The National Airlines “Jet-Deck” provided restless travelers with 28 puzzles and games.  The other sides of the cards illustrated different cities (all National Airlines destinations, of course), for a game of rummy.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

I’m happy to note that one of my favorite literary hoaxes is online, which means that you can read it for free, instead of paying a lot of money for the rare original.  The Dance of Death (1877) is a remarkable polemic against the “filthy lust” of the waltz.  The author was “William Herman,” a pseudonym cloaking Thomas Harcourt and Ambrose Bierce.  The pseudonym was inspired by Harcourt’s prudish father-in-law, William Herman Rulofson, who encouraged the project.  The fact that Harcourt was not only mocking puritanism, but his wife’s father, makes it only tastier.  Bierce’s participation, of course, improved the quality of the prose.  Here it is.

(Posted by Doug Skinner.)

Sam Green is part of the cast in this old version of “Old Maid,” along with Mattie Plump, Gussie Gossip, Jockey Jim, Jack Hawser, Tim Conley, Pansy Violet, Charley Washee, and Jennie Smart.  I can’t show you the Old Maid, since she’s missing.  Maybe she eloped with someone from another deck.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

The Ullage Group announces its eleventh event, “Long Island Beyond the Pale.”  We will unearth some of the mysteries, rumors, and folklore that have haunted that troubling region.

Anthony Matt will speak about the Montauk Project, and elaborate on the sources of this mad all-encompassing super-conspiracy.

Doug Skinner will draw from the late John Keel’s notes, to stumble through the knotty webwork of rumors and hoaxes that plagued Long Island in the ‘6os: alien babies, Mount Misery, Men In Black, android bases, and more.

Lisa Hirschfield will spook you with tales of Long Island’s ghostly glitterati, and perform a short selection of Island-centric songs with Doug Skinner.

You can enjoy all this on Sunday, April 22, at 4 pm.  It will be at the usual place, the Jalopy Theater, at 315 Columbia St., Brooklyn.  Admission is the usual pittance, $5.  Directions to Jalopy are over here.

(Posted by Doug Skinner.  The picture above is a photo taken by Jaye Paro on Mount Misery; it first appeared in the July 1969 issue of Beyond magazine.)

“Skeeter,” from Arrco, offered pictures of a variety of bugs and worms, all in this vivacious style.  You collected and discarded cards; if a Skeeter appeared, the first player to slap it got all the discards.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

We return to the Bowery News, “The Voice of Society’s Basement,” for some selections from Dec. 15, 1948.

First, some cartoons by staff artist C. L. Burlew.

Next, a report from Cleveland.

And, finally, something for the ladies.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

“Monkey Shines,” an undated game from Whitman, asked the players to amass a set of four similar cards, and then make the appropriate animal noise.  The other players had to chime in; the last to follow was penalized with a “monkey ticket.”  When a player accumulated three of them, he was the monkey, and the game ended.  There were, apparently, no winners, only losers.  As the instructions state, “no one wishes to be a ‘monkey.'”

Me, I like the elegant design, the curious lettering, and the orange and green color scheme.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

Cartoons about hoboes are familiar; less so are cartoons by and for hoboes.  The Bowery News began life as the Hobo News; it was aimed at hoboes, panhandlers, Bowery bums, dishwashers, and barflies, and called itself “The Voice of Society’s Basement.”  It ran poetry, stories, cartoons, photos, and news from the hobo community.  It was a treasure trove of slang; and counted H. L. Mencken among its subscribers.  Here are some excerpts from a 1947 issue (Vol. 1 No. 10, no date).  First, a couple of cartoons by the art editor, Henri La Mothe.

And by staff artist C. L Burlew.

A bit of one of the gossip columns.

And, of course, a few beauty tips.

I have a few issues here; I’ll post more later.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

Menko is an old Japanese game, more recently popularized in the west as Pogs.  Players compete to flip over opponents’ cards; each card usually has a picture of a hand as well, to add rock-paper-scissors to the game.

I usually like to give just one example, but these are unusual and fun to look at, so here are more.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

We return to Benjamin DeCasseres for this characteristic prayer, from his book Saint Tantalus.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)