Friday, May 15, 2009

Friday Fun - Ye Olde Blog Poste

Vintage shopping is one of the joys of life for my better half. While Amy searches for lost treasure, I busy myself combing the shelves for vintage horse racing items. Last weekend I scored huge when I found a copy of Country Life magazine published January 8th, 1897. The magazine is interesting in that the content reflects a journalistic account of racing lifestyle as it was over a century ago and is written with a stiff upper lip for the upper crust, no doubt.

For you reading pleasure, I have scanned some of the pages of my vintage treasure for you to enjoy.

Modern publications could only dream of having advertisements form the cover!


Displayed prominently top left is the antique version of the Equicizer


First topic of information is the jockey standings


The handsome K. Cannon, leading rider in the country


Ernie Munick would surely approve of the combination of dogs and horses under one cover.


Get your horses here! Olde tyme horses for sale here!


"When I was a kid, horses never had any trouble loading into the gate..."


J.C. Foot & Son wish to lock you into their Turkish bathing prison


"What's up player?"


Not all the treasure from this particular sale was as ancient as the above. I also found some grade school memories courtesy of the Scholastic biography of Canada's equestrian hero Big Ben! Big Ben and Ian Millar were once household names in Canada and really put the equestrian scene back on the map.
If you, or someone you know, would enjoy owning this book, please send me an email and I'll post out the book to the first person who stakes their claim free of charge. (I'm currently on "vacation" in New York but will mail out the book on my return.) Here's a sample of what you'll be reading!

That's one handsome horse!


Big Ben's more famous than a British clock


Canada, eh! Canada, eh! Canada, eh!


If you're at Belmont Park tomorrow, keep your eyes peeled for a Canadian tourist trying to bet exactors at the exacta window.

3 comments:

Fran Jurga said...

Keith, I don't think I have ever said this to a straight man before, but you and I should go shopping together sometime! I collect old breeding journals and, of course, horse husbandry and shoeing journals and catalogs and advertising.

I'm sure you know that Country Life is still around and is the sister pub to Horse and Hound.

You scored, my friend!

And Big Ben would have a good home on my shelf if you thought it not appropriate to leave Canada. Just let me know how much $$$$.

Keith - TripleDeadHeat said...

Heya Fran,

Thanks for reading...and I'll be in touch when I return from NYC on Thursday to send you the Big Ben book. No charge.

Cheers!

Sid Fernando said...

Excellent stuff! Love the horses for sale.