CRAIG CONLEY (Prof. Oddfellow) is recognized by Encarta as “America’s most creative and diligent scholar of letters, words and punctuation.” He has been called a “language fanatic” by Page Six gossip columnist Cindy Adams, a “cult hero” by Publisher’s Weekly, a “monk for the modern age” by George Parker, and “a true Renaissance man of the modern era, diving headfirst into comprehensive, open-minded study of realms obscured or merely obscure” by Clint Marsh. An eccentric scholar, Conley’s ideas are often decades ahead of their time. He invented the concept of the “virtual pet” in 1980, fifteen years before the debut of the popular “Tamagotchi” in Japan. His virtual pet, actually a rare flower, still thrives and has reached an incomprehensible size. Conley’s website is OneLetterWords.com.
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Abecedarian personal effects of 'a mad genius'
A Turkish Delight of musings on languages, deflations of metaphysics, vauntings of arcana, and great visual humor.

Found 731 posts tagged ‘1880s’

The Right Word – August 13, 2025 (permalink)

"Explain, when you are able, how it happened that you did not foresee what occurred."  From Brown's Language Lessons by Henry Kiddle, 1889.
> read more from The Right Word . . .
#vintage diagram #sentence diagram #diagram #foresight #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 7, 2025 (permalink)

From Peterson's Magazine, 1882.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #umbrella #dog #vintage magazine #magazine #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 2, 2025 (permalink)

From Youth's Companion, 1889.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage ad #rainy day #frog #musical animal #illustration #singing frog #1880s #ad
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 2, 2025 (permalink)

From St. Nicholas Songs, 1885.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #fairy #fly #illustration #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – August 1, 2025 (permalink)

From Our Kings and Queens, 1889.
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #king #illustration #1880s #edward the fourth
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 3, 2025 (permalink)

Rooftop sharkman bootblack.  From St. Nicholas Songs, 1885.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #anthropomorphism #hybrid #rooftop #shark #illustration #1880s #sharkman #bootblack
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 1, 2025 (permalink)

From Our Kings and Queens, 1889.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #king #illustration #1880s #george the second
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 21, 2025 (permalink)

From Canadian Readers Primer II, 1881.
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #crying #illustration #poem #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 20, 2025 (permalink)

From Barnes' Language Lessons or Short Studies in English, 1887.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #dog #illustration #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 19, 2025 (permalink)

"The cat says: 'Think of that selfish mouse eating away, and me starving out here.'" From St. Nicholas magazine, 1888.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #cat #keyhole #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 9, 2025 (permalink)

From The Cat of Bubastes by George Alfred Henty, 1889.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#sarcophagus #vintage illustration #egypt #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 7, 2025 (permalink)

From The Cat of Bubastes by George Alfred Henty, 1889.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #cat #egypt #hunter #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 6, 2025 (permalink)

From St. Nicholas Songs, 1885.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #squirrel #illustration #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 1, 2025 (permalink)

From Our Kings and Queens, 1889.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #queen #illustration #1880s #queen anne
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Restoring the Lost Sense – May 31, 2025 (permalink)

From Youth's Companion, 1881.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #nest #chicken #egg #illustration #chicken coop #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – May 16, 2025 (permalink)

From Barnes' Language Lessons or Short Studies in English, 1887.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #camel #illustration #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – May 3, 2025 (permalink)

From St. Nicholas Songs, 1885.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #illustration #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 16, 2025 (permalink)

From Barnes' Language Lessons or Short Studies in English, 1887.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #squirrel #illustration #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 15, 2025 (permalink)

From Canadian Readers Primer II, 1881.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #blackbird #illustration #bird cage #1880s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 13, 2025 (permalink)

At first glance, we assumed this was a Biblically-accurate angel.  It's an optical illusion of seven cherbus within a trinity, in a soap ad from Youth's Companion, 1887.
[Inexplicable images from generations ago invite us to restore the lost sense of immediacy.  We follow the founder of the Theater of Spontaneity, Jacob Moreno, who proposed stringing together "now and then flashes" to unfetter illusion and let imagination run free.  The images we have collected for this series came at a tremendous price, which we explained previously.]
> read more from Restoring the Lost Sense . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage ad #optical illusion #cherub #illustration #1880s #ad
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Original Content Copyright © 2025 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.