Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: lemons

Littlefield & Hosmer Dealers in foreign and domestic fruits, butter, eggs, beans, &c. Oranges, lemons, bananas, and apples a specialty. Country produce sold on commission. No. 9 North Market Street, Boston. W. E. Littlefield, Chas. B. Hosmer. A book about the Leading Manufacturers and Merchants of the City of Boston (1885), p. 203, provides a history of this business, which operated under the name of Littlefield & Hosmer beginning in 1881: Littlefield & Hosmer , Dealers in Foreign and Domestic Fruits, No. 9 North Market Street. — The business conducted by this firm was established in 1866, and during the nineteen years of its career it has enjoyed a large measure of success. It was founded under the firm style of Littlefield & Enslin, and it was conducted under this title for fifteen years. On the retirement of Mr. Enslin, however, in 1881, he was succeeded by Mr. Charles R. Hosmer, and the style of the house was then changed to its present one of Littlefield & Hosmer. The firm occupy the basement floor, which is 20x40 feet in dimensions, and this is stocked with very choice selections of foreign and domestic fruits of every description. The firm makes a specialty of oranges, lemons, bananas, and apples, the former of which are shipped to them from the most celebrated producing districts of Jamaica, Central America, Florida, etc., and in these classes of fruits they conduct a good trade. They sell on commission all kinds of fruit, and prompt sales and liberal advances are made if required. All foreign fruits and vegetables are procured direct from the ship at their ultimate points of destination. The house enjoys a large city and suburban trade. The individual members of the firm are Mr. W. E. Littlefield and Mr. Charles B. Hosmer, both of whom were born in Maine, the former in 1837 and the latter in 1840.

An early twentieth-century postcard with a shiny "Merry Christmas" greeting that's actually an attached metal piece. Why does the women in the illustration have a silly grin on her face and why is she holding a lemon, you ask? At the time this postcard was published, handing someone a lemon was a humorous way to say "skidoo" or "23 skidoo," meaning "scram" or "beat it." So those who knew about this 23 skidoo fad quickly realized that the lemon signified that this was a tongue-in-cheek greeting. For another lemon postcard with a backhanded Christmas greeting, see I'm Sending You a Lemon for a Merry Christmas . To learn how lemons came to be associated with the 23 skidoo fad in the early twentieth century, see Skidoo 23 Is Now 37 .

A lemony postcard from 1906 that was connected to the "23 skidoo" fad that was popular at the time (notice the "23" on the hat or whatever it is that's on top of the lemon's head). To find out what lemons meant in the early twentieth century and how they were connected to 23 skidoo, see Skidoo 23 Is Now 37 . For more postcards, see my 23 Skidoo and Lemons Too album. The Lemon Oh, something that's yellow and egg-shape, not round! You buy by the dozen, in crates they are found; Oh, something that's handed out freely each day, "For yours" this portrait now comes to say.

For more information about this postcard, see Skidoo 23 Is Now 37 :

A postcard addressed on the other side to "Iva Appleyard, Guilford, Me," and postmarked, "Guilford, Me., Aug. 5, 1907." "Skidoo 23 is NOW 37. Turn around the card and I hand you a--." "I hand you a"—what? Based on a fad that became popular around 1906 or 1907, "skidoo 23"—or more commonly "23 skidoo"—was a shorthand way of telling someone to "scram," "beat it," or "get lost," usually with a humorous or joking connotation. If you "turn around the card" or rotate it so that the text is upside down (see below), you'll discover that the letters and numbers of "NOW 37" have turned into the word "LEMON" (this trick is known as an ambigram ). The sender of the card is telling its recipient that "skidoo 23" is "NOW 37." But "NOW 37" turns out to be a "LEMON" when the card is rotated. So the real message is, "I hand you a—LEMON" = "NOW 37" = "Skidoo 23." In an amusingly convoluted way, then, this postcard illustrated that being handed a lemon was the equivalent of telling someone "23 skidoo." Perhaps it was due to postcards like this one that "handing someone a lemon" became a way to say scram or get lost without an explicit reference to 23 skidoo. For an example of this, see With My Compliments . In any case, if a lemon is handed to you, you now know what to do! For an amazing compilation of information regarding the skidoo 23 fad, see the 23 Skidoo Postcards Web site, or go directly to the site's Lemons (NOW37) page.

