Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: 1889

A New Year card from John E. Cranfield (d. 1894?), who was a letter carrier in Albany, New York. Compare this card with A Happy New Year, Will D. Reiber, Letter Carrier . ?A Happy New Year? 1889 John E. Cranfield, Route No. 14. Ye Penny Post, 1839. Ye Letter Carrier, 1889.

"The French War Ship 'Admiral Duperré.' Use Moyer's Oil of Gladness for burns, bruises, croup, &c." The Admiral Duperré was a French ironclad battleship named after Guy-Victor Duperré (1775-1846), a French Navy admiral who also served as French Naval Minister. See also Dynamite Cruiser Vesuvius and The New American Armored Cruiser Maine .

"Dynamite Cruiser 'Vesuvius.' Use Moyer's Oil of Gladness for burns, bruises, croup, &c." The USS Vesuvius , named after the Italian volcano, was a " dynamite gun cruiser," which used a special type of pneumatic gun that relied on compressed air to fire projectiles. See also The French War Ship Admiral Duperré and The New American Armored Cruiser Maine .

"The New American Armored Cruiser 'Maine.' Use Moyer's Oil of Gladness for burns, bruises, croup, &c." Moyer Bros., druggists in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, manufactured and sold Oil of Gladness and other patent medicines . The labels on bottles of Oil of Gladness claimed that it cured a variety of maladies: "A popular remedy for sore throat, coughs, colds, croup, sprains, wounds, bruises, neuralgia, earache, frosted feet or chilblain, and whooping cough." The battleship depicted on this Victorian-era advertising trade card is the USS Maine . The ship sank in the harbor at Havana, Cuba, Harbor on February 15, 1898, when an explosion of unknown origin rocked the vessel, killing 266 of 350 crew members. Some blamed Spain for the sinking of the ship, and "Remember the Maine " became a rallying cry during the Spanish–American War . For other cards in this series, see Dynamite Cruiser Vesuvius and The French War Ship Admiral Duperré .

I haven't been able to uncover any information regarding Gustav Brünner and Helene Rumke, but see below for a Google-assisted translation of the German text of their wedding menu. -------- Menu zur Hochzeitsfeier des Herrn Gustav Brünner und Fräulein Helene Rumke am Sonnabend, den 11. Mai 1889. Krebssuppe. Ochsenfilet, Bratkartoffeln. Lachs, Butter, und Petersilie. Spargel, Spinat, Erbsen, Schinken, Ochsenzunge, gebr. Schweser. Kapaunen, Salat, und Compot. Eis, Backwerk. Butter, Käse, Nachtisch. Ernst Gravenhorst, Hamburg. -------- Menu for the Wedding of Mr. Gustav Brünner and Miss Helene Rumke on Saturday, May 11, 1889. Crab Soup. Fillet of Beef, Fried Potatoes. Salmon, Butter, and Parsley. Asparagus, Spinach, Peas, Ham, Ox Tongue, fried Sweetbreads. Capons, Salad, and Compote. Ice Cream, Baked Goods. Butter, Cheese, Dessert. Ernst Gravenhorst, Hamburg.

A strange and inexplicable New Year greeting! An old woman is tossing a young boy, identified as "1889" across his back, into a steaming kettle of soup that she's cooking over a hot fire. The legs of her previous victim are barely visible at the edge of the kettle. Am I missing something here? Is there a literary allusion or proverb or something else that might explain this? Otherwise, it seems a rather cruel and violent way to greet the New Year. In any case, after initially believing this to be a calling card, I finally discovered that it's number 5 ("Old woman holding boy 1889 over soup tureen") in a series of 50 "New Years 1890" cigarette cards issued by Kinney Tobacco Co. See Kinney New Years 1890 Cards - N227 for additonal information about the card series. By the way, some of the other cards in this series also show strange and unsettling scenes: No. 19 - Boy pushing huge snowball over figure of 1889. No. 20 - Duelist 1890 standing over fallen 1889. No. 36 - Boy 1890 skates round 1889 falling through ice. No. 38 - Whale swallowing 1889, 1890 steps on to floating globe. No. 49 - Sun as spider devouring insect 1889, insect 1890 flies away. A checklist for the card series and illustrations of each card are available at Kinney New Years 1890 Cards - N227 .

A shoat is simply a "young, newly-weaned pig." "Public Sale of 125 Shoats. On Tuesday, February 12, 1889. will be sold at public sale, at Irwin's Hotel, Ironville, West Hempfield Township, the following, to wit: 125 Chester County shoats, weighing from 40 to 140 lbs. A few breeding sows. Stock can be seen three days before sale. A credit of 90 days will be given. Sale to commence at 1 o'clock, when terms will be made known by A. H. Hershey. Isaac Hieneman, auct. H. L. Bard, clerk. (Please distribute among your friends.) The New Era Steam Job Printing House, No. 3 South Queen St., Lancaster, Pa."