View allAll Photos Tagged Published
1907 postmarked postcard view of the south side of the courthouse square in Bedford, Indiana. This view was looking east along Sixteenth Street from the J Street intersection.
The character of this block changed in the period between 1904 and 1910 when two Sanborn™ fire insurance map sets were published. In 1904, five saloons were located in this block. Four of them were in the east half of the block at 900, 904, 906 and 914 Sixteenth Street. The fifth was at 924 Sixteenth Street. All were gone by 1910.
The small two-story brick building on the corner at I Street (900-02 Sixteenth Street) was replaced with a new two-story building after 1904 and before this photograph was taken. The new building had a stone façade. A clothing store occupied that newer building (900 Sixteenth Street) when the 1910 Sanborn™ map set was being prepared.
Business signs in this view identify several of the businesses in existence when this photograph was taken in 1907 or earlier. Beginning near the east end of the block, the round sign appears to be in front of the building at 906 Sixteenth Street with the stone façade. That was the location of one of the saloons in 1904 and a soft drinks business in 1910. The first readable sign was the HOT & COLD BATHS sign that appears to be at 910 Sixteenth Street. However, both the 1904 and the 1910 Sanborn™ map sets show a boots and shoes business at that address. Partially hidden by the baths sign was a sign advertising a DENTIST. It may have been J. G. Hogan. Another sign, below the baths sign, advertised the office of DOCTOR ______. A little farther west, the DRUGS and NEWS DEPOT signs identified the location of the drug store at 912 Sixteenth Street. The 1904 map set shows a drug and stationery store at that address while the 1910 map set shows simply a drug store.
The oval sign west of the drug store at 914 Sixteenth Street appears to read WALKER RYE. In 1904, one of the saloons was located at that location. By 1910, a bakery had moved into the building. A tall, decorated post at the curb in front of that building probably advertised the location of the barbershop at 916 Sixteenth Street.
Farther west, the RESTAURANT sign was at 922 Sixteenth Street, but the address changed to 924 Sixteenth Street by 1910). The restaurant was identified in the 1910 Sanborn™ map set, but the 1904 set shows a novelties store at that location. Next door, the round sign advertised GERMAN HOUSE RYE and identified the location of the saloon at 924 Sixteenth Street. The GEO. W. HAY sign advertised a store at 926 Sixteenth Street. A clothing store was at that location in 1904 and in 1910. The container on the sidewalk in front of that store has UNION printed on it.
The sign on the building west of the Hay store advertised the ADES store. Both Sanborn™ map sets show a clothing store at this address. There was a stairway between the Hay and Ades stores leading to the second floor. A sign posted above the Hay store advertised S. B. LOWE. Another sign, S. B. LOWE LAW OFFICE, was reflected in the Ades display window next to that stairway.
The large DRUGS sign advertised the OWL DRUG STORE on the corner (930 Sixteenth Street). The 1904 Sanborn™ map set shows this as a drug and jewelry store. Signs mounted on the utility pole at the curb in front of the drug store advertised AT&T LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE, HARRISON'S TOWN & COUNTRY PAINT and KODAKS. Signs painted on a display window advertised SODA WATER and STICKNEY's SEGARS. A sign below that window advertised DR. A. C. DANIELS MEDICINES. Signs below the windows on either side of the store entrance advertised STICKNEY’S NEW TARIFF CIGAR and STICKNEY’S CHANCELLOR CIGAR.
This photograph appears to show a stairway between the drug store and the Ades clothing store. However, neither the 1904 nor the 1910 map set shows the stairway. The signs at that stairway advertised THE CLIMAX STONE CO., M. OBRIEN REAL ESTATE LOANS and INSURANCE, and the NORTON BLUESTONE CO. All of these were presumably located upstairs. The name C. S. NORTON BLUE STONE DARK ______ was painted on a window above the drug store.
From a private collection.
The full postcard image can be seen here.
www.flickr.com/photos/hoosier_recollections/6029402812/in...
About a year ago, I got a message from someone at Mercedes-Benz. They wanted to make a book with photos of their cars taken by “real people” and with the stories behind these photos, and an old test shot of mine had made it into their selection.
To cut a long story short: I made a proper scan of the negative, signed an agreement, and some time later I got some cash (quite a lot for a test shot actually) and a copy of the book. It has a fancy lenticular cover featuring two different sets of 25 thumbnail images each. Actually I didn’t even notice that my photo was also on the cover until today when I started figuring out how to document this “milestone” photographically.
