Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)"Will swap my .410 shotgun with box of buck shells for picnic table or lawn chair. Call Hicksville 5-4631.
September 2, 1948
Levittown Tribune"
And that's one of the tamer entries in this funny history-isn't-boring book! Covering hundreds of years worth of odd, hilarious, disturbing and inexplicable classified ads (and leaving plenty of room for a sequel) this is the sort of book that works as a light read, as a study in human sociology, or as a trek through the side of history the textbooks never get right. The changes in the American language alone make this worth owning. My favorites among these ads are the ones that are so bizarre you wonder what on earth the scenario was that led up to it.
For instance:
"Twenty dollar reward--Escaped from my room...one GREY SQUIRREL--The above reward shall be paid for his delivery..."
Were squirrels so uncommon in 1860's Virginia that one was truly worth twenty dollars? And during a war, too! I wish we could contact these original advertisers and ask what on earth their ads were about.
This is one of those engrossing books that you pick up and before you know it you're a hundred pages in. It's a lot of fun.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Strange Red Cow: and Other Curious Classified Ads from the Past
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