Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: grand

"O, is my true love tall and grand? O, is my sweetheart bonny?" Mirrors , cakes , apple peels , and chestnuts (see below) have all figured in the Halloween fortune-telling games depicted on early twentieth-century postcards. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I found this postcard by Ellen H. Clapsaddle , which suggests that young women could use cabbages (or kales ) to foretell what kind of husband–tall and grand? bonny?–they might marry. In a discussion about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My! , Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains how picking a cabbage from the garden could predict a woman's romantic future: "If the selected cabbage or kale was difficult to unearth, it denoted difficulty in a relationship. Kale with clumps of dirt stuck to the roots signified a rich husband, and the size, shape, and taste of the kale foretold the physical attributes and personality of a future spouse." Ellen Clapsaddle illustrated a number of other prognosticating postcards like this one. For another example, see Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After .

"Picnic. There will be a grand picnic held at Fairhope, July 4, 1916. We have erected a large waxed floor for those who wish to enjoy dancing. There will be refreshments of all kinds served on the grounds. Everybody cordially invited. Kennell & Sturtz, managers." This comes from a photo of a broadside framed under glass rather than a scan, and the quality of the image suffers a bit. "Sturtz," who was one of the managers of this "grand picnic" held on the Fourth of July one hundred years ago, was probably John W. Sturtz , who was my great-grandfather. I'm not exactly sure what "grounds" in the small town of Fairhope , Somerset County, Pennsylvania, might have been available as a venue for serving refreshments and erecting a "large wax floor" for dancing.

Dance card, inside pages for the Programme and Engagements. See also the front and back covers (below). Programme. Grand march promptly at 9 o'clock, p.m. 1. Waltz--Plain. 2. Waltz--Schottische. 3. Waltz--Polka. 4. Quadrille--Plain. 5. Waltz--Plain. 6. Waltz--Polka Mazourka. 7. Waltz--Gallop. 8. Quadrille--Lanciers. 9. Waltz--Plain. 10. Waltz--Polka. 11. Waltz--Danish. 12. Quadrille--Plain. Intermission 13. Cotillion. 14. Rhinelander. 15. Waltz--Gallop. 16. Quadrille--Glide Caledonian. 17. Waltz--Plain. 18. Waltz--Polka. 19. Waltz--Polka-Mazourka. 20. Quadrille--Plain. 21. Waltz--Plain. 22. Waltz--Gallop. 23. Quadrille--Plain. 24. Waltz--Racquet. Engagements, 1 - 24.

Dance card, front and back cover. See also the inside pages for the Programme and Engagements (below). "Erster Grosser Ball des Harrisburg Mænnerchor in Shakespeare Hall, am Oster Montag Abend, den 10ten April '82." Translation: First Big Ball of Harrisburg Mænnerchor in Shakespeare Hall, on Easter Monday evening, the 10th of April '82. "Floor managers. Chief--Wm. Lawser. H. Wagner, John Brown, Jos. Schaleur."