Mythical Monsters - Shaggy Beast

I like how oblivious the two kids in front are, "La-la-la."

Ow. 

Mythical Monsters - Nasnas

This half dude is awesome!

Why is he nude?

Mythical Monsters - Catoblepas

Dave unearthed this book from his childhood collection. The illustrations and descriptions are hilarious. 

Um who hasn't.

Barrel of Laughs

Barrel of Laughs is another old timey book I picked up at the used book store in Freeport, Maine. It's a collection of jokes, puzzles, riddles, etc. I bought it because it reminds me of my childhood, and I love the illustrations.   

Awesome feet.

This clown is on the cover and is really creepy. 

Stumped by the numbers, and possibly a little drunk too. 

At least he has a horse that smiles at him maniacally.

Ripped. 

Peggy Covers the News

I found this book at an amazing used bookstore in Freeport, Maine over Thanksgiving.

I had to buy it for my friend Peggy. I had no idea she was covering the news!

These chapter illustrations were cool and kind of mod. 

Calling Cards ... more ...

Thank you Travis Simpkins for your info about these. It's so interesting I had to share: 

"From the photos, they certainly look like blank calling cards. Calling cards were used during the entirety of the 19th Century. Your cards appear to have a bit of acid in the paper, so they'd be from the latter part... 1880's - 1890's. The ladies' attire would fit into that period as well. They might've been part of a "season appropriate" set, with these ones showing Winter. Are the others all the same? The colors still maintain their intensity because they were most likely printed by way of chromolithography, a time consuming method in which each color is printed separately and allowed to dry before moving on to the next color. The resulting images are very vivid." 

If these were indeed printed via chromolithography, it is pretty amazing because the images are so tiny - about 1" squared - seems like it would require a pretty meticulous hand! The paper is getting some brown spots on it - mold perhaps? I'm wondering what is the best way to preserve them. 

Calling Cards

I bought a set of about 20 of these cards at an antique store over twenty years ago. I think they're old fashioned calling cards, but I'm not sure. I've never done any research on them but I'd like to. I'd love to know what era they come from. They're about the size of business cards. The paper is a very heavy stock, and each one is printed (or hand painted?) in the most brilliant, saturated colors.