The book, titled “Through the eyes of the world”, contains short forewords from Dieter Zetsche (the CEO of Daimler AG), Stewart Butterfield (one of the Flickr co-founders), and Uwe Düttmann (a renowned photographer who directed many campaigns for Mercedes-Benz).
Unfortunately, “published” is not the whole truth in that the book is not really available for purchase—instead, they are giving it away to a selection of Mercedes-Benz customers. But there is a Flickr group (“Mercedes-Benz—Through the Eyes of the World”) which aims at putting all the photos from the book in one place.
This photograph was published in the Illustrated Chronicle on the 23rd of December 1915.
During the Great War the Illustrated Chronicle published photographs of soldiers and sailors from Newcastle and the North East of England, which had been in the news. The photographs were sent in by relatives and give us a glimpse into the past.
The physical collection held by Newcastle Libraries comprises bound volumes of the newspaper from 1910 to 1925. We are keen to find out more about the people in the photographs. If you recognise anyone in the images please comment below.
Copies of this photograph may be ordered from us, for more information see: www.newcastle.gov.uk/tlt Please make a note of the image reference number above to help speed up your order.
Please NOTE and RESPECT the copyright.
© 2014 photos4dreams - All rights reserved.
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
for purchase information see my profile
for more photos of the CSD please visit my professional stream: www.flickr.com/photos/4dreamz/sets/72157645818483853/
www.securitieslawyer101.com/2022/paul-pelosi-jrs-adventur...
In mid-January 2022, British tabloid the Daily Mail published a long story about U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s son Paul Jr, in which it was alleged that he’d been involved in a number of shady businesses, some of them targets of Securities and Exchange Commission investigations and enforcement actions. The piece was subsequently picked up by the NY Post and several Republican political organs. We’ll take a look to see if there’s any fire to go along with all the smoke.
Paul Pelosi Jr is the only son of Nancy and Paul Pelosi; their other four children are daughters. (One of them, Alexandra, memorably said of her mother on CNN: “She’ll cut your head off and you won’t even know you’re bleeding.”) Like his siblings, Paul isn’t a kid; he’s 52 and has worked as an attorney and environmentalist since he was in his 20s. He graduated from Georgetown University and has been a member of the California Bar since 1996 and a California real estate broker since 2002. He’s been fairly low-profile in his business and personal life. His sisters Christine and Alexandra are better-known.
At LinkedIn, Paul lists Due Diligence, Corporate Finance, Start-ups, Corporate Development, Venture Capital, New Business Development, Investment Banking, and more as “skills” he possesses, and at which he presumably excels. Early in his career, he worked for Bank of America, but more recently, he’s been associated with smaller enterprises, some of them startups. As everyone who follows the OTC market knows, that choice can present its own dangers.
The Mail says that Paul “was involved in five companies probed by federal agencies—but has never been charged himself,” adding that “[a] shocking paper trail shows Paul Pelosi Jr.’s connections to a host of fraudsters, rule-breakers and convicted criminals.”
InfoUSA
In 2007, Paul had a full-time job working as a home loan officer at Countrywide Home Loans in San Mateo. He was nonetheless hired by data collection company InfoUSA as a senior vice president earning $180,000 annually, presumably in addition to his salary from Countrywide. InfoUSA was the creation of Vin Gupta, an Indian immigrant who’d become an enormous success in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Originally called American Business Information (ABI), by 1994, the company traded on the Nasdaq. In 1997, Gupta stepped down as CEO, saying he believed more experienced management was needed.
Nonetheless, he took over once again the next year and renamed the company InfoUSA. In 2008, the name was changed a third time to InfoGROUP. In 2010, Gupta sold the company for $680 million. By then, Gupta had acquired more than 45 companies to combine with InfoGROUP and had expanded operations worldwide.
But not all was sunny at the company. For years, Gupta had treated it as his own private property, arranging for very large amounts of money to be paid to him personally. On March 15, 2010, the SEC sued Gupta, a board member, and two company employees: Vasant H. Raval, former chairman of the audit committee, and Rajnish K. Das and Stormy L. Dean, each of whom had served as CFO of InfoGROUP at different times. How did the SEC become interested? Some shareholders became aware of Gupta’s “perks” and sued him in Chancery Court in Delaware, where InfoUSA/InfoGROUP was incorporated. The SEC learned of the action and opened its own investigation.
