I heard a song on the radio the other day that took me way back to the days when westerns dominated the movie screen and the television airwaves.  The song was The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.  Hearing the song immediately put me back in front of the screen reliving scenes from that great movie. 

Got me to thinking about other Cowboy/Western ballads I love – not all of them movie related – and I thought I’d do a list of my top ten favorites for this post.  And for those of you who want to hear them again (or for the first time), I’ll post links to videos that feature them as well.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJMLbyEaPWs&feature=related

High Noon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKLvKZ6nIiA

The Streets Of Laredo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14UKBjC5Is

El Paso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T9OeN3t37Y

Come A Little Bit Closer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu9ZepcV0CM

Big Bad John
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx59fmP7jYE

Ringo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCyuq-ofnPc

Big Iron
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKrXSrqCLY4

Johnny Reb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VknxL_we6PY

Ballad Of The Alamo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3amU4FqKCqw

And as a bonus, I thought I’d include my 10 favorite western TV classic theme songs as well

Have Gun, Will Travel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgvxu8QY01s&feature=related

Maverick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYrsDT02OcE

Bat Masterson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAdUJrrS7vk

Wyatt Earp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mroOwJDeqkY

Rawhide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I4uJ4aStmc

Cheyenne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9rUNf64cw&NR=1

Bronco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBHbqo9Z2Og&feature=related

Rin Tin Tin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YjMAoDy-jE

Branded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV-7D4io1Rs&feature=related

Bonanza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjdRgBAY278

So how about you – did I leave one of your favorites off of my lists?  If so – share!

There are more than a dozen forms of country music.  Who knew?   When researching this, because I LOVE COUNTRY MUSIC, I was amazed to learn it’s origin and how it has progressed through the decades.   Founded in the southern states, country music has its origins in the Appalachian Mountains and has roots in gospel, Celtic music, traditional folk music and old-time music.

Because “hillbilly music” was deemed too degrading, the name was changed to “country and western music” in the 1940’s.   Even the term “country and western” has been changed to simply “country” now.                                                

Think Elvis and Garth Brooks and you’ve landed on the two top selling artists OF ALL TIME.  Elvis was known as the “Hillbilly Cat” and was on the radio show Louisiana Hayride. Elvis, as you know went on to become a defining figure in rock and roll, while Garth Brooks continues to be the top-selling solo artist in US History. 

Early in music history, the Irish fiddle, German dulcimer, Italian mandolin, Spanish guitar and African banjo were the most common musical instruments. The interaction among different ethnic groups in the U.S. brought about string bands using primarily the banjo, fiddle and guitar.  

The first commercial recording of Country Music called “Sallie Gooden” by fiddler A.C. Robertson was made in 1922 for Victor Records and in 1924 Columbia Records began issuing records of “hillbilly” music.

The Grand Ole Opry aired on radio in Nashville in 1925 and continues to be a driving force today.  Their early stars were Uncle Dave Macon, Roy Acuff and Deford Bailey. 

Singing cowboys made their mark during the 1930s and 1940s and Hollywood films popularized their songs.  Gene Autry, Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers were the most famous of the singing cowboys. Roy was my personal favorite. Who could forget the ending song on the Roy Rogers Show?

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin’ until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we’re together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, ’till we meet again.

Oh that brings back good memories.

By the 1950’s and 1960s a blend of western swing, honky tonk and country boogie were played across the country, but “rockabilly” soon took over with Elvis’ Heartbreak Hotel, Johnny Cash’s, I Walk the Line and Carl Perkins’, Blue Suede Shoes. 

The 1970’s saw stars like Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich emerge in a pop culture that morphed into Countrypolitan aimed for more mainstream audiences.

Ray Charles turned his attention to country music with the release of his song, “I Can’t Stop Loving You.

Country Rock was established after the British Invasion with a desire for some to return to the old values of rock and roll.  Contributors to this form of music were the Byrds and the The Flying Burrito Brothers (? I don’t remember them) The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers and The Eagles. I love The Eagles!  Also, believe it or not, but the Rolling Stones got into the act with their songs “Honky Tonk Woman” and “Dead Flowers”

Some other forms of country music that emerged during the years are Outlaw Country (think Willie Nelson and Waylan Jennings), Country Pop (Glen Campbell, John Denver, Marie Osmond), Neocountry disco music (think Urban Cowboy), Alternative Country, Truck Driving Country and Bluegrass. 

