Rosedale Library

Rosedale Library, 1882

Rosedale Library is a bit of a mystery. A story paper series published by Street & Smith in the early 1880s, the Rosedale Library has all but disappeared in modern collections. There are approximately four examples currently extant in institutional libraries with publication dates from 1880-1882.

Printed without pricing or consistency, Rosedale Library may have simply served as a promotional tool for soliciting subscriptions to more popular Street & Smith publications, like their flagship New York Weekly. In fact, the publishers seem to have leaned on a “bait-and-switch” strategy. In each of the surviving Rosedale Library issues, there are opening chapters to 2 or 3 stories with the “continuation” to be found in a specific number of the New York Weekly.

Ad for the New York Weekly

What is a Story Paper?

A story paper is a serialized publication full of stories and illustrations primarily geared towards children or adolescents. They were most popular between World War I and World War II. In the United States, story papers were more commonly referred to as “dime novels”. Dime novels became a catchall phrase to refer to story papers, pulp magazines, and other popular fiction printed in inexpensive paper bindings.

The publications typically consisted of around 8 pages released weekly and costing about 5 or 6 cents an issue.

An illustration from “But Only Once a Wife”

Street & Smith

Francis Street and Francis Smith ran one of the biggest publishers for American dime novels. Beginning in1855, Street & Smith published a variety of pulp fiction, comic books, and sporting magazines until the company was bought out in 1959. Street & Smith purchased the New York Dispatch (which would become New York Weekly) in 1858.

Street & Smith published some of the most popular dime novels (more accurately called “nickel weeklies” at that time) including: New Nick Carter Weekly, Tip Top Weekly, Buffalo Bill Stories, Jesse James Stories, and Brave & Bold Weekly. Many of these dime novel stories featured private detectives or Wild West settings.

---

To view the Rosedale Library, or other dime novels held in our collections, please visit GVSU Special Collections & University Libraries.

Postcards: 100 Years since the End of World War I

by Sophie Bruno

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2018 we show our respect and gratitude for the service of our country’s veterans. This year’s celebration is a little more special than past observances, as it marks the 100th anniversary of the ending to World War I.

On this occasion, we invite you to explore these postcards from the Philo Holcomb, Jr. World War I postcard collection. Holcomb was a native of Atlanta, Georgia who served in the U.S. Army from 1918 to 1919. After the war, he traveled extensively in Europe, collecting numerous postcards, travel guides, and maps.

Dear Philo, You are constantly in our thoughts. Mother has given all the news. Father

---

World War I consumed the better part of Europe between the years 1914-1918. Its battles were fought with a brutality that was never before seen. The Great War took a significant toll on the men who fought bravely.

These men were sons, brothers, fathers, uncles, and nephews. Many of them had a family waiting for them to come home. While the soldiers were abroad fighting, the most common method to communicate with family, friends, and acquaintances was through letters and postcards.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Millions of postcards were created between the years of 1905 and 1915. This time period is known as the ‘golden age’ for postcards. In Germany alone, there were about three million printed. In some ways, communication by postcard is similar to today’s use of social media such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Postcards have a limited amount of space for writing and picture to tell a story. That story could be about the place the person was currently stationed, a place someone visited, or just to reassure loved ones that they were okay.

---

“If Rintintin is a soldier under special orders (like me most of the time) the allegory of jerking him away is true to life. Don’t blame me for the short dresses ladies wear these days. “

One could analyze this piece–featuring the French character Rintintin as well as the writing on the back of the card–and see this as him being “jerked away” from focusing on his duties in the Army with his interest in the women of Europe. You can see this again in the postcard below with Philo’s friend Bill having accidentally chased away a girl. Another example how postcards have the power of image and words in a short small package.

“The flour mills – still a little farther upstream. A girl in the mill smiled at Bill but when he showed interest she ran away. Girls is funny creatures I guess.”

---

Postcards printed during this era sometimes reflected the politics and popular sentiment of the day. During the World War I era, humor became darker, illustrated below in the text of these British postcards.

My Latest Portrait: Just Me, Gas Who It Is; Some Bonnet: I eat & drink out of it, it protects my brains, it’ll come home with me under it.

Some Germans who opposed the war expressed their defiance through art. In the postcard below, one could interpret that it is making a mockery of the people in power. You can tell by the man’s luxurious clothes, clean nails, and wine glass that this is a wealthy man. In the corner of the postcard on the right, there is a small printed statement–SCHENKER– which means “boozer” in German.

Mockery of those in power has often been used by the common people to make their displeasure known. It can be seen in a lot of German artwork for the period of World War I. Mockery is still frequently used to the same effect in the present day, through its proliferation in memes and social media.

---

But more often than not, postcards were a quick way for soldiers, sailors, and airmen to connect with those they held close to their hearts.

A postcard from Grand Valley State University Professor of History Dr. Jason Crouthamel’s WWI postcard collection

It is important to understand the sacrifices our military veterans have made.  Today, we honor them the best way we know how—Thank you, for your service and your dedication to our country.