The SEC alleged that between 2003 and 2007, the company gave Gupta approximately $9.5 million in unauthorized and undisclosed perquisites. The cost was either billed directly to InfoGROUP or through Annapurna Corporation or Aspen Leasing Services, two entities controlled by him. According to the relative complaint:
Gupta’s expenses that were reimbursed by Info as business expenses included, among many others, costs related to private jet travel to Italy, the Virgin Islands, Cancun, Miami, and Las Vegas; travel and accommodations in South Africa; computers for his sons; 28 club memberships; over 20 automobiles; certain costs associated with a home in Aspen, Colorado and a winery in Napa Valley, California; and personal life insurance policy premiums.
Gupta agreed to pay disgorgement of $4,045,000, prejudgment interest of $1,145,400, and a penalty of $2,240,700 and consented to an order barring him from serving as an officer or director of a public company. Raval also settled with the SEC. At the time the complaints were filed, the case against Das and Dean was ongoing.
So then. What does all this have to do with Paul Pelosi, Jr? Nothing, really. Gupta’s been supportive of Democratic politicians for decades; he and Bill Clinton used to play golf together. He contributed to both Clintons’ political campaigns and hired Bill as a “consultant” once he’d left office. But the Mail cites an earlier investigation; one opened by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller in 2005. It examined telemarketers who defrauded the vulnerable elderly. Two of the companies Miller considered of interest were InfoUSA and its subsidiary Walter Karl Inc. In 2007, running for the Democratic nomination for the presidency, Hillary Clinton was evidently aware of the investigation and made a point of warning older voters: “We’ve got to send out the alarm: Seniors should be extremely careful in buying anything that someone tries to sell you over the telephone.”
InfoUSA offered its own explanation:
“In response to the Iowa investigation, Walter Karl exited this business and the one sales representative involved in this area left the company,” the infoUSA statement reads. “While infoUSA can not manage what a client does with the publicly available information infoUSA provides, the company has a strict policy about not selling data to companies who act illegally.”
Ultimately, the company was not charged.
Again, all that has nothing to do with Paul Pelosi. He didn’t work for InfoUSA until after the investigation was closed. Probably Gupta admires Nancy Pelosi and was happy to have Paul come on board. But there’s no indication they were friends. According to the Mail, a Newsmax reporter asked Pelosi in 2007 whether Gupta had hired him to get access to his mother. Pelosi replied:
I don’t think that’s really what happens. I don’t see it that way, but I could see why you’d ask the question… I guess you always wonder why somebody hires you, right?
We wonder why he was talking to someone from Newsmax. And—flash forward—why did he spend New Year’s Eve 2018 at Mar-a-Lago, chatting with Ivanka Trump?
Published in Poruba and Janda 1997, p. 7.
Picture courtesy of Unikum, TOCH Forum, 15 September 2012. This set and further detail pictures available on LEMB Forum, courtesy of Peter D. Evans, 15 September 2012.
I'm so excited to share with you that my Gratitude Pages have been published in the April issue of Art Journaling Magazine! More at my blog.
Published by Cassell in 1974.
Patrick Moore's mother takes us on an exciting journey to meet all manner of extraordinary creatures living on the planets which are our neighbours in space. Illustrations from 1900 to 1974.
I know, it's not Universal Studios or Time Magazine, but my name and pic are in a Zen Buddhist journal. They sent me the article that my pic is in. Not the whole journal. How cool is that??
No, I didn't get paid for it and I'm A-OK with that.
Suspended Animation Classic #71
Originally published May 6, 1990 (#18)
Dick Tracy: Big City Blues
By R. A. Jones
Tracy, Tracy, Tracy.
If you’re like me, you’re already sick of hearing that name. You can’t turn around without tripping over the hype for the new Dick Tracy movie. The film is raking in big bucks at the box office, and its producers are intent on making even more from the merchandising that has spun off from it. It should come as no surprise to anyone that comic books have jumped on the bandwagon.
The Walt Disney Company – which produced the hit movie – has also unleashed a three-issue “Dick Tracy” comic book series. The first of these is entitled “Big City Blues”, and serves as a prequel to the motion picture.
The time is 1932, in an unnamed city very much like the Chicago of that day. Bootleg liquor is flowing like water, and organized crime is becoming a power to be reckoned with. The police are ineffectual, and the streets aren’t safe for anyone.
Adding to the danger is the gang war brewing between two crime bosses, Lips Manlis and Ribs Mocca. Only two policemen seem honest and dedicated enough to try to put the cap on crime. One is a uniformed officer named Pat Patton. The other is a young detective named Dick Tracy.