Wow! Like I said before, who knew there were so many forms of country music?  I was never into the twang, I have to admit and I loved Elvis Presley.  But today my tastes are more for the pop culture of country with stars like Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Brooks and Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, Martina McBride and George Strait.  BTW- George won the 2009 Artist of the Decade Award by the Academy of Country Music.  Yay George!

I find country music reaches deep into my soul.  It tells a story, most often a romance and the ballads can be heartbreakingly sincere and the upbeat tunes, just plain ole fun.  It’s just about all I listen to on the radio. 

So, what form of music do you like?  Were you an Elvis the Pelvis fan like me?  Did you like the singing cowboys?  Who are your favorites today? 

My book, not released yet in stores, has been an Eharlequin Top 10 Bestseller for the first three weeks in August!   To celebrate, one commenter today will win an autographed copy and a beautiful Brighton key chain, from my heart to yours.

 www.charlenesands.com for more contests and fun stuff!

Our special guest today is a reader and reviewer who shares our passion for westerns–and I mean she’s passionate about them in a big way.  Kristie Jenner has made it one of her personal missions to interest readers in the genre; in fact, she came up with the idea for the Great Western Challenge this week, and the Fillies here at P&P were delighted to jump on the cowboy train with her.

Kristie says that while she loves a good historical set in England, she thinks many readers may be ready for a change from dukes and earls and other various and assorted titles. And she believes that if readers are getting a wee bit tired of vampires and shift changers and other otherworldly worlds, a good western is just the thing.

Cheryl: First off, we all thank you for providing the cowboy eye candy today! Please explain The Great Western Drive challenge to those who may not have heard about it.

Kristie: The long answer: I recently put up a poll on my blog for readers to pick their favourite genre.  While I love all genres, my special fave is westerns even though I started out reading English set historicals.  When I saw how low westerns scored, I realized that probably many readers just haven’t tried the right ones.  So I rounded up my posse – Sybil and Wendy, who are just as passionate about this genre as I am and set about getting readers to at least try them – hoping that the stories capture their imaginations as much as they have me.  If I, once a dyed-in-the-wool English historical fan, can love a western, I think many a romance reader can too.

The short answer – I thought Little Joe was Hawt when I was young and just noticing the other side of the gender!

Cheryl: I confess I was a Little Joe junkie, too. So Kristie, tell us why you are such a big fan of westerns.

Kristie: I’ve always been more a fan of blue-collar type heroes then the white-collar type. I just love a hero who works with his hands and isn’t afraid to work up a bit of sweat now and then. I love a hero who is willing to labour for everything he has rather than just inheriting it. And no one works harder than many a western hero, whether it’s being a marshal, a cowboy, a gambler, a gunslinger or even a reformed outlaw.

And a western heroine is one I can identify with so much more easily.  I don’t know if it’s my age or ’cause I’m more average myself, but while the girly girl in me likes reading about all the fabulous balls and dresses and things in historicals set in Europe, I very much prefer the realness of the conflicts a western heroine goes through. 

Another feature the western has going for it is that you won’t find one of those annoying fake rakes in a western. I find the heroes in just about every western as real as it gets, again because they are real. They don’t play games. They are what they are, whatever their profession.

And while I’ve read a few with Pinkerton agents, westerns don’t have the overabundance of spies of many English historicals.

And I’ve found that many more westerns have that certain poignancy that I find more majorly appealing than any other genre as a whole.

Cheryl: Certainly none of us can understand it, but why do you suppose some readers are averse to trying a western?

Kristie:  One of the reasons I’ve heard for not trying westerns is because readers don’t find the setting attractive.  I think differently.  I find it very attractive to read a book based on our own history.  Ok — so maybe I’m making myself an honorary American for this one, but what can be better then reading about a setting that’s exciting and lawless and new?  An English historical can’t offer readers that.  And if you like a bit of down and dirty, well the Western has that too!

Another feature I find more often in a Western is the heroine saving the hero. Think about it; a bounty hunter, wounded, needing care makes it to the steps of the heroine who has control of life or death over the hero – yummers! Now that, I find sexy.

