Fifteen of the four-and-twenty blackbirds.  From The Children's Newspaper, 1929.

The inventor of shredded wheat believed that all of society's problems sprang from pie-eating.  From the Duluth Evening Herald, 1906.  

Memories of college.  From North Carolina Wesleyan's 1979 yearbook.

"Their lips touched its crispy outer edge."  From Can You Believe Me Stories by Alicia Aspinwall, 1909.

Teaching a dog to read.  From Susquehanna University's 1903 yearbook.

"The Pie floated away, followed by a chorus of good-byes from the Pantry-people."  From Can You Believe Me Stories by Alicia Aspinwall, 1909.

From Manchester College's 1983 yearbook.

From Mother Goose Secrets as told by the story gnome to Barbara Webb Bourjaily and illustrated by Joe King, 1925.

From Song of Sixpence Picture Book by Walter Crane, 1909.

From Using Our Language, Grade VIII by T. I. Davis, 1961.

From Song of Sixpence Picture Book by Walter Crane, 1909.

Where there are four-and-twenty blackbirds, there's sure to be a cat.  From Film Daily, 1948.

A cannibal carved pumpkin, from Germany, date unknown, courtesy of UpNorth Memories.

By Arthur Rackham.  From St. Nicholas, 1913.

Strong feelings about pie.  From Harper's, 1879.

From Chatterbox, 1920.

Q: Is the pie in the sky chocolate?  (From Together, 1960.)

A: Almost!  It's technically Opera Cake, with three thin layers of almond cake soaked coffee syrup, a layer of espresso buttercream, a layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache, and a topping of chocolate glaze.

What the recipe books never admit: any one confection can give rise to worry, accusation, joy, anger, and questioning (as depicted here).  The larger the baked good, the wider the range of emotions it engenders.  From Mansfield's 1919 yearbook.

"Apple pie!"  From Fisher Junior's 1966 yearbook.

What a lie that we have equal work and play time.  The typical 8 to 5 workday is 9 hours, and that doesn't include time to get ready or commute.  Nor does it acknowledge that some (many) people need more than 8 hours of sleep.  It's all an ugly lie.  Also, if every day is a giant pie, no wonder so many folks stuggle with weight management.  From The Business of Life by A. B. ZuTavern and A. E. Bullock and illustrated by Leo Thiele, 1936.