Sift Together, Right Now

Recipe for Chocolate Applesauce Cake:

Sift together:

2 cups all purpose flour - sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves (?)
3 tablespoons cocoa

Add to sifted flour, etc.,

1 cup raisins
1/2 cup nuts

Heat: hot

2 cups applesauce

then add

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar

Add 1/3 at a time flour, etc., to hot applesauce, then bake in over 350° for 45 to 50 minutes or until done.

Found in "Children's Blue Bird" by Madame Maurice Maeterlinck. Published by Dodd, Mead and Co., 1928.

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The Light Grows Dimmer

A page of prose, perhaps a creative writing assignment, or just someone getting thoughts onto the page. The reverse side features some doodles in pen.

Dana Hall
Wellesley 81, Massachusetts

A castellated wall of purple cloud stands up from the cal sea, rising majestically above the wide sweep of the horizon. Above the wall the sky is pale pink vanishing into delicate lavander which in turn is embraced by the deep rich blue of evening. Far around to the north and south stretches the great embankment until it is lost in the murky purple of the gathering shadows. Almost directly ahead of the boat, in which I sit alone, it is broken in mid-flight by a magnificent burst of golden light. I can see in to the cloud-masses beyond and am able to distinguish cloud-edges outlines in fire. But what draws my close observation and inspires in me a sort of superstitious awe is the apparition of two figures formed of the purple cloud-wall, which seem to lean out of the golden window, one from each of the lower corners. The figure on the left is the almost perfect outline of a man, that on the right of a veiled woman. The most uncanny feature of the whole is that the two great silent figures of cloud seem to be gazing steadily and wistfully at the boat, at me, and at each other.

Perhaps they are imploring me to help them cross the gold which they dare not blot out so they may melt into each other’s arms and become true lovers forever. But they sadly realize that I am a mere mortal being who can do nothing but watch them, as they watch me. Perhaps they envy my access to do passionate living; they must always remain silent and calm, for any act of passion would immediately destroy their shadowy cloud forms. They cannot see that I love the calm, that I envy them their silent devotion to each other and their submissiveness to the inevitable. Perhaps they regret the passing of this time into night, for now is their birth and life and love while night brings about their still death. I also regret the passing of this beautifully sad hour; the night blots out my thoughts and dreams and the day permits my mind to throw no long mental shadows. This is my sacred time each day; I worship it as the two great figures worship each other.

The light grows dimmer, but I still gaze spellbound at the mighty window. As I watch, the figure on the left moves . The noble, leonine head is bending toward the cloud-sill. The entire figure bends, recedes, and is lost in the blackening depths of the awaiting and enveloping clouds. But the glowing window remains and the veiled woman, as the light begins to fade, still regards the boat, me, and the empty half of the window with an indefinable sadness expressed in the drooping lines of the graceful figure. The light fails, the window darkens, the cloud wall becomes one with the rest of the sky. The wind has freshened and the boat is beginning to rise and fall with the swell of the waves. I sigh as the impenetrable darkness of a moonless night closes down over my world of sky and sea.

Found in "Century Readings in English Literature" edited by John Cunliffe, J.F.A Pyre and Karl Young. Published by D. Appleton-Century, 1929.

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Lookout

We had a ton of wind and rain yesterday, power out for several hours - but I'm happy to report that everything is safe and secure here at Forgotten Bookmarks headquarters. We were lucky, and as I am catching up on the news this morning, I see that many places were not. Just a few miles down the road in the Catskills, places like Margaretville, Fleischmanns and Roxbury NY are still battling the water. Further north, places close to my heart, Bennington and Brattleboro have been hit hard.

They are all in my thoughts this morning.

Postcard, dated November 91 1942. On reverse:

Mon 9:00 AM

Dear Folks,

Glad you had such a good time while you were here. Looked for you up yesterday. Certificate didn't come. Grotto initiation this Fri. Have been to two funerals in one week. All are well.

Love,
Fannie

Found in "The Gentlemen" by Edison Marshall. Published by Farrar, Straus and Co., 1956.

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Giveaway winner

Winner of "A Farewell to Arms" was Tereza, who entered right here on the site.

Thanks to all who entered, and for all the great suggestions and comments.

Friday Giveaway: contest closed

Back with a winner in a moment

Hello faithful Forgotten Bookmarks readers. I plan on having the usual Friday giveaway today, but I wanted to get your thoughts on something first.

As most of you know, I have a book coming out in a few months. I've been told that book trailers are a great way to get the word out, and I tend to agree. Most of the ones I've checked out have been funny, exciting, inspiring - all the things you want potential readers to feel. The problem I'm facing is that I have no idea what I'm doing. Most trailers are about two minutes long, and I'm not sure how I'd fill up two seconds.

So what do you think? Anyone have any grand ideas? What kinds of things would you like to see in a short video like this?

I'd love to hear any and all comments and thoughts - and advice, if you have any. Feel free to leave them below as you enter today's giveaway.

Now, on to the free book:

Today's giveaway book is "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway. This is a lovely Franklin Library edition from 1979: half leather binding with lots of gilt, sewn-in ribbon bookmark, illustrations by Bernard Fuchs. To be honest, I want to keep it for myself.

To enter, leave a comment here, or on Facebook or Twitter. I'll pick a winner at random tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM EST.

I like everyone to be happy, so if the winner is chosen from Facebook, I'll run a contest for the other two sites, and so on. You get the picture - everybody gets a chance.

