Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: nuts

"Hallowe'en. Uncertainly. Hope. Despair. Happy ever after. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Int. Art Pub. Co. 1909." In a Halloween posting about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My! , Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains that the illustration on this postcard reflects a Halloween custom that involved throwing chestnuts in a fire: "Anthropomorphized nuts, paired off with the titles 'Uncertainty,' 'Hope,' 'Despair,' and 'Happy Ever After,' represent the practice of interpreting the behavior of chestnuts in a fire. Those participating would assign two chestnuts to a couple and observe whether the chestnuts burned together, jumped apart in the flame, crackled loudly, or came together. A couple was said to live a long happy life together if their corresponding chestnuts burned brightly and quietly next to each other, or their relationship would end in disaster if they crackled contentiously and popped in different directions."

"Thanksgiving Greetings." A nutty Thanksgiving postcard featuring a squirrel!

Postcard addressed on the back to Earl Elliot, Douglassville, Pa., and postmarked at Douglassville, Pa., Oct. 31, 1906. The handwritten message on the front is "Greetings for the day," and the initials "L.U."--presumably those of the sender--appear in a number of places on the front, including on the wall next to the fireplace. The clock strikes midnight on Halloween as a woman gazes into a fire and children bob for apples in a wash tub and on a string. Jack-o'-lanterns form a border around the scene, and ghostly figures hover in the message box at the bottom. The woman in front of the fireplace may actually be playing a fortune-telling game involving three nuts, which she has named after three of her suitors. After placing the three nuts in the fire (I think the nuts are visible here on the top of the grate at the front of the fireplace), she watches to see how they burn. The following poem, which appeared in 1900 in The Jolly Hallowe'en Book , by Dorothy M. Shipman, p. 68, describes the practice. The Test of the Nuts I've named three nuts and placed them Side by side on the grate, The one which cracks is unfaithful, The lover I know I should hate. The one which blazes with brilliant fire, Tells of high regard, 'tis said, But the one which burns with a steady flame Names the man whom I shall wed.

Oh You Chestnut! When is a door not a door? When it's a-jar!! Your ancient ones are welcome. May they never seem new to us. "Chestnut," of course, can refer to an old, stale story or joke. See chestnut (joke) in Wikipedia and old chestnut in Wiktionary. Some nuttiness for the Weird Vintage Postcards group. See also: Oh You Lemon!

A 1970s photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. In the original scan of this photo, the Pennsylvania license plate on the back of the truck looks like it has a "74" or "75" sticker in one corner, so I'm reasonably sure that it dates to the 1970s.

Who needs a regular doctor when you can make an appointment to see Dr. Squirrel? When the world's on "your nerves" And your head's in a whirl Just go to the woods And consult "Dr. Squirrel." His treatment's effective His charges are light You'll soon be convinced That the world is all right. Handwritten on the back of this postcard "Bloomsburg, Nov. 23, Wednesday morning. This card I thought would suit you, or probably a rabbit instead. I am all O.K., as Eugene says. I am going to send Bruce a Thanksgiving carol today." Addressed to: Mr. Verus Ritter, R.D. #1, Opp, Penna. Postmarked: Bloomsburg, Pa., Nov. 23, 1910, 12:30 p.m. Printed on back: Prince Pub. Co., Lancaster Ave., Buffalo, N.Y.

For the front of this business card, see W. H. Michael & Son, Commission Merchants, Philadelphia, Pa. . W. H. Michael. 114. Foreign and domestic fruits, nuts, etc., wholesale and commission. Headquarters for southern fruits and vegetables.

For the back of this business card, see W. H. Michael, Headquarters for Southern Fruits and Vegetables . W. H. Michael & Son, commission merchants and wholesale dealers, foreign and domestic fruits, &c., No. 114 Dock St., (West Side), Philadelphia, Pa. Wm. H. Michael. A. W. Michael. Established 1868. Represented by G. C. Sanderson.

"Shepard Stern, representing Planters Nut and Chocolate Company, Suffolk, Va., Atlanta, Ga., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Planters Peanuts, 5¢." "Reminder! Order Planters Peanuts. Thank you."

"1894 - A Carload of Walnuts from California. Copyright 1909, Edward R. Mitchell, San Francisco."