This is a brutally violent book that tells a grim story. Unfortunately, it is not particularly interesting. Add to that the fact that we don’t see Tracy at all for the first 20 pages – half the book – and it comes off as one big set-up with not much of a resolution.
If the script by John Moore is unsatisfying, the art by Kyle Baker is downright annoying. He chose to draw everyone like Saturday morning cartoon characters, except for Tracy (who he tries to make look like Warren Beatty). The style is totally inappropriate for the story that is told.
The book costs $3.95 – more than what you’d pay to see the movie at an afternoon matinee. To spend that much money of this comic would be just plain criminal.
My first publication ever in a specialized photo magazine.
Thanks to the Better Photography team for selecting my photo.
My first magazine cover! Woot! This is for the Greater Houston Partnership magazine Here is Houston. For someone who lives mostly in the digital world (even with her film) it's so wonderful to see my work in print and especially on a cover. Makes me almost feel like a real photographer. You can see the original photo here.
© sergione infuso - all rights reserved
follow me on www.sergione.info
You may not modify, publish or use any files on
this page without written permission and consent.
-----------------------------
Opening act for alt-J at Mediolanum Forum of Assago in Milan on february 14th, Wolf Alice, a four-piece alternative rock band from North London, consisting of Ellie Rowsell, Joel Amey, Joff Oddie and Theo Ellis. They released their debut single "Fluffy" in February 2013, the "Bros" single followed this in May. In October 2013, they released their debut EP Blush. The "Creature Songs" EP was released in May 2014 on Dirty Hit Records.
Wolf Alice formed in 2010 by Ellie Rowsell and Joff Oddie. Their name came from a short story by Angela Carter. They self released an EP called Wolf Alice that year, with three songs on it-"Every Cloud", "Wednesday" and "Destroy Me"-as well as a video for "Wednesday". Drummer Joel Amey and bassist Theo Ellis joined the band in 2012, and they released the song "Leaving You" online on Soundcloud as a free download which gained airplay from BBC Radio 1 and featured in NME 's 'Radar' section.
While the group's early material was folk-tinged pop, they became more rock-oriented after the rhythm section joined. Clash described the band as "the lovechild of folk and grunge". The "Fluffy" single saw the band compared to Elastica and Hole, while the single's B-side, "White Leather", saw comparisons to The xx. Kitty Empire, writing in The Observer described their sound as "an engaging strain of off-kilter indie rock". The band describe their music as "rocky pop".
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Gary Prince - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
Video link of this episode is below. Old pic I have that I forgot about. This was in Sturgis, back in '05 when we were filming for a video about Sugar Bear. I ended up being in the video a bit more than I thought. The show was called "American Biker".
Kremlin alongside Red Square
Moscow, Russia
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2012 10 12 - Used by BC Feed.
i did a shoot for a philippine theater group here in tokyo..
they are going to stage a play in shibuya this sunday..
the play is called DULAWITOG
a mix of play, and songs.
the shot was from metropolis magazine issue March 6, 2009.. :)
Photo taken and published with permission.
Mount Royal (French: mont Royal, IPA: [mɔ̃ ʁwajal]) is a hill in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name.
The hill is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians. It gave its Latin name, Mons Regius, to the Monteregian chain.
The hill consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix (or Mont Royal proper) at 233 m (764 ft), Colline d'Outremont (or Mount Murray, in the borough of Outremont) at 211 m (692 ft), and Westmount Summit at 201 m (659 ft) elevation above mean sea level.
The park contains two belvederes, the more prominent of which is the Kondiaronk Belvedere, a semicircular plaza with a chalet, overlooking downtown Montreal. Built in 1906, it is named for the Petun chief Kondiaronk, whose influence led to a major peace accord between the French, Iroquois and other First Nations in 1701. As of 2009, the Kondiaronk chalet's snack bar is being shuttered, with plans to replace it with healthier fare.
Other features of the park are Beaver Lake, a small artificial lake; a short ski slope; cross-country skiing trails; a sculpture garden; and Smith House, an interpretive centre. At the foot of the hill, overlooking Park Avenue, the park features George-Étienne Cartier Monument, home to the Tam Tams, and a gazebo which has been recently named in honour of Mordecai Richler.
The lush forest was badly damaged both by mayor Drapeau’s morality cuts (to remove any opportunity for people to have sex in the bushes) of the mid-1950s and by the Ice Storm of 1998, but has since largely recovered. The forest is a green jewel rising above downtown Montreal, and is known for its beautiful autumn foliage as well as extensive hiking and cross-country ski trails. Biking is restricted to the main gravel roads. (Wikipedia)
Visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Royal#Mount_Royal_Park
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
The Postcard
A postcard published by the Leighton & Valentine Co. of New York City. It was printed in the United States. The publishers modestly state on the back of the card: 'Quality Famous Throughout the World'.
