Category Archives: Vintage Image of the Week

PADDLEFISH OF THE MISSISSIPPI

Drawing from Scientific American (19th century) Living paddlefish are somewhat hard to draw and preserved paddlefish are even harder.  Their physical representation has been poorly illustrated.  They’re not only hard to draw, they are near impossible to mount. Their habits … Continue reading

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THE VILLAGE OF BAGNELL, MISSOURI

Photograph, 1920s The village of Bagnell, Missouri, was a little railhead along the river used mostly for unloading railroad ties that had been rafted down the Osage. There were plans for the railroad to cross the river at Bagnell, but … Continue reading

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THE SHOVEL FISH RAG

Sheet Music , 1908 Most often known as the paddlefish, Polydon Spathula, this cartoonish looking fish also been called Spoonbill cat, Shovelbuild cat, Duck-Bill cat, and Spadefish. It’s an image that evokes mirth. Hernando de Soto was the first European … Continue reading

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HA HA TONKA LAKE AND DAM

2 Real Photo postcards by Strathman Photo Both postcards have been sent, postmarked Linn Creek, but the dates are obscure – probably 1930s. The exact origin of the low dam that created Ha Ha Tonka Lake is not clear. It’s … Continue reading

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Steamboats Remembered

Steamboats ran up the Osage as far as Osceola when the river was high. Tuscumbia, county seat of Miller County, was a regular stop – a fact commemorated today in this plaque on the new county courthouse. [hr]

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OSAGE RIVER BLUFFS NEAR OSCEOLA

Real photo postcard, Osceola Missouri, 1913 The bluffs along the Osage may not have been as spectacular as the larger bluffs along New York’s Hudson, but they excited a similar esthetic appreciation in the writer of an 1888-something booklet extolling … Continue reading

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Mansion South Side of Linn Creek

Real photo postcard Atop a small hill is a large frame house with an encircling porch (“veranda” they might have called it). In Kansas City or St. Louis, this would probably not have been considered a mansion, but in the … Continue reading

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Spring and Park, Jerico Springs, MO by Suttle

Real photo postcard by Suttle This is an earlier version of the spring and basin (such as it is). Even in the early days, it didn’t pour forth a volume of water. Originally there was a sandstone or limestone rock … Continue reading

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Foster, Missouri Railroad Station and Handcar

Cabinet card of Foster, Missouri, circa 1910 The watershed of the upper Osage/Marais des Cygnes, Little Osage and Marmaton rivers is more crisscrossed by railroads than that of the main Osage and contains a number of much-diminished towns like Foster.  … Continue reading

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SOUVENIR DECAL OF BAGNELL DAM

Water-based Decal, 1950s Water dip decals are colorful cartoonish icons of vintage vacations. They decorated luggage and car windows, commemorating many a family vacation at Niagara Falls, a visit to a buffalo ranch, or Disneyland. Hobbyists have for generations used … Continue reading

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