"Boots By The Quart"

1895

A Series of Remarkable Signs That Created Great Astonishment.

In South street, New York, there is an Italian who runs a Yankee notion stand. He speaks English after a fashion, but cannot read a word of it. This fact has made him an easy prey for a heartless joker.

His stock of goods includes almost everything from peanuts and chewing gum to suspenders and waterproof jumpers. Until recently he had displayed no placards, giving the prices of his wares, but the other day a man offered to paint all the signs that the Italian needed free of charge. The offer was joyfully accepted. The signs were painted and placed in position. Crowds were attracted to the spot, and visions of sudden wealth danced before the Italian's eyes. Here are some of the inscriptions painted by the mountebank:

"Cape Ann Boots! Only 50 cents a quart."

"Chewing Gum! All kinds, only 2 cents a yard."

They were prominently displayed near the top of the stand, but they were eclipsed by these a little lower down:

"Peanuts, raw or roasted, $2 a pint. Must be eaten here."

"Suspenders baked, fried or boiled, with edible buckles, 20 cents a plate."

The placard that won the most admiration and of which the innocent merchant was particularly proud was an oblong affair in gorgeous colors. It read:

Gold plated brushes, 5 cents
Diamond studs, 2 cents
Collar buttons, $10 each
All pocketknives, free

A few minutes after the signs had been put into place an old sailor was trying to buy two quarts of Cape Ann boots for $1, and the Italian was getting black in the face trying to make him understand that the boots were "Four dol' a pair." Many similar scenes were witnessed. Finally a sympathetic friend exposed the fraud to the victim, and the pasteboards were removed. — New York Recorder.

Few Old Signs Left

1920

Many of the familiar trade signs used to advertise business enterprises have been discarded entirely in the onward sweep of advertising progress or displaced by more or less artistic displays of paint and electric lights.

One of the most common of the oldtimers that has vanished, says the New York Sun, was the wooden Indian, which kept its silent, stolid vigil beside the door of the tobacconist. The significant boot that once was suspended over the shop of the repairer of boots and shoes is also only a memory. So are the anvil hanging above the entrance to the blacksmith's shop and the horse's heads over livery-men's doorways.

The origin of the cigar store Indian dates back to Sir Walter Raleigh and his English settlers in our sunny South. These fortune seekers, visiting the unseen New World in the seventeenth century, and for the first time in the history of the white race learning the use of the tobacco weed from the North American Indian, symbolized this industry by the red man's imposing figure.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 6.

Cold Winter Signs

Nov. 1917

There is always a great deal of predicting by old-fashioned prognosticators at this time of year, of what kind of a winter we are going to have.

Some are saying the winter will be a cold one, because the corn husks and the fur on the animals are thicker than usual. It sounds reasonable. But, it really isn't. The corn husks and the fur are thicker because we had a cool summer, not because we are going to have a cold winter.

Then too, these wiseacres say the birds left early and that means a long, cold winter, which is also arguing from a lack of knowledge. Most birds have a certain time for leaving the northern latitudes and leave on schedule time, irrespective of the weather. The swallows go while we are still drinking ice tea and hunting the shady side of the street. But the hardier birds, like the robins, bluebirds, meadowlarks, stay as long as the food supply is good. A well-fed bird is a warm bird. That is why we sometimes have large flocks of robins wintering with its even in zero weather.

On the other hand, the fact that we are over 700 degrees behind on temperature for the year doesn't mean that this will be all straightened out this year. It may take 10. So the only thing to do is to sit tight and take what comes. A warm winter would be pleasant, but a cold one is better for us. — Ohio State Journal.

Another Comet Coming

Nov. 1917

Another big comet is said to be on its way. That is, a scientist claims to have discovered a comet of gigantic proportions speeding through the solar system at a rate of more than a million miles a day, and he promises us that some time this winter it will be visible in the northwestern skies in glorious aspect.

