I came across a treasure this past Saturday at the Flea: a vintage book with an interesting cover that offered no clue of the adventure I was to find inside the pages. Remember Mad Libs? Well long before these were published in 1953, there was "Revelations of My Friends."
This parlour game was published in the form of a book in London in approximately 1912. Inside are pairs of pages originally bound together and perforated. On each first page of the pairs were a series of cut-outs matched with a direction to write something in the cut-out. Examples include colour, pet-name, profession, public character, and exclamation. The following page offered suggestions for the players:
There was also a space to draw your own portrait and sign your name. When you tore through the perforation, the second page revealed a story that was completed with the words that the reader wrote.
Seems like the some of the words chosen 100 years ago were quite tame as compared to today...
"Term of Abuse": cat, lump, you donkey, dog gone it, jack ass, silly, brute
"Term of Endearment": sukey, love, sweet-heart, sweetness, angel eyes
There are so many things I love about this book but I have to say that my favorite part has to be the self portraits.
In doing some research about this book, I came across this interview from NPR about another lucky finder of this book.
41 comments:
what a find!!!
lucky you! but "cat" is a term of abuse? :(
you really scored...what a rare treasure trove..can't believe you found it at a flea market! Love the self portraits..what a personal connection to these unknown folks...makes one wonder about who they were...
Wow! What an amazing find! True treasure.
I'd never heard of the parlor game, or any of this. I must live under a rock. This is one fantastic score, Fluffy-kins!
what a great find! love the portraits.
Wow, what a score. So much fun.
What a great find Seth. I must head to the closest flea market! :-)
What a fantastic find! I had no idea this kind of thing existed. I wonder how it will inspire you :)
you have rescued another treasure here Seth
I'm off to check out the NPR link
Happy Friday and hopefully cooler weekend!
Luck Key Find!
Absolutely awesome find - you hit the jackpot there! Definitely a treasure!
OMG! What a treasure!!
SCORE!!!! It's the thought of finds like this that draws us all out every weekend to hunt and gather.
Erin
Such fun. The word choices were...well...CHOICE!!! to say the least! What a delight to find this relic and to share it here. Enjoyed the research article as well.Thanks for a fun way to start my day today!
I LURVE that book. You are so lucky - and I am jealous!
Amy
OMG- this is SO cool; you really lucked out with this one! I never heard of this game, but now I'll be on the lookout.
Very cool and great find!
Thanks 2 for sharing the NPR link!
Cheers!
what a great find!
What a treasure and insight into the past. Don't you just love to find items like this, that make you want to meet the person that owned it previously. I had a Catholic prayer book that was full of notes on the people that had been visited and prayed for. At the time I wondered what became of them and had their prayers been answered. Thanks for sharing your treasure.
Debbie
What lucky find that little treasure is. Lucy you!
That is so cool - a definite keeper!!!I could spend hours (and have) looking thru old books at the flea market!
What a fabulous find, maybe we need a modern day version.
What a fantastic find...parlor games were big in the South furing the 1960's...enjoy! Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
yum .... very very special find .. i look forward to see what you will do with it (if anything) ....
its a bit like the emails you get today where you fill in /finish a sentence so friends know a bit more about you ...
the book far outstrips the 'i want one' if i weighed up email/book, email/book, email/ ummm definitely book !
sends me off to the flea market tomorrow ! >>> Gina
Oh wow! SCORE!! A find like that is such a treasure and there must be a good reason fate bought it to you. Great going!
This is a unique collaboration and as Lisa said the portraits bring about a personal connection with the previous owner.
wow what a treasure seth.. are you going to keep it intact? ;)
What a marvellous find and how happy for the book that it was found by someone who who appreciate it.
This is amazing!! The cover is great too!!!
Mary
thanks Seth! this is terrific.
i have not had a chance to check out the NPR interview, but i will.
do you know if this was a genre of books that was published in the early 20th century?
what fun!
This is why flea markets are so much fun! It's all about the hunt and the lure of the prize.
That is a most wonderful score!
Boy, did that bring back some very OLD memories. I remember playing at similar type "games" that we actually made as kids in the '50's (e-gad!)- while in church!!! I know I was suppose to be listening - what can I say!! Fun!
Janie
Your new treasure is so funny Seth! You have really made my morning here, I'm still smiling! roxanne
Portrait #6 reminds me of you. (hee-hee)
What a cool find! I remember MadLibs...the cousins and I would giggle ourselves silly with them. Good memory...thanks for the trigger!
Fantastic find!
What a fantastic find! Wouldn't it be fun to create your own "Revelations" book and have your friends play?
What a treasure indeed! That's a once in a lifetime kinda find! I go to flea markets twice a month and antiquing in between and I think I'm gonna feel compelled to spend a lot more time looking at books than I used to! Thank you for sharing this great find with us!
What an amazing find! Love the portraits too aren't they fun!
Lucky! (tone from Napoleon Dynamite)
I would say OMG but on a documentary I watched (with my son:) that stood for Outlaw Motorcycle Gang... can you say Warlock? ha.
Let me know if you decide to sell that one!
this is fantastically fun! lucky man to find such a wonderful treasure. i have never seen anything like that and am so glad that YOU are the lucky new owner of such a wonderful treasure. those portraits are fantastic indeed!
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