I received a comment recently and clicked on the website from which it originated to be pleasantly surprised. It was from a site called Sheaff: Ephemera and is a fantastic collection of paper ephemera from the past. It’s a huge collection of interesting advertising and printing and other things. Bronzed shoes and coal carvings, for example. Or a great assemblage of photos of people holding the fish they have caught. There is a treasure trove of imagery for those who love the printed image and the beautiful colors and artistry often employed by printers of the past. Well worth a visit when you have some time to browse the large group Mr. Sheaff has collected.
One of my favorites that I first came across was the notice shown above from 1822 for William Mullen (the celebrated 15 year old pedestrian!) and his attempt to walk 102 miles in 24 hours, an event unparalleled in the Annals of Pedestrianism. I haven’t had a chance to check out the records for pedestrianism so I can’t tell you much about Mullen and this attempt. Perhaps he was the Babe Ruth of pedestrianism and somewhere, probably around Alnwick Low Moor, his name is still uttered with deep reverence.
The photo below is also from this site and really brings home how the world has changed in the 99 years since this photo was taken somewhere on the plains of America. I find this a really striking image.
Redtree Times 