Category: Paper Americana

I’ve been interested in collecting unique and magical items for a long time. This includes novelty catalogs filled with occult supplies, matchbooks with mysterious symbols, art prints, old books, and postcards with magical themes. I especially love art made between 1900 and the late 1930s, when creativity was often linked with mystery and magic.

I recently won a bid on eBay for a collection of 20 old postcards, and these three, part of a “Good Luck” or “Good Fortune” collection with the wishbone, the rabbit’s foot, and the horseshoe, were my favorites. The same company created fortune-telling postcards featuring tea leaf reading. I also have a few of these cards, but only some of the collection. You can see them here on catherine yronwode’s website, The Mystic Tea Room: https://mystictearoom.com/wiki/Fortune_Telling_Postcards_by_Fred_C._Lounsbury

In the early 1900s, Fred C. Lounsbury played a significant role in the postcard business. Despite not being an artist, he made a big impact on the industry. For nearly twenty years, Lounsbury was a salesman, innovator, and advertising specialist in the paper novelty industry. He founded Plainfield, New Jersey’s Crescent Embossing Company in 1896. His major contributions to the cardboard goods market, which included calendars, labels, advertising products, and finally souvenir postcards, began with this endeavor.

The Crescent Embossing Company had grown by 1907, taking up a sizable space and hiring about fifty workers. Around this period, Lounsbury’s business started making postcards, which were widely used for collecting and intimate correspondence. Lounsbury was known for his inventive postcard sets, which typically had four cards apiece. This was different from the more popular approach of releasing sets with varying card counts.

It was thought for a long time that Lounsbury did the postcard illustrations himself. In 1985, writer and researcher George Miller debunked this myth by proving through investigative journalism that Lounsbury was the publisher and owner of the copyright, not the artist. Even though he wasn’t the artist, Lounsbury’s inventive methods of manufacturing and distribution contributed significantly to the history and culture of the medium, helping to shape the popularity and development of early 20th-century postcards.

This scan if from my private collection of print memorabilia and curiosities – a 1922 print advertisement for a “Chinese Good Luck Ring” sponsored by Fanny Brice of the Ziegfield Follies.  For those not familiar with the name Franny Brice, you might want to look up both her and the Barbra Streisand movie, Funny Girl. Unfortunately, I am not sure what magazine or print material this came from.  It’s original size is 5″ x 5.75″

I did, however, include an image of the back cover. Hey, I’ll take an indian blanket for only $5.95! But that seems to be a lot of money for 1922.  Just for the fun of it, I plugged in the price of the ring and the blanket into a price inflation calculator to let us know how much these items would cost today in 2021:
That $5.95 blanket?  That would be around $93.00 in today’s money
the 25 cent silver plate version of the ring would be $3.91 today.
the $1.50 sterling silver ring would be close to $23.50.
the $2.50 14k gold filled version would run us a little over $39.00

I hope you’re enjoying these vintage advertisements as much as I do collecting them. You will notice that they all have some sort of metaphysical theme, which is what draws my interest. Let me know in the comments. Below is the  word-for-word text version of the advertisement.

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A CHINESE GOOD LUCK RING
Will Make This Your Big Year

Fanny Brice, of Ziegfeld’s Follies, says “My Chinese Good Luck Ring surrounds me with good fortune.” An eminent Psycho-Analyst remarks, “Undoubtedly the wearer of a symbol of Good Luck such as the Chinese Good Luck Ring will experience Good Luck. It stimulates the imagination; the wearer is alert to the idea that good fortune is just around the corner. The owner of this mysterious talisman is in a sub-conscious mental state which makes him ready to meet Good Luck and Opportunity at least half way—instead of passing on the other side of the road.

From far away China, out of Asiatic Antiquity, comes a symbol of Good Luck. You may call it mysticism of the Orient, but the fact remains that this charmed Chinese Good Luck Ring has stood for health, happiness, prosperity and prolonged life during hundreds of years. This odd finger circlet first attracted New York’s smart set. The demand swept across the country almost over night. At the exclusive clubs, in society, in the Theatre world, even in the foreign legation at Washington, you see this unique token being worn. Stories of amazing fortune have begun to multiply among the owners of the Chinese Good Luck Ring.  Write today. You will admire this unique ring. It comes in silver plate, sterling silver and 14k. gold.

This odd-looking ring excites great interest when observed on your finger—the unusual gift. Write at once for this odd Chinese Good Luck Ring Obtainable either in Silver Plate with Platinum Finish, or Sterling Silver, or 14 Karat Gold Filled. Order by No.

No. 8235. Silver Plate, Platinum finish .. . .25c

No. 8236. Sterling Silver. Price $1.50

No. 8237. 14 Karat Gold Filled $2.50

Chinese Good Luck Tie Clasp Amazing stories of Good be Luck are being told by wearers of this Good Luck Tie Clasp. Gold plated, with very handsome enameled tops with Mystic lucky Chinese symbols.

No. 8238. Good Luck Tie Clasp, 25c

GOOD LUCK – HEALTH – HAPPINESS – PROSPERITY

JOHNSON SMITH & COMPANY,

RACINE, WISCONSIN

“Water Witching” is said to have begun as far back as the late 15th century in Germany, where a forked stick is used to locate underground water. While found all across the world, it is most often recorded as an Applachian tradition in America – most likely because of the Scotts-Irish and Germans that settled in the area. Most of the time, the “water witch” was a man, and the forked willow or hazel tree branch was the preferred tool for what is calling ‘dowsing for water.’  Since digging a well was a fairly expensive and difficult thing to do, the first step was always to call in the local water witch before any ground was broken.

While I could easily write a much longer article on this topic (maybe in the future, I will), my main purpose of this post was to share this wonderful illustration of a water witch (the term wasn’t considered a negative thing.) It is taken from the 1900 book, Myths and Fables of To-day by S.A. Drake. This illustration, as well as others in the book, was drawn by Frank T. Merrill.

Drake, Samuel Adams. The Myths and Fables of To-day. Lee & Shephard Publishing, 1900. Illustrations: Frank T. Merrill

When I began co-authoring our book, THE STRANGER IN THE CUP – HOW TO READ YOUR LUCK AND FATE IN THE TEA LEAVES, with Catherine Yronwode, I discussed that our company, aromaG’s Botanica was working on a special blend of tea for tasseomancers (tea leaf readers) which we named Fortune Telling Tea by aromaG’s – a balanced blend of black teas and puerh  So, I began my search for the perfect public domain image for the label. That is when I ran across the series of postcards by the artist known as ‘Dwig’ who created a serious of Fortune Telling art.

It turns out Catherine (Miss Cat) knew all about Dwig and began telling me about this prolific artist. Clare Victor Dwiggins (June 16, 1874 – October 26, 1958) was an American cartoonist who signed his work Dwig. Dwiggins created a number of comic strips and single-panel cartoons for various American newspapers and newspaper syndicates from 1897 until 1945, including his best-known strip, the long-running School Days (which appeared under a number of different titles). (bio info from wikipedia)

I have since then began collecting these original Fortune Teller postcards from the 1910’s. These are the first four in my collection. I’m currently waiting for 10 more to arrive in the mail, which I can’t wait to share with you!