And there are none of the class distinctions that get tiresome. It doesn’t matter where the character started in life; it’s a more level playing field in a western. We aren’t pulled out of a story because the heroine is acting too friendly with the staff. We aren’t pulled out wondering if all the too-handsome dukes and earls and viscounts will ever run out. There simply couldn’t have been the abundance of them that fill up the pages of English historicals.

Cheryl: So, it’s the cowboys that hold a place in your heart, isn’t it?

Kristie: Western heroes seem to me to be more manly man type heroes.  I think if you are a fan of the alpha hero, there would be many more alpha heroes to choose from in the Old West than there would be in other locations.  I think if you are a fan of the lone wolf hero, then the Western is your genre.  I imagine after spending that much time in the saddle, they would be looking for a little female companionship.  And who can resist a wounded outlaw type hero?

Seriously, all of you western/Lost fans, can’t you just picture Sawyer in that role, and let’s see–me as Etta Place.  And if you go for the more law abiding type hero, who better than a marshal?  No, no, get Matt Dillon out of your heads–he’s not a good example *shudder*.  He kept Miss Kitty dangling way too long!  And he just wasn’t handsome.  But Jack maybe?  With Sayiid as the mysterious bounty hunter?  Yeah, I like that.

Cheryl: There are a few favorites I’d surely love to see in a cowboy hat, too.  David Boreanaz for one.  Oh my goodness.  But back to books . . . will you share a few of your all-time favorite western romances with us?

Kristie: Well first off – Joe’s Wife – no really!  I love this book.  Sweet Lullaby by Lorraine Heath is another one that comes oh so close to making me cry.  The only reason I didn’t mention it is because I know it’s very hard to find – I’m always seeking out copies at UBSs without luck, and I wanted to feature books that were readily available on either Amazon or UBSs or even better – still in print.  Outlaw Heats by Rosanne Bittner is another favourite.  It really has an epic flavour to it and much to Wendy’s amazement – since it is a large book, I’ve read it a number of times.

Cheryl: I was tickled pink that Jill Marie Landis is writing westerns again. She was always one of my favorites, ever since her first book, Sunflower. And Margaret Brownley has tossed her hat back into the ring. I can’t wait until her new western comes out. She’ll be blogging about it with us here at P&P. Is there an author who has turned to another genre that you would just flip over to have them write a western again?

Kristie:  We’ve lost so many Western authors over the years, haven’t we?  Jill Marie Landis is one of my choices too!  I loved that whole series.  I love her westerns.  I’d love to see Patricia Potter out with the number she used to write.  Susan Kay Law and Alexis Harrington are authors whose westerns I miss!  And if Lorraine Heath were to return to her western roots, I’d be dancing in the street.

Cheryl: I am so there with you on Pat Potter, Alexis Harrington and Lorraine Heath. I would also add Catherine Anderson to my wish list. Coming Up Roses is an all-time favorite of mine.  And I’m still in mourning over Maggie Osborne’s retirement.

If you could pick one recently released western and send one to 500 new readers to introduce them to the genre, which one would it be?

Kristie:  Yikes!!  That’s a tough one!  My reading is down – though my buying is up *gulp* and there aren’t quite the selection there used to be, but one I read this year that I very much enjoyed is Rachel and the Hired Gun by Elaine Levine.  And one we are all looking forward to with GREAT anticipation is Never Love a Lawman by Jo Goodman.

Cheryl: Now that is a glowing endorsement! Hope Elaine and Jo drop by this week—they will if they have their google alerts set.

We have just celebrated two extremely successful years of blogging and promoting all things western here at P&P, so that tells us there is an interest in westerns.  Is there anything you’d like to say to the authors who’ve continued to write westerns and those just breaking in?

Kristie:  We are doing our best to spread the word.  Sybil has more of an ear to the industry and I think she has some interesting news coming up later this week.  I know it’s tough to write something that is harder to sell, and romance goes in cycles.  If a couple authors take off big time, I think publishers will be willing to go there again.  They just need something like a JR Ward of the western.  In the meantime, there still are many readers who love them, and as a spokesperson for those readers for today – thanks to all the writers who are still writing a genre we love.

Cheryl: Thank you for being our guest today at Petticoats and Pistols. We appreciate your dedication to the western romance and wish you a successful Great Western Drive!

You can visit Kristie at her blog, Ramblings on Romance

Read more about the challenge at The Good the Bad and the Unread and at Wendy the Super Librarian’s blog.