We haven't taken a great deal of interest in comets since the one known as Halley's failed to live up to the publicity it received. It was over-advertised — and disappointing, as all things are that are over-advertised. We lost a good deal of sleep on account of the bluish thing that came into the heavens heralded as a body of magnificent proportions and of great beauty, and we have not been enthusiastic about comets since that time.

Further, the present comet is entirely too far away to arouse our interest. It is said to be something like five hundred million miles removed from the earth, and we have a number of big things much closer than that. However, we do not want to discourage it. Let it come along if it so desires. If it gets close enough to the earth to enable us to hang an excuse for the war upon it, it will be worth something. And if it is so striking in its appearance as to frighten the world into righteousness, it will be the biggest thing that ever strolled through the great unknown that lies about us. — Columbus Dispatch.

Bowlegged Fellows Are Not Likely to Face Poverty

1919

Bad Luck for Turn-In Toes

There is an old saying that a bandy legged boy will never lack warm stockings, meaning that he will never be in want of money, so that folk whose friends are apt to be rude about their manner of walking may find consolation therein, says a writer in London Answers.

On the other hand, persons who walk in a fashion which quickly wears down their heels are likely one day to be in need of cash, while knock-kneed folk, though they have the ability to get wealth, have not the power to attract love — so it is said.

A long stride and a swinging walk are good — they imply that there may be ups and downs, but good fortune will never get far away, and will come out on top eventually.

Bad luck follows in the train of those who habitually turn in their toes, however, and an ancient adage has it that the man who always walks on the tips of his toes is likely to end his days in prison.

So watch your step!

The Story of the Swastika

1916

The Most Ancient of All Symbols of Good Luck

It Comes Down to Us with Undiminished Reputation

BY GARRETT P. SERVISS

Have you a "swastika" about you, or in your house, as a fetish or symbol of good luck? If so you possess perhaps the oldest of all talismans. Prof. George MacCurdy, the archaeologist, says that the swastika is supposed to date as far back as the neolithic period, or the later stone age, which came just before the age of bronze, which in turn preceded the age of iron.

Modern discoveries are beginning to make us somewhat familiar with the people who lived in those prehistoric ages, and it is interesting to find this thread of superstition running through them from some dim anterior period, when man first conceived the idea of controlling his luck by the aid of a magic figure, cut or drawn on wood or bone or stone. The thing about the swastika that has excited the most comment is the form, which is essentially that of a cross. This has been treated as a great mystery by those who suppose that the cross, as a symbol, was invented by Christians, and that all similar forms in ante-Christian art are prophetic prefigurements. As a matter of fact, the figure of a cross, in its many variations, is immeasurably ancient.

The swastika has been found in every quarter of the world, and among the relics of nearly all early peoples. Its connection with other religious emblems, and the traditions which have everywhere clung to it, lead to the conclusion that from time immemorial the idea of good fortune has been associated with it. Various explanations have been offered of its peculiar form.

It was sometimes called "the gammadion," because it is made up of the outlines of four capital Greek letters, gamma, united at their bases. Some have suggested that it originally represented a sheaf of flames, or a flash of lightning, or the rays of the sun — but these explanations are all as fanciful as the figure itself. There are many appearances in nature, among trees, plants and rocks which might have served for its original.

The interesting thing is that it has endured so long, handed down from generation to generation, and from age to age, retaining substantially the same form, although used for a great variety of ornaments, all of which seem to have had an identical signification. Its universality is well summed up by the Standard Dictionary, which says, "It has been found depicted on tombs at Hissarlik, near ancient Troy, on Buddhistic inscriptions in India, in Etruscan necropolises, on coins of Gaza and Corinth, on rock carvings in Sweden and on Celtic stones in Britain. In America in pre-Columbian times it was in common use by the aborigines."

These striking sentences do not cover by any means all the places where the swastika symbol has been found. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes a fine sepulchral urn found in Norfolk, and now in the British museum which has three bands of cruciform ornaments round it. "The two uppermost of these are plain circles, each of which contains a plain cross, the lowest band is formed of a series of squares, in each of which is a swastika."

