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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Found 73 posts tagged ‘library’

Precursors – September 5, 2025 (permalink)

Here's a precursor to the Little Free Library, reported in The Children's Newspaper, 1932.
> read more from Precursors . . .
#1930s #library #little free library
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 4, 2025 (permalink)

From The Story of the Earliest Times by Barker, Grimm & Hughes and illustrated by Mary Alice Stoddard, 1936.
[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 #roman #1930s #library #rome #illustration #scroll
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Yearbook Weirdness – November 16, 2024 (permalink)

From Western State Normal School's 1920 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #silhouette #reading #vintage yearbook #yearbook #1920s #library #ladder
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Old News – July 19, 2024 (permalink)

"Where are all the books to go?"  From The Children's Newspaper, 1928.
> read more from Old News . . .
#books #library #vintage headline #headline
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Yearbook Weirdness – August 24, 2023 (permalink)

From the University of Missouri at Kansas City's 1960 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #sleeping #library #1960s #vintage man
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 10, 2023 (permalink)

We, too, stand on rocking horses to reach high shelves.  From The Book of Hobbies; or, A Guide to Happiness by Charles Taussig and Theodore Meyer, 1924.
[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 #books #1920s #library #rocking horse
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I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought – March 13, 2023 (permalink)

"Peter Puck wants to know if a revolving bookcase is a circulating library."  From The Children's Newspaper, 1927.
> read more from I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought . . .
#vintage illustration #library #illustration #bookcase #circulating library
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Yearbook Weirdness – February 16, 2023 (permalink)

"In quiet splendor."  From Mount Vernon Nazarene University's 1976 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#beard #vintage yearbook #library #1970s #vintage man
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Yearbook Weirdness – January 28, 2023 (permalink)

From Wittenberg College's 1952 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#ghost #vintage yearbook #library #ghost hand #1950s #library ghost
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Yearbook Weirdness – December 12, 2022 (permalink)

From Ohio State's 1921 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #yearbook #1920s #library #dating
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Yearbook Weirdness – September 25, 2022 (permalink)

Library gnomes from Indiana University's 1895 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #gnome #vintage yearbook #yearbook #library
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I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought – April 25, 2022 (permalink)

We, too, are intrigued by the (seemingly) empty shelves at the library.  From The Gateway, 1971.
> read more from I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought . . .
#vintage photo #vintage magazine #library #magazine
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Yearbook Weirdness – February 15, 2022 (permalink)

From the University of Omaha's 1929 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #yearbook #1920s #library #illustration #woman reading
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Images Moving Through Time – January 29, 2022 (permalink)

> read more from Images Moving Through Time . . .
#cat #library #smart animal
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Yearbook Weirdness – August 2, 2021 (permalink)

From Winston-Salem's 1973 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #reading #vintage yearbook #yearbook #robot #library #1970s
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Yearbook Weirdness – April 1, 2021 (permalink)

"Print title & author please.  Use pencil.  Use pencil."  From Tulane's 1962 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage photo #vintage yearbook #yearbook #library #1960s #sign
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Yearbook Weirdness – February 14, 2021 (permalink)

From Colorado College's 1933 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #reading #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #library #man reading
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Yearbook Weirdness – December 20, 2020 (permalink)

That lamp is fueled by the midnight oil.  From Earlham's 1922 yearbook. 

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #books #vintage yearbook #yearbook #1920s #library #illustration
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Yearbook Weirdness – November 8, 2020 (permalink)

Slightly worried about where the after hours book drop is.
From the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's 1973 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #yearbook #library #1970s
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Non-Circulating Books – November 6, 2020 (permalink)

Periodicals do not circulate.  From Gardner-Webb's 1967 yearbook.  See our project about non-circulating books: https://www.oneletterwords.com/weblog/?c=NonCirculatingBooks.
> read more from Non-Circulating Books . . .
#vintage photo #vintage yearbook #yearbook #library #1960s #non-circulating
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