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 5,051 posts tagged ‘1920s’

Restoring the Lost Sense – August 3, 2021 (permalink)

From Every Soul is a Circus by Vachel Lindsay, 1929.
[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 #eagle #1920s #egg
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Yearbook Weirdness – July 28, 2021 (permalink)

From Taylor's 1929 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #eagle #vintage yearbook #yearbook #bald eagle #1920s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 10, 2021 (permalink)

This is why we tend to disbelieve birds who tell us their names.  From The Adventures of Nancy and Nick in Scrub-Up-Land by Olive Roberts Barton and illustrated by E. R. Higgins, 1921.
[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 #talking bird #blackbird #1920s
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The Right Word – July 9, 2021 (permalink)

Here's the password to be whispered thrice, out of anyone's hearing.  From Puck's Broom by E. Gordon Browne and illustrated by Kathleen I. Nixon, 1923.  See Magic Words: A Dictionary.
> read more from The Right Word . . .
#magic word #1920s #abrcadabra
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 7, 2021 (permalink)

"Gray magic."  From Hearst's, 1921.
[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 #magician #vintage magic #magic #1920s #fish bowl #gray magic
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Yearbook Weirdness – July 7, 2021 (permalink)

From Chowan's 1927 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #castle #vintage yearbook #yearbook #1920s #holy grail
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 17, 2021 (permalink)

From The Wish Fairy and Dewy Dear by Alice Ross Colver, 1922.
[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 #eagle #fairy #1920s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 7, 2021 (permalink)

From Fliegende Blätter, 1926.
[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 #happiness #hermit #1920s #illustration #mountain retreat #hideaway #cave dweller #art
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 1, 2021 (permalink)

From Nebelspalter, 1929.
[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 #fashion #vintage fashion #1920s #invisible man
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Restoring the Lost Sense – May 27, 2021 (permalink)

From Nebelspalter, 1922.
[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 #monster #mountain climber #1920s #the people could fly #winged men
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Restoring the Lost Sense – May 26, 2021 (permalink)

A proper salutation to the sphinx.  From Fliegende Blätter, 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 #sphinx #1920s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – May 25, 2021 (permalink)

From Nebelspalter, 1929.
[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 #grotesque #drinking #alcoholism #alcohol #1920s #mouths
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Everybody's Doing This Now – May 19, 2021 (permalink)

From Picture Show, 1920.
> read more from Everybody's Doing This Now . . .
#eyeglasses #1920s #vintage hollywood
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Yearbook Weirdness – May 7, 2021 (permalink)

It's rare to see a self-opening yearbook, but sure enough, this one was equipped to do so.  There's a remarkable explanation of "open sesame" in Magic Words: A Dictionary.
From the State Teacher's College of Virginia's 1927 yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #vintage yearbook #yearbook #magic words #arabian nights #1920s #open sesame
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 25, 2021 (permalink)

This is uncannily what I looked like upon starting college.  From Wittenberg's 1922 yearbook.
[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 yearbook #yearbook #statue #sculpture #1920s #sculptor #blob #amorphous
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 23, 2021 (permalink)

From Nebelspalter, 1928.
[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 #1920s #jewelry
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 19, 2021 (permalink)

From Little Jack Rabbit's Big Blue Book by David Cory, 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 #anthropomorphism #rabbit #scissors #1920s #rose
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 17, 2021 (permalink)

The wayfarer.  From the University of Washington's 1923 yearbook.
[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 #ornate #vintage yearbook #yearbook #paisley #1920s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 15, 2021 (permalink)

Rare to see a grandfather clock mistaken for a cuckoo clock.  From Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Lyle Stevenson Cummins, 1923.
[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 #faces in things #grandfather clock #1920s #cuckoo
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Yearbook Weirdness – March 23, 2021 (permalink)

We shall never forget our first teachers.  From Medical College of Virginia's 1929 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #silhouette #vintage yearbook #yearbook #1920s #teacher #caveman
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