So, how about you, blogger friends? Are there other reasons you love romance? Is there a celebrity you’d like to see in a cowboy hat? Which author would you like to have write a western?

And…most importantly, since you’re already western lovers, will you accept the challenge and give a friend a western romance novel this week?

 “Hold on!’ shouted the trail guide.

As I grabbed the saddle horn, the horse I was riding (sitting on would be more accurate) jumped over a narrow creek. Judging by the way my stomach lurched, you’d have thought we’d taken a five-foot fence. Far from it . . . I was on a trail ride in the San Emidio Mountains in southern California, doing a news story for a local newspaper.

For a western writer, I have appallingly little experience with horses. I’m not someone who grew up in the saddle.  My first horse was made of plastic and attached to springs.  Does anyone else remember “The Wonder Horse?”  They were made in the 1960s and graced living rooms throughout America. I rode my Wonder Horse for hours, but it was my brother who tested the limits. He managed to bounce it into the wall.

Hobby horses have been around for ages. They became popular in 17th century England, but they’re believed to have originated in ancient Egypt. Carved horses would be placed on four-wheel carts and children would take rides. A few of these toys have been found in ancient pyramids. With a son living in Cairo, I’m fascinated by the Egypt connection.

The hobby horse (or broomstick horse) became popular in medieval times. A hobby horse consisted of a stick, a fake horse head and a child’s imagination. Can’t you just see a little girl naming her horse “Star” and dreaming of adventure? For a boy in medieval times, a hobby horse was more than a toy.  Pretending to ride imitated adult behavior and prepared him for a life of battle. Boys also practiced jousting with horses on wheels.

 Hobby horses eventually morphed from sticks into barrel horses. A barrel horse was made from a log mounted on four legs and had a crudely made head. They didn’t move or rock, but they gave a child the feel of sitting on a horse. As cabinet-making and carpentry skills advanced, the legs of these barrel horses became more elaborate.

The rocking horse as we picture it now came into being in the 17th century. Someone figured out that mounting a toy horse on a half barrel would create a rocking motion. Later the barrel evolved into the wide rockers we picture today. The earliest example belonged the boy who’d become King Charles I of England. 

It was only a matter of time before the rocking horse exploded in popularity. In the 18th century, some were elaborate works of art made by masters of the trade. Only the wealthiest of family could afford them. When the Industrial Revolution took hold, what had been a cottage industry turned into mass production and rocking horses were accessible to the general public. The dappled gray became the most popular model when Queen Victoria presented that style to her children.

 The rocking horse underwent another evolution in 1880 when J.P. Marqua, an American from Ohio, patented a safety stand. Instead of moving on rockers, the horse was mounted on springs in a frame. The safety base made rocking horses more stable than their ancestors, and the toy took up less room as a child played. They were also considered safer. Fingers and toes couldn’t be pinched under the rockers, and the horse was less likely to tip over.  (I can vouch for this. My Wonder Horse made some wild leaps in my imagination, but he never threw me off.)

Up until World War I, rocking horses grew in popularity. Unfortunately, the start of the war led to a shortage of materials and skilled craftsman. The Great Depression further lessened the interest in such toys. They never did make a strong comeback, possibly because of the advent of the automobile.  Instead of imitating their parents on horseback, children wanted toy cars they could pretend to drive.  

Even though interest has faded, rocking horses aren’t gone forever. They’re still made by artisans and loved by children with vivid imaginations.

What about you? Did you ever have a rocking horse?  Do you remember Wonder Horses and stick ponies? Or maybe you were the girl I envied . . . Maybe you had a real horse of your own.  Memory lane, here we come at a gallop!

Available at Amazon!

Our family is big on games.  We’re “gamers” as they say.  Whenever we get together either with friends or family, we play our fair share of games.

It’s a hoot and a howl and we usually end up laughing our heads off after a few pizzas and beers.  Since our kids are grown and out of the house, we’ve instituted a Once A Month Game day!

Cards are usually the game of choice. We’ll play anything from UNO to Milles Bornes to Phase Ten. We have Phase Ten Tournaments.  My new son-in-law is quite a competitor. He and my hubby are always trying to outdo each other.

Sequence is a board game that you play with a deck of cards as well.  Its sort of like Bingo … but we play regular Bingo too!  

