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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A Turkish Delight of musings on languages, deflations of metaphysics, vauntings of arcana, and great visual humor.

Found 20 posts tagged ‘capital s’

Yearbook Weirdness – August 1, 2028 (permalink)

From the University of Mary Washington's 1926 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #ornate capital #vintage yearbook #bow and arrow #yearbook #robin hood #capital s #1920s #archer #letter s #illustration
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Yearbook Weirdness – January 16, 2028 (permalink)

From the University of Mary Washington's 1926 yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #ornate capital #goat #vintage yearbook #yearbook #capital s #1920s #letter s #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – March 17, 2026 (permalink)

From The Story of a Cat by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, 1878.
[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 capital #silhouette #cat #capital s #cat and mouse #letter s #1870s #illustration #long tail
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Restoring the Lost Sense – February 3, 2026 (permalink)

From Life on a Medieval Barony by William Stearns Davis, 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 #ornate capital #medieval #knight #capital s #letter s #illustration
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Strange Dreams – July 28, 2024 (permalink)

From The Witchery of Sleep by Willard Moyer, 1903.
If you have a strange dream to share, send it along!
> read more from Strange Dreams . . .
#ornate capital #sleep #capital s
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Restoring the Lost Sense – December 26, 2021 (permalink)

From Pick Me Up, 1892.
[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 capital #skull face #mask #capital s #illustration #art
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Yearbook Weirdness – September 27, 2020 (permalink)

From Colorado College's 1901 yearbook.  See How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #ornate capital #skull #vintage yearbook #yearbook #capital s
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Yearbook Weirdness – August 16, 2020 (permalink)

From the University of Missouri's 1901 yearbook.

*For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.
> read more from Yearbook Weirdness . . .
#vintage illustration #ornate capital #vintage yearbook #yearbook #capital s #sleeping man
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Restoring the Lost Sense – October 27, 2017 (permalink)

A skeleton rides a penny farthing on a giant letter S.  From Pick Me Up, 1893.

[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 #skeleton #ornate capital #capital s #illustration #penny farthing
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Restoring the Lost Sense – October 4, 2017 (permalink)

From The Boy's Own Paper, 1880.  This should also be of interest: How to Believe in Your Elf.
[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 #imp #ornate capital #serpent #snake #capital s #letter s #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – April 5, 2017 (permalink)

[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 #demon #ornate capital #mermaid #capital s #letter s #trident #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – September 29, 2016 (permalink)

[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 capital #capital s #pony tail #sea snake #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 13, 2016 (permalink)

[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 #witch #ornate capital #serpent #capital s #wand #illustration #art
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 28, 2016 (permalink)

From La Normandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse by Amélie Bosquet, 1845.
[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 #demon #witch #broomstick #ornate capital #capital s #illustration #art
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Restoring the Lost Sense – March 31, 2016 (permalink)

From Vagabondiana by John Thomas Smith, 1874.

[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 capital #capital s #dog walking #an s of himself #illustration
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This May Surprise You – March 25, 2016 (permalink)

One of the many tools we use to create ornate capitals, from St. Nicholas magazine, 1900.
> read more from This May Surprise You . . .
#vintage illustration #ornate capital #capital s #soap bubble #letter s #bubble wand #illustration #art
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Restoring the Lost Sense – February 14, 2016 (permalink)

Here's an ornate capital S from Fra Lippo Lippi by Margaret Vere Farrington, 1899.

[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 . . .
#ornate capital #serpent #dragon #drop cap #capital s #ornate letter
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Restoring the Lost Sense – July 1, 2015 (permalink)

This ornate capital S appears in The Book of Days by Robert Chambers, 1864.
[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 #devil #ornate capital #dragon #capital s #letter s #illustration
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Restoring the Lost Sense – June 27, 2015 (permalink)

Here's the imp of the overturned goblet, doubling as an ornate capital S, from The Oxford Thackeray.  This should also be of interest: How to Believe in Your Elf.

[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 . . .
#demon #imp #devil #ornate capital #goblet #capital s #overturned
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Restoring the Lost Sense – January 28, 2015 (permalink)

From The Baby's Museum by Uncle Charlie, 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 #ornate capital #capital s #illustration #three men in a tub
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