The card was posted in Hudson Term. Sta. N.Y. on Tuesday the 30th. January 1912 to:
Master Mohrstadt,
10 Henderson Road,
Wandsworth Common,
London S.W.,
England.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"26.1.12.
Dear Little Man,
Daddy is going to this
pretty place next week.
Love from Dad".
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City, the second by that name, and the second to be located at 26th. Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan.
It opened in 1890 at a cost of about $500,000, and replaced the first Madison Square Garden. It hosted numerous events, including boxing matches, orchestral performances, light operas and romantic comedies.
Other events included the annual French Ball, both the Barnum and the Ringling circuses, and the 1924 Democratic National Convention.
The building closed in 1925, and was replaced by the third Madison Square Garden at Eighth Avenue and 50th. Street, which was the first to be located away from Madison Square.
The Murder of Stanford White
Madison Square Garden II, as it has come to be called in retrospect, was designed by noted architect Stanford White, who kept an apartment there.
In 1906 White was murdered by Pittsburgh millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw over White's affair with Thaw's wife, the well-known actress Evelyn Nesbit, whom White had date-raped when she was 16.
Evelyn Nesbit had been a chorus girl and artist's model. Harry Thaw killed her former lover, the architect Stanford White, in public in the Roof Garden Theater restaurant above Madison Square Garden.
The trial revealed that White had been a sensualist who liked to seduce young girls, and that Thaw was a sadist. The resulting sensational press coverage of the scandal caused Thaw's trial to be one of the first Trials of the Century.
Roald Amundsen
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, on the 30th. January 1912, the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition came to an end as Roald Amundsen and the crew of the Fram departed northward from Antarctica, bound for Buenos Aires.
This photo is published under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike Licence, means you are free to use this photo with attribution under same licence. When giving attribution, please use following;
Owner: Thai National Parks
Something from yesterday's trip to the greenhouse. Thanks to Rona for such a nice display in our Metro section!
The centrefold of the Blues in Britain magazine, February 2015 - a picture I took of Leburn New Years Eve 2012
IMG_2015-02_BigPic_BiB-
2011-11-12 017
My photo was selected for the certificates given to new Pacific Battleship Center members.... plankowners.... between now and December 23rd ! www.pacificbattleship.com/memb10.html Starting at just 25 bucks.
(From the PBC website:) " Plank Owner Memberships
In order to reward those who demonstrate their early faith in our organization, The Pacific Battleship Center has created our Plank Owner Membership program. Plank Owner Members get special privileges, such as being invited on board the ship before the general public and having their names forever inscribed on a commemorative plaque. But that's just the beginning. The higher the donation amount, the more benefits a plank owner receives."
Published by 'Books for Children' in 1979.
This is not the edition I had - mine was a paperback published in 1973 I think. I haven't managed to get a copy yet... so this will do for now.
I have uploaded my favourite pictures, ones I used to look at for ages.
FISHY BUSINESS
This Christmas creature was captured on film December 20 in Morden, at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. It's an Xiphactinus wearing Xmas attire, which swam the Cretaceous seas of Manitoba and central North America 80 million years ago.
This photograph was published in the Illustrated Chronicle on the 29th of September 1915.
During the Great War the Illustrated Chronicle published photographs of soldiers and sailors from Newcastle and the North East of England, which had been in the news. The photographs were sent in by relatives and give us a glimpse into the past.
The physical collection held by Newcastle Libraries comprises bound volumes of the newspaper from 1910 to 1925. We are keen to find out more about the people in the photographs. If you recognise anyone in the images and have any stories and information to add please comment below.
Copies of this photograph may be ordered from us, for more information see: www.newcastle.gov.uk/tlt Please make a note of the image reference number above to help speed up your order.
The Postcard
A carte postale published by J. Winling of Charleville. Note the poster on the left advertising 'Cycles Rochet'.
The card was posted in Rennes on Wednesday the 17th. June 1908 to:
Mademoiselle Romanie Patheis,
Chez Mme Bogaert Notaire,
39, Rue de la Clef,
Hazebrouck.
Rethel
Rethel is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is the third-most important city and economic centre in the department.
It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37 km from Reims.
Its inhabitants are called Rethélois.