When we have a larger group than the six of us, like this past Easter – we’ll break out Catch Phrase. This is a game like Password, where you are allowed to describe the word in any way possible to your team members.  Once your team gets the word, you pass the digital “board” to your opponent.  A clock clicks off time and if you’re the team left holding the “board” when the timer runs out, the opposing team scores a point.  Not only are we playing a Password type game, but we’re also playing Hot Potato – all at the same time.   

Another fun game for more than four players is Apples to Apples. It’s easy and fun, REALLY, but way too hard to explain on this blog.  Trust me – you’ll love it. 

As I peruse my closet, I see digital Deal or No Deal (but you don’t win any real money), Risk (one time we played this game for 8 hours),  Parcheesi (for oldies but goodies) and Upwords, a board game that’s like scrabble except you can build tiles upon each other.  Of course Yahtzee and Monopoly and Clue are among my all time favorites.   Fun, Fun, Fun!

So what games did they play in the 1800’s?  

The first American board game was created in 1843 by the W & S.B Ives Company called the Mansion of Happiness.  This game led children via their playing pieces down the path of “eternal happiness.”

Would you believe that the The Game of Life as we know it (pictured on left) started out as the picture you see next to it. Invented by Milton Bradley in 1860, The Checkered Game of Life was a board game that rewarded good deeds and punished bad ones. Milton Bradley, once a successful lithographer, had created a portrait of Abe Lincoln without his beard.  When Lincoln grew his now-famous beard, Bradley’s clean-shaven portrait was no longer popular.  Out of desperation, Bradley designed the Checkered Game of Life and its immediate popularity started Milton Bradley on a new career path. 

Milton Bradley

As more and more Americans traveled overseas in the late 1800’s, traveling board games held great appeal. Travelers could relive their trips by playing such games as Around the World invented in 1873 or McLoughlin Brothers’ Game of Round the World with Nellie Bly which was created in 1890. 

Are you a ”gamer” too?  Do you play cards or board games with family and friends?   Which are your favorites? 

I don’t know about you, but I feel sorry for the United States Post Office.

They don’t have a chance against today’s technology, and they admit it.  In fact, they’ve lamented they don’t see any glimmer of hope on the horizon and that technology will slowly and surely squeeze out the average consumer’s need to send correspondence the old-fashioned way. 

The proof is in the pudding.  Postmaster General John E. Potter recently reported to Congress that mail volume will drop an appalling 32 BILLION pieces in less than 2 years. 

Two years?  Yikes!

To battle the sharp declines, the post office is forced to raise rates.  A postage stamp will jump to 44 cents each on May 11th, and we’ll see price hikes every May from now on.  Which, of course, only keeps the cycle spinning – consumers won’t WANT to spend 44 cents and more on a letter, so mail volume will drop and keep dropping. 

We’ve become a society where corresponding  by email is as natural as breathing.  We pay our bills online.   We apply for jobs online.  Some of us even send Christmas cards online, and thank you notes, and birthday cards online . . .. 

Makes you wonder what those dedicated riders for the Pony Express would have to say about all this, don’t you?  After all, it wasn’t so long ago that America was completely dependent on the Post Office to courier its goods all over the country.  And some of those goods were mighty strange.

Here are some examples:

* A farmer shipped  1 and 1/2 tons of hay by parcel post from Oregon  to Idaho.

* Someone shipped a coconut from Miami to Detroit fourth class; postage and address was attached to the shell.

* It was fairly common to save on trucking costs by mailing sections of prefab housing to construction sites.

* Harry Winston was kind enough to donate the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1958.  He sent it wrapped in brown paper, first class registered mail.

Even more stranger:

Poisoned candy, loaded pistols, and assorted body parts in various stages of decomposition.

Of course, with bizarre things comes the risk of mishap – like when black widow spiders and poisonous snakes and even lady bugs escaped.

But in 1916, the Postmaster General put his proverbial foot down when someone shipped AN ENTIRE BANK BUILDING from Salt Lake City to Vernal, Utah–80,000 bricks packaged in small bundles.  But an exception was made in 1941 to allow 9,000 tons of gold bricks to rumble from New York to Fort Knox, an endeavor that took an entire year and allowed the Post Office to collect an astounding $1,600,000 in postage, insurance and surcharges.

