Umbrellas In the Snow

A Wintry Day (1900) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Sharing an umbrella is symbolic of weathering the storms of life together, and is a popular theme of  paintings and postcards to illustrate love and friendship. Here are some beautiful examples:

Couple Under Umbrella In the Snow by Suzuki Haronobu (1725-1770) (Japanese Ukiyo-e Print, Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Postcard (1913) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Postcard (1904) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Postcard (1912) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Postcard (Circa 1910s) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Postcard (1901) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Postcard (1908) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Christmas Postcard (1911) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Christmas Postcard 1904 Courtesy of tuckdb.org

New Year's Postcard (1912) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Valentine's Day Postcard (1906) Courtesy of tuckdb.org

Ice Skating

Today, while I'm snowed in during the Blizzard of 2016, I'm sharing some vintage and modern images of ice skaters. If you're affected by this historic storm too, stay warm and stay safe!

Mother and Daughter Skating-Postcard Image (1905) source

The following four illustrations are from the instructional book Skating With Bror Meyer from 1921. Meyer was a Swedish skating champion, and he included a number of detailed photographs which showed how to skate, step by step, in his book. The pictures were taken using a cinematograph, which was an early motion picture camera.

Bror Meyer and Miss Emmy Bergfeldt

From Skating With Bror Meyer (1921)

 

From Skating With Bror Meyer (1921)

From Skating With Bror Meyer (1921)

A Skater's Valentine- Poem (1916)

Boy and Girl Skating-Postcard Image (Circa 1900-1910)

Man Adjusting Lady's Skate-Postcard Image (1904) source

Ice Skaters in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. (date unknown- between 1904-1924) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Boys Cleaning Snow Off the Ice, So That They Can Skate, Washington, D.C., area  (date unknown- between 1909-1932) (Courtesy of the National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress)

Couple Doing Fancy Ice Skating, Chevy Chase Ice Palace, Washington D.C. (1942)  (Photo by Edwin Rosskam- Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Skating In Central Park by William James Glackens (1910) source

Skating on the Frozen Lahn River, Germany  (Photo by Frederic Ch. Reuter) source

 

  Ice Skating, Rockefeller Center N.Y.  (Photo by Carol M. Highsmith- Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Birthdays

Birthday Cake (Courtesy of splitshire.com)

Today I'm posting some vintage cards and historic birthday images .

Grandma's Birthday 1896

This photo is part of a series of staged photos of older people involved in everyday activities. This picture features an elderly woman knitting and elderly man looking at a photo album. Photo by Leo D. Weil.

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Birthday Postcards circa 1900-1910

 

Birthday Party Chinatown, San Francisco 1912

Photograph shows Chinese children posed with a birthday cake, probably in San Francisco, California.
Photo by Mr. & Mrs. Wong Sun Yue Clemens, San Francisco, Calif. Wong Sun Yue and Ella May Clemens were married and opened a curio and tea shop in Chinatown, San Francisco. They published a series of postcards to promote their business. (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2013)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Uncle Sam's Birthday 1918

Uncle Sam's birthday July 4th 1776-1918 142 years young and going strong! This patriotic poster was created during WW1 by United Cigars, showing Uncle Sam running with a bayonet, amid bursting shells.

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

   

 Laddie Boy's Birthday 1922

Laddie Boy was the beloved "First Dog" during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. He was presented with a special dog biscuit birthday cake for his birthday in 1922 "with three candles, each tipped with a tiny American Flag." The White House held birthday parties for Laddie Boy, and neighborhood dogs were invited to share the "birthday cake" in celebration.

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
 

 

Behind the Scenes At the Circus 1926

 

 
Date Created/Published: 1926 May 11 This photo shows Miss Lillian Leitzel, star with Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey circus helping Dolly Jahn celebrate her birthday.
 

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Children's Birthday Cards Circa 1950s-1960s