Michigan Picture Postcards

Holland, Michigan. Why don’t you come to Holland, Mich. and runabout the town with me, circa 1910

Among the many instruments that people have devised to communicate with one another, the postcard fills many roles. If you need a simple way to send a quick note, to let someone know you’re thinking of them, to save or send a souvenir of your travels, or merely to document your own surroundings – postcards can meet all of these needs and more.

Port Huron, Michigan. Fire Department parade, 1910

Montrose, Michigan. Flint River Bridge, 1911

The American postcard was first developed in the 1870s, and the first souvenir postcard in the 1890s. They quickly became immensely popular, with their “Golden Era” spanning from around 1907 to 1915.

Grand Rapids, Michigan. John Ball Park, 1905

Grand Rapids, Michigan. Playground at Reeds Lake, 1915

During that period, the U.S. Postal Service introduced the “divided back” postcard, which included a line on the blank side to separate the address area from the message area. Also during this period, Kodak produced a specialized “postcard camera” which enabled the quick production of “real photo” postcards.

Alpena, Michigan. High School, 1915

Corunna, Michigan. Burned high school, 1908

The postcards highlighted in this exhibit come from our American Picture Postcard Collection (RHC-103).  Their photographs and illustrations depict the locales and sights of Michigan, and show us how things used to be.

Boyne City, Michigan. The Old Maid’s Nipple, 1910

Ishpeming, Michigan. Ski Jumping, 1907

The Alabastine Company

The Alabastine Company, founded in 1879, produced a variety of paint products from the gypsum that was mined from the shale beds abundant in the area surrounding Grand Rapids, Michigan. Though the company was founded in New York, it derived its name from its largest gypsum quarry near the town of Wyoming, just south of Grand Rapids.

Alabastine color sample brochure, 1925

It’s earliest product, a dry pigment wall paint, was marketed as a “sanitary” and “hygienic” alternative to more traditional wall coverings of the day, such as lead-based paints, whitewash, and wallpaper.

Alabastine Home Color Book

Alabastine coloring book cover

Alabastine coloring book

The company advertised broadly in magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, the Delineator, and House Beautiful, and created colorful advertisements, catalogs, and other promotional materials.

Alabastine Stencil Catalog

Stencil catalog cover

Stencil catalog

The company was in business until about 1948 when it failed due to mismanagement. More information about the Alabastine Company can be found online at Antique Home Style and HistoryGrandRapids.org.

School-Pak Alabastine Art Paint Kit

Alabastine School-Pak art paint kit

Alabastine School-Pak art paint kit

Alabastine art paint canister – No. 10 – Orange

These items, along with other Alabstine Company odds and ends, can be found within the Special Collections in Seidman House.

Grand Rapids Carnival of Fun

Cover of the “Carnival of Fun 2 Step” music for piano solo by Dan Ball, 1897

The first Grand Rapids Carnival of Fun was held in October 1897 and organized by the Hesperus Club. Modeled after the “Carnival of Rome,” Grand Rapids’ carnival was a four-day festival of parades, music, Midway acts and games, and the election of Carnival King and Queen. Advertisements and souvenirs featured images of leprechauns, devils, jesters, and people in fanciful costumes.

At a meeting of the Hesperus Club in November 1897, heated debate arose about the worth and morality of the recently concluded festivities. It was reported in the Grand Rapids Herald that during the 4 days of the carnival there were 61 arrests for drunkenness, compared to 8 from the preceding week and 10 for the following week. Such public displays of “immorality and degradation” were met with furious opposition from a number of the city’s prominent businessmen and ministers, including Gen. Byron M. Cutcheon, the very founder of the Hesperus Club itself.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

However, since the carnival’s events and attractions brought a great financial boost to the city, Grand Rapids’ Mayor,  Lathrop C. Stow, declared that the city was none the worse for having held it. The following summer the organizers petitioned the city once again to repeat the Carnival of Fun. The new mayor, George R. Perry, citing “no law to prevent” the holding of the carnival, granted permission for its use of public streets once again.

Carnival of Fun 1898 commemorative envelope – “More fun than last year.”

The 1898 Carnival of Fun was nearly twice as large as the previous year. It held opening ceremonies, three parades, free shows on four stages, fireworks, Midway games, food stands, and more. Local businesses even ran special carnival sales to attract both locals and out-of-towners.

Following the rousing “hot time” of the 1898 Carnival of Fun, a conference of ministers gathered to oppose the “immorality and drunkenness” of the carnival. The conference demanded that the carnival never be repeated, noting that arrests for public drunkenness increased threefold from the first year to the second. They vowed to fight any future proposals of carnivals with all of the weapons at their disposal. Their efforts were victorious, and the Grand Rapids Carnival of Fun was never held again.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Items featured in this post, along with others, can be found in the Grand Rapids Carnival of Fun collection (RHC-170), in the GVSU Special Collections and University Archives.