But my absolute favorite–or my most appalling, whichever you prefer–shipped goods was in 1914 when the parents of four-year-old May Pierstorff plunked 53 cents worth of postage on her suitcase (though some claim the stamp was glued to a tag on her coat) to pay for the 3 hour trip  by train to her grandmother’s house in Lewiston, Idaho.   They got away with it since it wasn’t technically against the law to ship a child.  Never mind that it WAS against the law to ship a pig–or smelly Limburger cheese.  But since the cost of a train ticket equated to a full day’s pay for May’s father, the local postmaster agreed on the basis that it was lawful to ship little chicks, of which he considered her such.

The story had a happy–and safe–ending.    The baggage clerk delivered her promptly from the train to the Lewiston post office, where Grandma waited to greet her–a happily delivered product of the United States Post Office.

And yes, this is little May.  How could her parents plunk a stamp on her and send her on her way, all by her lonesome?  

What was the strangest thing you’ve ever shipped by mail or otherwise?  What was the strangest thing you’ve ever received?

      Pre-order THE CATTLEMAN’S UNSUITABLE WIFE now!

I’m pouting because no one attempted to guess who was America’s most famous silhouette.    But here he is.   George Washington himself.  Not surprising, since the silhouettes were the rage in his lifetime.

Here’s the identities of the silhouettes.  Some were easy, several were much tougher.  Two, no one guessed correctly.

#1 – Benjamin Franklin

#2 – Jane Austen

#3 – Abraham Lincoln (who could miss that bearded chin?)

#4 – Abe and his family.  That chin again.

#5 – Marie Antoinette

#6 – George and Martha Washington

#7 -  Queen Elizabeth

#8 – Beethoven

He DID look like an African-American female with that curly hair, didn’t he?  But it must’ve been the way the light shined behind him, and the details his artist took time to incorporate into the silhouette.  He was young here, too. 

And there you go.  Hope you enjoyed skipping down memory lane with me!

If you went to school in the 60’s like I did, they probably made a black and white silhouette of you.   Though I can’t remember how old I was (six or seven, maybe) I remember the experience - sitting on a chair with a light shining on one side of me  and staring straight ahead without moving.  I’m a little vague  as to how my silhouette was transferred to the white paper, and who would’ve traced it onto black paper, but I remember the finished project.  And that it hung on our wall for a long time.

What I’d give to have that portrait back again.

In this age of digital photography, silhouettes have faded into the realms of nostalgia.  But in the late 1700’s, they were the cheapest, quickest and most effective way to preserve one’s likeness.  Originally called ’shades’ or ‘hollow-cuts’, artists charged mere pennies to produce a black paper cut-out or an ink painting.  Others produced more ornate creations, transferring the silhouettes into beautiful black, bronzed or coloured masterpieces on ivory, plaster, card or glass.  And still others simply did them at parties, for a fun souvenir for their guests.

The term ’silhouette’ came by way of the French finance minister Etienne de Silhouette in 1759.   Notoriously miserly,  he enjoyed paper-cutting as a hobby, and cheap articles of portraiture became known as  ‘a la Silhouette.’   Talented artists could wield their scissors freehand without sketches and/or purely from memory.   The more ambitious produced life-size cuts.  Noted American artist William Henry Brown took it a step further–he cut silhouettes of the entire St. Louis Fire Department–all 65 members!–finishing up with a 20 foot long group portrait.  How cool would that be?!

By the mid-1800’s, however, silhouettes fell victim to the daguerreotype, and, as they, say, the rest is history.  Today, silhouettes are revived by collectors and on jewelry, but also on more modern wares such as wallpaper, drapery and upholstery fabrics, dishes and stationery.

Here are some silhouettes from popular historical figures.  Can you guess who they were?  (No fair Googling!)   I’ll post the answers later this afternoon.

Do you know who had America’s most famous silhouette?  (No fair Googling!)

Did you have a silhouette made of yourself when you were young?  Do you still have it? 

#1

#2

#3 

#4 

#5 

#6

#7

#8

Will Rogers died before I was born.  I never saw any of his movies or heard his voice on the radio.  But I feel as if I knew him because he was my dad’s favorite movie star.  Dad talked about him a lot, especially on long car trips. 