Good luck, and I look forward to your thoughts!

He Who Controls The Spice: A Tale of 2 Kitchens Edition

In the last few weeks, our sister site Handwritten Recipes has gotten some good press and great traffic, and I've been lucky enough to meet a bunch of adventurous cooks willing to give some of those recipes a go.

Today's recipe tryout comes courtesy of  Hillary and Amy of A Tale of 2 Kitchens. They selected a recipe I posted a while back for pasta with artichokes, found in a copy of "Dune: Messiah." Here's what they came up with:

The recipe came out quite well!  The capers add a salty kick while the sour cream and half and half really round out the sauce - giving it a silky texture.  We used fresh herbs (basil, oregano, and Italian flat leaf parsley) because it's summer and they're abundant!  They also give great, fresh flavor.  I would definately make this recipe again, who doesn't love a good, simple pasta recipe?  I'd probably add even more artichokes then it calls for the second time around... and cheese!

Great, now I'm starving.

Thanks again to Hillary and Amy of A Tale of 2 Kitchens.

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On Records

I came across this little set of books today, the covers were so striking I thought I should share them.

They were published by Four Corners Press in 1942, each volume contains a short biography as well as a listing of the current recordings of each of the composers.

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Pistols At Dawn

Photo, no writing on reverse.

Found in "Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years" edited by Michael Cader. Published by  Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

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And The Award Goes To...

I found this memo from Diener / Hauser / Bates Co., a famed advertising agency. Diener-Hauser ran the first-ever television ad for a motion picture and helped pioneer the concept of wide releases in film distribution.

The agency specialized in movie marketing, with clients including Paramount, Fox, Columbia, Disney, MGM, United Artists, TriStar, Orion, New Line and Miramax.

Some of the studio campaigns created under Hauser's supervision included "MASH," "Serpico," "The Godfather," "Saturday Night Fever," "Rocky," "The Pink Panther" and every Ingmar Bergman Film from the 1950s into the 1970s.

This memo, which includes five other pages not shown, lists the nominations for the Academy Awards. Selections for each category are marked in red pen, with a few notes here and there. Here's a list of the winners from that year.

Found in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time" by Harry Medved (who was 17 when he wrote this) and Randy Dreyfuss. Published by Popular Library, 1978.

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Two Tickets To Paradise

Two tickets to the 63rd Annual Firemen's Ball in Cherry Valley, NY, for Wednesday, November 21, 1945.

I can't believe the tax on a fifty-cent ticket was a dime.

Found in "Der Fuehrer: Hitler's Rise to Power" by Konrad Heiden. Published by Houghton Mifflin, 1944.

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Giveaway winner

The winner of the dictionary was Marie (this Marie) who entered right here on the site.

Marie, if you could send me an email, that would be terrific: fb@forgottenbookmarks.com

If not, I'll try and get in touch with you.

Thanks to all who entered.

Giveaway: 1843 Webster's Dictionary - contest closed

Friday giveaway, right on time.

Today is a old Webster's "American Dictionary" published in 1843 by Harper & Brothers. Full leather binding, big thick book. Meaty. 8 inches by 10 inches with 1079 pages.

Contest is closed, will be announcing a winner shortly.

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Never Mind

Valentine card, the front reads "Be My Valentine, Teacher - You Are So Nice." Written on the reverse side, in pencil, "Never Mind!"

Found in U.S. Crime magazine, Volume 1, issue 4, May, 1952.

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The Mystery Chef

Recipe for Orange Cream Cake, attributed to "Mystery Chef."

Orange Cream Cake

1/4 c. butter or other
1 1/3 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
3 t. baking powder
1/3 t. salt
2/3 c. milk
1 t. orange extract

Cream butter and sugar, beat egg yolks and add, sift flour B.P. and salt, add alternatively with milk, cut and fold in egg whites.

No addtional instructions are given.

Found in "The Two Vanrevels" by Booth Tarkington. Published by McClure and Phillips, 1902.

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Champs

Photo of the 1925 Champs - of what and where, who knows. No writing on reverse side.

Found in "How To Play Soccer" by Douglas Stewart. Published by American Sports Publishing, 1924.

No cover scan, as this pamphlet is missing its cover.

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The Hindenburg

Something a bit different today. First, let's start with the book:

"The Adventures of the U-202" by Baron Spiegel von und Peckelsheim. Published by The Century Co., 1917.

Enough of the previews, let's get to the feature presentation:

Opening credits, if you will. On to the action:

End credits:

There's even a theme song, "The Hindenburg Anthem" -

fin

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The Secret

Recipe for instant coffee, slightly improved:

Bring water to boil

Put in instant coffee in water

Let come to boil again until bubbles come to top

Immediately turn off fire - let coffee stand a minute or two - then pour into cups

The second boiling is the secret

Found in "Betty Crocker's Outdoor Cook Book" published by The Golden Press, 1961.

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Giveaway winner

The winner of "Morals" was Liz Roemer, who entered over on Facebook.

Thanks for entering!

Giveaway: "Seneca's Morals" from 1839 - contest closed

Giving away this 1839 leatherbound copy of Seneca's "Morals: By Way of Abstract." Rear cover is a bit loose, otherwise this 173 year old text is holding up nicely.

Contest closed.

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Black Gold

100 shares of "Oil Land Company" of San Francisco, California. The certificate is dated November 29, 1901.

Found in "Sea-Tracks of the Speejacks" by Dale Collins. Published by Doubleday and Page, 1926.

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