Take away the cap and Joe Torre is not a ballplayer. He looks like a tough Brooklyn badass who you wouldn’t want to mess with.
The 1964 Topps baseball card set could be known as the mug shot set. Boring head shots predominate with few players pictured in full body or action poses. Continue reading
At first glance you might think this would be some rural village scene, not New York City.
But this old stereoview photograph has identification which says, American Scenery; N.Y. City & Vicinity and 1285.
I do not know where this is. The photograph appears to be from the late 1860s / early 1870s, based upon the sparse surrounding scenery and architecture. Below is the original stereoview: Continue reading
United Artists Pictures executives, stars and their families attended this dinner party at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles on April 8, 1925. This was an enormous display of Hollywood power brokers in one small room. What was the reason they were there?
Silent screen idol Rudolph Valentino had signed a contract a month earlier with United Artists. When this photograph came up for auction several years ago, it was attributed in the auction that Valentino was the recipient for this gathering.
But that is not the case. Continue reading
The French have a different way of doing things. Especially with their signage.
Here are three signs that caught my attention.
This one was on a train going from Paris to southern France. It says:
Forgot Your Luggage? Worries Guaranteed!
Now I’m not quite sure if they literally meant it. That if you lost or left your baggage on the train that you would be worried. Well of course you would! Or is this the French way of saying, “You are screwed if you lose your luggage. So don’t lose it!”
Something definitely got lost in translation. Maybe hire a proofreader who understands English when the next version of this sign is created.
The next one doesn’t need any words, even though it had them only in French. This was near the beach. Continue reading
New York City school children in a display of patriotism, September 1902, “Saluting The Flag” photo: Florence Maynard
After World War I and the Bolshevik uprising in Russia, declaring your loyalty to America was not taken lightly. In 1919, President of the New York City Board of Education, Anning S. Prall, set a requirement that all graduating New York City High School children recite a pledge of allegiance to the United States before receiving their diplomas. This is quite different than the pledge most Americans know by heart.
Prall’s pledge:
“I will reverence my country’s flag and defend it against enemies at home and abroad.”
“I will respect and obey the President of the United States and the law of the land.”
“I will support, in school and out, American ideals of justice and fair play, including the right of unhampered opportunity under the law for all.”
“I will hold the ideal of rational patriotism above loyalty to any individual, political party, social class or previous national connection.”
“I will actively oppose all revolutionary movements, such as Bolshevism, anarchism, I. W. W.-ism, or any movement antagonistic to the laws of the United States or tending to subvert the Constitution of the United States.”
How long Prall’s allegiance pledge was retained is undocumented. But in 2019, can a student refuse to say a pledge of allegiance in school? Continue reading
Incredibly, around 60 years ago, well before the age of cell phones, it was known that in the future people would be attached to their phones.
So, here is the proof
Lifelong New Yorker, Florence Adele Sloane kept a diary from 1893 – 1896. That in itself is not unusual. What is out of the ordinary is that the diary covers Florence’s life from the age of 19 through 23 and her observations on life and her surroundings are written with astute wisdom beyond her years. Continue reading
I remember when I was first was told about eBay 23 years ago. Ebay was a great platform to bid and possibly win at auction interesting, older items. Many times rare purchases could be won for a bargain. Books, ephemera and unusual items. At least that’s how it started for me.
Over the years eBay evolved from a relatively small community user-based auction site to a worldwide commercial behemoth store. And it’s not a very good one. Along the way they lost their original customer base.
Why? Continue reading
This undated, uncredited photo shows a young Julie Newmar with blonde hair. Newmar did have a film career before and after her turn as one of the sexiest TV villains ever. This is what she looked like years before appearing on Batman.
Julie Newmar was indisputably the best Catwoman on the Batman TV series. Eartha Kitt also played Catwoman, while Lee Meriwether played the part in the 1966 Batman movie.
The leggy Newmar had wickedly delicious lines she would trade with Adam West (Batman). Catwoman’s best piece of dialogue I believe was this exchange with Batman while he is trying to convince Catwoman to surrender:
Batman: I’ll do everything I can to rehabilitate you.
Catwoman: [overcome by happiness] Marry me.
Batman: Everything except that. A wife, no matter how beauteous, or affectionate would severely impair my crime-fighting.
Catwoman: But I could help you in your work. As a former criminal, I’d be invaluable. I can reform, honestly I can.
Batman: What about Robin?
Catwoman: [pulls a disgusted face] Robin? Oh, I’ve got it: we’ll kill him.
Batman: I see you’re not really ready to assume a life in society.
Batman has been off the air over 50 years and it’s hard to believe that Julie Newmar (born Newmayer August 16, 1933) will be 86-years-old this year. Continue reading
Mickey Mantle’s final All Star game July 9, 1968 Mickey Mantle swings through a Tom Seaver fastball. photo: Sam C Pierson Jr. / Houston Chronicle
Mickey Mantle hit the first home run ever at the Houston Astrodome, in an exhibition game on April 9, 1965. The Astrodome was then the new home of the National League’s, Houston Astros.
When Mantle next returned to the Astrodome in 1968 it was for the All-Star Game. Continue reading