Most movie cowboys were city boys with pretty faces.  Born in 1879 on the Dog Iron Ranch in Oklahoma’s Indian Territory, Will was the real thing.  Both his parents were part Cherokee (Will once quipped that his ancestors didn’t come over on the Mayflower, but they met the boat).  The youngest of eight children, Will quit school after the 10^th grade.  He was more interested in being a cowboy than in reading, writing and arithmetic.  A freed slave taught him how to use a lasso to work Texas Longhorn cattle on the family ranch.  As he grew older, Will’s roping skills were so remarkable that he was listed in the Guiness Book of Records for throwing three lassos at the same time:  One rope caught the running horse’s neck, the other would loop around the rider and the third swooped up under the horse to loop all four legs. 

After some early adventures abroad, will returned to America and went into show business as “The Cherokee Kid.”  His skills won him jobs trick roping in wild west shows and on the vaudeville stages where, soon, he started telling small jokes.  Quickly, his wisecracks and folksy observations became more prized by audiences than his expert roping.  He became known as an informed philosopher, telling the truth in simple words so that everyone could understand.  Here are some examples:  

“A fool and his money are soon elected.” 

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for something they don’t need.” 

“Buy land.  They ain’t making any more of the stuff.” 

“Even if you’re on the right track you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” 

“If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?” 

And my favorite–”We will never have true civilization until we recognize the rights of others.” 

Will starred on Broadway and in 71 movies and was also a radio broadcaster.  He wrote more than 4,000 newspaper colums and six books.  Presidents, senators and kings sought his opinions.  Inside himself, Will Rogers remained a simple Oklahoma cowboy. “I never met a man I didn’t like,” was his credo of genuine love and respect for humanity and all people everywhere. He gave his own money to disaster victims and raised thousands for the Red Cross and Salvation Army.   

Will was also a devoted husband and father of four.  He married Betty Blake in 1908 after an 8 year courtship.  He would say, “When I roped her, that was the star performance of my life.”  In 1935, at the age of 55, Will took off on a flight around the world with a legendary pilot named Wiley Post.  The plane crashed in Alaska.  Both men lost their lives.  The outpouring of national grief over Will Rogers’s passing is generally regarded to be the greatest such show of national mourning since the death of Lincoln some seventy years earlier.   Will has been honored with postage stamps and monuments, including a statue in the U.S. Capitol building.  And his wise, simple words are still with us. 

Will Rogers was America’s cowboy for an earlier generation.  Who would you nominate for the title today?  Do you have a favorite Will Rogers saying? 

 Click to order from Amazon.com.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a stunning vintage calendar in my mailbox the other day from Harlequin.  Celebrating 60 years in the business, they compiled some of their covers in a glorious depiction of what those early days in publishing looked like.

Harlequin has made strides in the roles and relevance woman have played for the past 60 years.  The covers are a reflection of the times and they depict the marvelous advances women have made over the past six decades. 

My biggest “oh wow” moment came when I read the subtitles for some of these books.   In the above cover titled Anna, the subtitle reads: “She lived like a wicked little animal.”  Anneke De Lange 1952

Or “Men cast a net for her” in Virgin with Butterflies.  Tom Powers, 1949

And “The private affairs of not-so-private secretaries” in Nine to Five. Harvey Smith, 1952

Color me naïve, but I had no idea that these early books started out with such flair!  I also noticed that men wrote the majority of the books depicted the calendar!  That’s another “oh wow” moment. 

Fun facts:

The books sold for 35 to 50 cents. 

Harlequin sells over 4 books every second.

1 in every 6 books sold in North America is Harlequin/Silhouette

More than 1/3 of American females have read a Harlequin book at some time in their life.

Harlequin publishes in 107 countries and 29 languages

I believe great covers sell the book.  I’m sure back in those early days, these covers were controversial, the cutting edge in bookselling.  I love a good cover, while I’m not a fan of sexy “clench” covers, I do like to see a man and woman interacting on the book.  And for westerns, I love a “man only” cover. 

What kind of cover attracts you the most?  What stops you in your tracks when you’re passing by a shelf of books?  Do any of you have one of those “old” Harlequin books hanging around? 

In the spirit of the Christmas holiday, post a comment today and I’ll pick two readers to win a copy of Do Not Disturb Until Christmas (one of my favorite covers). 

Suite Reading and Happy Trails!

Click to purchase!