-- Rethel in World War II
During World War II Rethel was the site of heavy combat from May to June 1940 during the Battle of France. French troops under Jean de Lattre de Tassigny repelled German assaults on the town for a month before it fell.
Jay MacDonald
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, on the 17th. June 1908, James Alexander MacDonald was born in Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands. He became a botanist and plant pathologist. Friends and family called him Jay MacDonald.
Although sickly in his early life, he had developed a love of active sports by his late teens, including rugby and hockey.
Jay was home-educated by his mother at Kilmacolm, then at Inverness Royal Academy. He then went to Edinburgh University to study agriculture, but decided to also study botany as a joint degree.
He continued as a postgraduate in botany, gaining his doctorate in 1935. He then began lecturing in botany at St. Andrews University, and was given his Professorship in 1961. In the same year he became the joint founder and official keeper of St Andrews Botanic Garden.
In the Second World War Jay served as a flight lieutenant in the RAF in India and Malaya, mainly working in radar.
In 1940 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Robert James Douglas Graham, Sir William Wright Smith, Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson and Alexander Nelson. He served as Vice President of the Society from 1961 to 1964.
-- Bibliography of Jay MacDonald
Jay's publications included:
'Introduction to Mycology' (1951)
'Trees in St. Andrews' (1971)
'Plant Science and Scientists in St. Andrews' (1984)
-- Retirement and Death of Jay MacDonald
Jay retired in 1977, and in later life he developed a love of golf, and was ideally located in St. Andrews for this pastime. He was also a keen angler.
James died in St Andrews on the 26th. April 1997.
This was published in the Edinburgh Evening News - taken nine days' previously.
I love these cranes - sadly their 'use' is a home to pigeons or other birds
Postcard published by Louis Kaufman and Sons, Baltimore, MD. Card mailed August 15, 1919 to E. L. Rinehart in Canton, OH. Message reads "We landed here at this ferry from Portsmouth. The bay was full of battleships. George."
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard published by Valentine & Sons Ltd. of Dundee and London.
They state on the back of the card that it is a real photograph, and that the card was printed in Great Britain.
The Significance of Black Cats
There are more black cats than any other color because the black gene is most dominant for felines.
Over the centuries, these dark, handsome, and friendly felines have been associated with cultural and historical myths, superstitions, and tales that make them either revered or feared.
Here are conflicting superstitions relating to black cats:
-- Black Cats Are Witches in Disguise
If you're spooked when you see a black cat, it’s probably from medieval folklore that continues to shroud the reputation of these dignified kitties. Black cats have long been associated with witches and witchcraft.
It's said that the story began when a black cat was seen running into a house thought to be inhabited by a witch. During the Middle Ages, black cats became equated with black magic.
Roaming nocturnal black cats were thought to be witches in disguise, witches' pets, or animal-shaped demons sent by witches to spy on humans.
From the early 13th. century in Europe through the 17th.-century Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts, black cats were killed. Black cats have evolved into icons of anything related to witchcraft, especially during the Halloween season.
-- Black Cats Are Bad Luck
A black cat is also associated by some people with bad luck, and even death. This fear of black cats appears to stem from medieval times, when an animal with dark feathers or fur, including crows and ravens, signaled death.
In 16th.-century Italy, it was believed that death was imminent if a black cat would lay on someone's sickbed. In modern-day North America, negative connotations continue to haunt black cats: It’s considered bad luck if a black cat crosses your path, and good luck if a white cat crosses your path.
Another family member is bound to die if you spot a black cat during a funeral procession. And it's a bad omen if you see a black cat walking away from you.
Fortunately, all these ideas are just superstition.
-- Black Cats Are Good Luck
Black cats are also believed to bring good luck in many ways. In ancient Egypt, black cats were held in the highest esteem because they resembled Bastet, the cat-headed Egyptian goddess of home, fertility, and protection from disease.
Black cats are considered good luck in other parts of the globe as well. In Asia and the U.K., you're going to be lucky in life if you own a black cat. When British good luck postcards feature a cat, the cat is always black.
In Japan, you'll have luck in finding love if you spot a black cat.
In parts of England, a bride will have luck in her marriage if she receives a black cat as a gift.
In Europe, sailors will have a safe journey if they bring along a black cat on the ship.
In Scotland, you'll have coming prosperity if a black cat appears at your doorway or on your porch.
In France, something magical is about to happen if you see a black cat.
In other cultures around the world, it’s a sign of good luck if you dream about a black cat, see one walking towards you, or if you happen to find a stray white hair on its fur.