This is a postcard addressed on the verso to "Mrs. D. P. Conklin, Highland Mills, N.J.," but otherwise there's no handwritten message, stamp, or postmark. A lemon with a Christmas greeting might seem like a work of Dadaist art to us today, but this postcard actually had a specific meaning in the early twentieth century when it was created. To "hand someone a lemon" meant—often with humorous or joking intentions—"scram," "beat it," or—in the terms of the fad it was associated with—"skidoo" or "23 skidoo." In another postcard example, this connection between lemons and skidoo forms the basis of a message on a Valentine's Day card (see below): "To My Valentine / 'Tis a lemon that I hand you / And bid you now 'skidoo,' / Because I love another— / There is no chance for you!" In a third instance, a postcard (below) depicts a hand reaching out to offer the viewer three lemons. You had to know, of course, that being handed a lemon signified "skidoo" in order to realize that the caption, "With my compliments," was meant sarcastically. So how did lemons become associated with skidoo? A fourth postcard (below) may provide the answer. The postcard is printed in bright yellow and green colors, and lemons appear in the middle of the card and in each of its four corners. The puzzling message on the card begins,"Skidoo 23 is NOW 37," and then continues, "Turn around the card and I hand you a—." Rotating the postcard so that the text is upside down reveals that the letters and numbers of "NOW 37" turn into the word "LEMON" (this trick is known as an ambigram , in case you were wondering). So, to put it all together, this postcard illustrated that being asked to skidoo—or more colloquially, telling someone "23 skidoo"—was the equivalent of being handed a lemon! And, of course, the reverse was true—if you received a lemon, you'd better skidoo!

"With my compliments." Why would someone be giving away lemons "with my compliments"? It helps to know that handing someone a lemon in the early twentieth century when this postcard appeared was actually a way to say "scram," "beat it," or in the parlance of the day, "skidoo" or "23 skidoo." For more information about "23 skidoo" and how it related to lemons, see Skidoo 23 Is Now 37 :

"You're not safe in 1908—unless you have your (marriage) license. Leap Year. Dog wagon. Ma. Pa. 1063."

To My Valentine 'Tis a lemon that I hand you And bid you now "skidoo," Because I love another-- There is no chance for you! In the early twentieth century when this postcard was printed, to "hand someone a lemon" meant--often with humorous or joking intentions--"scram," "beat it," or--in the terms of the fad it was associated with--"skidoo" or "23 skidoo." For other postcards that make the connection between lemons and 23 skidoo, see the Lemons (NOW37) section of the 23 Skidoo Postcards Web site. How do you interpret the scene on this card--is the woman handing the lemon to the man, or has the man just given the lemon to the woman?

"1893 - I'm Sending You a Lemon from ________. Copyright 1910, Edward R. Mitchell, San Francisco."

Front and back of a small folded advertisement for Wier's Lemon Seltzer that also includes a chronology of the Spanish-American War, which took place in 1898 (the year "1899" above the "Historical Events in the Spanish-American War" heading is apparently either a typo or is intended to show when the ad was published). -------- Wier's Lemon Seltzer Cures Headaches &c. Before, after. 10c. -------- 1899. Historical Events in the Spanish-American War. Jan. 25.--Capt. Sigabee arrived at Havana with Battleship Maine. Feb. 7.--DeLome letter made public. Feb. 15.--Battleship Maine blown up, 206 officers and men lost their lives. Mar. 5.--Spain asked the recall of Gen. Lee. Mar. 16.--Congress voted $50,000,000 for National Defense. Apr. 4.--Navy Dept. ordered purchase of 10 crusiers. Apr. 9.--Gen. Lee returned from American consuls. Apr. 12.--Ultimatum to Spain to withdraw land and naval forces from Cuba. Apr. 21.--Spain declares war by notifying U.S. diplomatic relations were at an end. Apr. 24.--President calls for 125,000 volunteers. May 1.--Ad. Dewey destroyed Montejo's fleet. Americans, none killed and 6 wounded; Spanish, between 5 and 6 hundred killed and wounded. Ensign Bagley, of torpedo-boat Windslow, 1st officer killed in the war. May 25.--President calls for 75,000 more volunteers. June 3.--Hobson sank Merrimac in Santiago harbor. June 24.--First action between land forces and Spanish took place. July 3.--Cervera's fleet destroyed by Sampson's fleet. July 17.--Santiago surrendered. Stars and stripes hoisted. Aug. 9.--Protocol drafted and signed. Aug. 18.--Manilla surrendered to U.S. Sept. 17.--Peace Commission sailed for Paris. Oct. 18.--American flag raised over San Juan. Nov. 1.--Spanish cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa abandoned at sea after being raised. Nov. 25.--First American troops landed in Havana. Nov. 28.--Spain assents to U.S. demand for the entire Phillippines for $20,000,000. Dec. 10.--Spanish American treaty signed at Paris. Ask your druggist for Wier's Lemon Seltzer. It is a positive cure for headache, nervousness, indigestion, etc. Pleasant to take. 10c.

Oh You Lemon! Ripe and juicy, you're all right, In the main squeeze you're out of sight. Lemony, very pretty, yet not too sweet for the Weird Vintage Postcards group. See also: Oh You Chestnut!