Among the beautifully ornamented swords of the bronze age that have been discovered in Europe this strange figure appears. One writer says of it, "What is remarkable is that the swords not only show the design of the cross in the shape of the handle, but also in tracery what is believed to be an imitation of the swastika, that ancient Aryan symbol, which was probably the first to be made with a definite intention and a consecutive meaning."

The perpetuation of this emblem of good luck through thousands of years is, in itself, a most remarkable thing. It shows the immense value of reputation. It reveals the secret of the indestructibility of superstition. Once let any object, or belief, become established in the imagination as superhuman in power or origin, and a flood of disproof cannot wash it away, and failure upon failure will not shake it. Under the cloak of a legend the falsest prophet may flourish like a green bay tree, and laugh at exposes. His dupes are like the obstinate opponents of Galileo, who, rather than admit that there were spots on the sun, refused to look through the telescope.

So the swastika is founded on the rock of untold ages of tradition, and in the most enlightened days that the world has ever known educated people feel safer if they have the antique symbol of human credulity cut on a finger ring or embroidered on a pocket handkerchief. There is one beside me as I write, sewn on a table cover, and its silky red gleam and bent arms make me thoughtful when I reflect upon the thousands of years during which its unchanging form has thrilled and fascinated mankind. What stories of faith, hope, desire, disappointment, despair it might tell — this emblem from the stone age.

—The Lincoln Daily Star, Lincoln, Nebraska, Nov. 12, 1916, p. 7.

Comment: Wow, too bad the Nazis ruined this symbol or sign for us. Of course it'd be impossible for us now to simply associate the swastika with good luck or pleasant feelings of security. One place where I lived there was an old house that had swastikas etched in the rock work on each side, up toward the top of the house. Obviously predated Hitler. I used to wonder what kind of comments they got during the war years, not to mention after. And I've had old postcards that were sent as "A wish for good luck" greetings that had the swastika symbol on them. But we can't go back now!

Sign Painter's Work – Advertisements on Fences, Billboards

1887

The Sign Painter's Work

Interesting Information About the Advertisements We See on Fences

"That man is a sign painter by trade," remarked a contractor, pointing to a man who was erecting a fence before a building that was to be torn down, "but he finds it pays better to put up fences where building is going on and let out the spaces to advertisers. The big profits in the business have brought about a healthy competition, and everything is now reduced to a fine art. I remember a few years ago this sign painter came to me and offered to put up a new fence free of charge in front of a building I was erecting providing he could use the boards for advertising purposes. I jumped at the offer and thought the man was a fool for making it. The shoe was on the other foot, however, for I should have received several hundred dollars to boot for the privilege.

"This man has brought the business down to a science. He has scores of agents scouring the city for eligible sites, as well as canvassers to drum up advertisements. His fences, which are very neat and attractive, are built in uniform sections and join together on the groove principle. An advertiser can thus have his announcement changed to different localities at will without going to the expense of having a new sign painted. The old method of building a new fence every time made this mode of advertising very expensive, and the lessees often lost money by being unable to let out all the spaces; but the cost is now reduced to a minimum by making the sections to slide in and out like the lid of a box.

"The rates, of course," he continued, "depend upon the location. A sign on Broadway costs the most, but many of the cross streets are nearly as desirable. The big advertisers make contracts by the year. Some of their signs are very elaborate. As soon as one building is finished they are put up elsewhere. The lessee who has a number of these contracts runs no risk in leasing a privilege, because he has his advertisers beforehand, and their signs are ready to slide into position. The first charge is made for the painting of the sign, and then so much per day for its use as an advertisement. The artistic appearance of the signs has improved very much since the introduction of the movable section, for enterprising houses no longer look upon it as extravagant to have trademarks or pictures of specialties correctly painted on a fence. These signs don't remain long in the same place. A building is soon put up in New York." — New York Evening Sun.