#vintage owl

1. “They call that thing a cat owl. Humph! It may have resembled one of my family before it was stuffed. But now — well –
2. “I’ll leave it to anybody; does that bundle of hay and feathers look anything like –”
3. This cat owl didn’t happen to be stuffed, and could stand such calumny no longer.

FromHarper’s Young People, vol. XIV, by C. Barnes, 1893

Owl fortune-telling game, 1940s

A Monkey Smoking And Drinking With An Owl by Ferdinand Van Kessel, 17th century

Beware of ye wiles of Satan – Halloween Greetings postcard, late 19th century

In honor of our favorite bird’s favorite holiday, your faithful Bellman will be making this a “theme week” with a special series devoted to vintage Hallowe'en memorabilia.  Enjoy!

A Horned Owl With A Captured Mouse, 19th century woodcut, artist unknown

An Indian Owl, a Stork, and a Heron, illustration for the works of Zakariya al-Qazwini by Muhammad ibn Muhammad Shakir Ruzmah-‘i Nathani, 1717

A Young Brown Owl by Edwin John Alexander, 1907

Great Grey Owl from Diseases And Enemies of Poultry by Leonard Pearson and Benjamin Henry Warren, 1897