Vintage George Washington Snake Game Board

Vintage games today

This is such a sweet image!  Wouldn't it be wonderful if all children played so nicely and sweetly?  Just precious.  If you look at the game board closely it says, "Harmony".  And take a look at that gorgeous mirror in the background.

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This is a rare board game circa 1840 to 1860 called the George Washington Snake Game.  It's a hand-colored wood engraving showing a game board with red, gold, and blue spaces, numbered between 1 and 122.  On the board are illustrations that are numbered and correspond to the blue starred spaces, which are action spots, the player landing on one follows the instructions given with the corresponding illustration, and moves accordingly. At the beginning of the game is a portrait of George Washington and at the end, a rustic looking homestead identified as the "home of the Washington family". 

What a treasure!

 

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Such wonderful vintage images today! Both of these images would make great framed art.  Size them before printing and you have some wonderful pieces of vintage art for your home or office.

Enjoy!

 

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Free Vintage Clip Art - Independence Day Emblem

Happy Birthday America!

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Happy 4th Everyone!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Betsy Ross and Vintage Patriotic Girl Sewing Flag

Betsy Ross

Betsy Ross was born Elizabeth Griscom in 1752 in Philadelphia to Quaker parents.  While working as an upholsterer's apprentice at age 21 Betsy eloped with fellow apprentice John Ross, who was not a Quaker, resulting in her expulsion from the Quaker church.

Betsy and her husband soon started their own upholstery shop and joined Christ Church where they sat next to George Washington.  Two years later the Revolutionary War broke out and while John Ross was guarding munitions he was killed by an explosion.  In 1777, Betsy married her second husband, a seaman, who was captured by the British and died in a British prison.  Betsy had two daughters with her second husband, one of which died in infancy.

In 1783 Betsy married John Claypoole and had five daughters with him.  Betsy continued to run their upholstery business for ten years after Claypoole's death.  She retired three years before her death, completely blind.  That must have been horrible for a woman who earned her living working with her hands her entire life.

When I came across this image I immediately thought of a young Betsy Ross

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I was taught in elementary school that Betsy Ross had been commissioned by George Washington to make our country's first flag but while doing my research for this post I discovered that historians now dispute that story.  Historians agree that at most Betsy Ross was one of many women who worked on our first flag and that her only contribution to the flag's actual design was when she changed the six pointed stars to five pointed stars.

On January 1, 1952, the US Post Office issued a Betsy Ross stamp to commemorate her 200th birthday.

Happy Birthday America!

Enjoy!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Vintage Uncle Sam

Vintage Uncle Sam

This poster is from 1917 encouraging citizens to grow more of their own food to help the war effort of WWI

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When I came across this poster of Uncle Sam, I thought to myself that I can't remember seeing him depicted in this way.  We are used to seeing Uncle Sam like this

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And it got me to thinking about the origins of Uncle Sam.  Here is what I discovered:

Uncle Sam was conceived during the War of 1812 and was depicted as an elderly man with white hair and a goatee dressed in elements of the US Flag.  The female version of Uncle Sam, known as Columbia, has seldom been seen since the 1920's.

The recruitment poster shown above was created by James Montgomery Flagg (how appropriate!) and released on July 6, 1916.  More than four million copies of this poster were printed between 1917 and 1918 and was used extensively during WWII.

Uncle Sam was actually born out of a real person named Samuel Wilson, who was a wealthy middle aged meat packer who had obtained a contract with the US government to supply the troops in the north with meat during the War of 1812.  The meat was shipped in barrels which were owned by the US government and marked "U.S.".  The Teamsters who moved the barrels used to joke about the initials and referred to them as "Uncle Sam".

The US Congress passed a resolution on September 15, 1961 which said:

Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam.

Happy Birthday America!

Enjoy!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Independence Day Emblem

During the American Revolution the original Thirteen Colonies voted to legally separate from Great Britain on July 2nd, 1776 and the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4th, 1776.

In a stunning coincidence the only two original signers of the Declaration of Independence that went on to serve as President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, died on the same day, July 4th, 1826.   Two other presidents, James Monroe and Calvin Coolidge, also died on July 4th.

Below is a wonderful, ornate patriotic emblem

Independence Day Emblem

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Independence Hall 1776

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Enjoy!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Vintage Patriotic Soldier

Vintage Patriotic Soldier

This handsome vintage soldier is celebrating Memorial Day early

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Enjoy!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day

November 11th is celebrated around the world as Armistice Day or Rememberance Day because it is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I.

In 1953 a Kansas shoe store owner had the idea to expand Armistice Day to include all veterans, not just World War I veterans.  The idea gained in popularity and a bill was passed in Congress to make November 11th a national holiday celebrating all veterans and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill on May 26th, 1954 and it has been known as Veteran's Day ever since.

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I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all veteran's who have served our country.

Enjoy!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Vintage Paper Dolls

Happy Birthday America!

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Click on image to download

Aren't they adorable?  So sweet!

I couldn't resist these George and Martha Washington paper dolls on our nation's birthday.

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Click on image to download

Click on image to download

Click on image to download

Break out these paper dolls for your kids or grandkids, they would be a great history teaching tool.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!

Enjoy!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Legend of the Liberty Bell

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Click on image to download

Legend has it that the Liberty Bell rang out from Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 8th, 1776 signaling to the world that America had declared its independence.  The story so captured the imagination of the citizens that a legend was born.  In fact, historians tell us that the steeple was in disrepair and it's very doubtful that the bell actually rang in 1776. 

The Liberty Bell Center was opened in 2003 and every 4th of July at 2 p.m. eastern time descendant children of the signers of the Declaration of Independence tap the bell 13 times, representing the 13 original states.  

Enjoy!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Patriotic Cherub and Little Boy

A colorful and patriotic cherub for you!

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Click on image to download

Click on image to download

I am so happy to bring you these wonderful images from the past.

Enjoy!

Free Vintage Clip Art - Patriotic Little Girls & the Symbolic Use of the Laurel Wreath

These beautiful little girls show that the Victorians were patriots, who knew!

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Click on image to download

The Victorians missed very few opportunities to include botanicals in their images and these patriotic images are no exception.  Using the laurel wreath in the second image is interesting and not just because it's quite lovely. 

Laurel wreaths were depicted in Greek mythology where we see Apollo wearing one.  The circular laurel wreath was used by the Greeks and Romans as symbols of victory and strength.  And in ancient times the laurel wreath was depicted as a horeshoe shape.

I am seeing the horeshoe shaped laurel wreath motif everywhere these days:  home decor, apparel, fabrics and crafts.  It is often seen in government seals and flags - on the local and federal levels.  Colleges, universities and even auto makers use the motif as their logo or symbol.

Ever heard the term "resting on your laurels"?  This expression refers to relying on one's past successes and achievements.  Who knew!  I sure never knew where that expression came from.

I hope you find wonderful ways to use these beautiful images in your projects and please feel free to send me photos of what you create.

Enjoy!