As if that situation happens very often.



Still, a cool newspaper article that someone thought they should  save. There are some things that will always be scrutinized, debated, interpreted, and reinterpreted. The bible is among them, and I will leave that to the so-called experts. I guess I am a very simple creature, but I think I'll just stick to the love everyone theory, seems to cover all the bases.

Panda Bookmark

A bookmark, I see many, but this one is pretty cool. The black parts of the panda are actually feathers, I believe. Painted black and hardened. And I think the white body of the panda is a leaf of petal of some sort. It has dimension and details that I hope you can see when you click and enlarge it. It's rather beautiful. It says Doris on the back of it and I think Doris had a pretty cool bookmark.

Gottlieb Daimler,1896

I opened up one of my old books today, and out fall these two photos that are folded together at the edge. I thought, oh cool, check out the old cars. I then read the caption at the bottom of the picture, and low and behold, who is driving the car in the second picture? Mr. Gottlieb Daimler himself!

Hahaha, I'm totally kidding. I had no idea who Gottlieb Daimler was before I Googled his name.  I know, I know. Shame on me, right?  

Gottlieb Daimler was an engineer, industrial designer, and industrialist who was German. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development. He also invented the high-speed petrol engine. He had a business partner, Wilhelm Maybach, and in 1890 they founded the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, DMG. DMG signed a long term co-operation agreement with Karl Benz and in 1926, 26 years after Gottliebs death, the companies merged to become Daimer-Benz AG.

Benz! That I have heard of! That has to count for something, no? So Gottlieb was the inventor of the modern gas automobile. There, now we all know and can breathe a little bit easier around car enthusiasts. These two pictures were taken in 1896. Pretty cool to see the inventor of something using the very thing he invented, right???  I think so as well.

A Fern?

It's brown, falling apart, but still kind of lovely. But, it's a fern. I can see saving a flower, something with color, but this is the first fern I have found. Was it saved because it meant something? A walk with a special someone? A keepsake from a first kiss, a first date, a baby's first step? I certainly like that idea. The cynic in me thinks perhaps someone was reading a book and needed to save their spot in a hurry, so they grabbed the nearest plant and ripped a piece off to save the spot! Oh, that's rotten. It is a keepsake. There, much better.

Nuremberg Postcard 1921

A picturesque image of Nuremberg Main Market Square sometime around 1921. The area has a rich history. Sadly, during WWII, much of the architecture was damaged or ruined completely. It still remains beautiful, however, and is on my list of places to see.

The fountain in the picture was referred to as Jewish Fountain or Neptune Fountain and was ordered to be removed by Hitler. He also went and changed the name of the square to Hitler Square or something, and named a street after himself there as well. Geez. Ego, people, right there. Huge, screaming, ego. To many of us, Nuremberg reminds us of WWII and the trials that went on there after the war, but my reading about this marvelous city has been remarkable and has taught me many things that I will leave you to find on your own. Just know it is well worth your time. I love learning about new places. Oh, I am needing a trip back to Germany! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful....

Doodle on an Envelope

In the last few years I have really learned to appreciate and love art. I can't create it myself, so I ooh and ah over other people's masterpieces. I love when I find other people's doodles on spare pieces of paper in my books. Then I get to play art interpreter extraordinaire!

Here goes. I see a man, he's reclining in bed, one foot on the floor. He's holding a bottle and has a spare, one should always have a spare. Here's the tricky part, I THINK the doodler was trying to portray the man's hand in a come hither kind of attitude, but.....well, hands are difficult to draw, or so I have read. The come hither might still work though. I mean he does have a bottle of something and the spare, who could resist that? Plus he's got the whole beard thing going on which is really in fashion right now. Sure, his bodies a shapeless blob, but none of us are perfect, right?

Winston and the Nazi

 As you can see, this is a newpaper clipping from April 1940. Good 'ol Winston is on puffing away on one side, and we have a cartoon with a Nazi soldier on the other. Winston, the man was a walking heart attack waiting to happen, overweight, smoking and drinking constantly, and I am pretty sure his job was on the stressful side. Haha.  This guy was the quite the character. If you haven't been to the Winston Churchill War Rooms in London, you are missing out. Highly recommended.

The translation is roughly, and I mean very roughly; Can I know? Hansi, your Wiener Child. Now, if anyone out there can make heads or tails of that, I will thank you. To me, and I excel at taking wild stabs in the dark, I think this Nazi wants to join the family. He has his suitcase and he means business. The look on the couples faces is priceless. So is this trying to say, look out world, we are moving in and taking over! 1940 was pretty early in the war, so maybe that is the case.