Recent additions to our postcard collection. Acquired at the San Francisco Vintage Paper Fair.
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| What a sight. Sitting in breathless suspense a half mile out over the Atlantic Ocean while a beautiful bay and white gelding, without urge of any kind, leaps from a small platform through forty feet of space, landing safely with his fair rider in a shallow tank of water-And what a thrill. |
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| The hammiest performer of all is Ralph doing his beautiful swine dive. |
It goes without saying that horse diving falls under the category of animal abuse as entertainment. Originating in the 1880s, the Atlantic City "attraction" ran from 1924 until being finally being shut down in the 1970s.
On the other hand, Ralph "The Swimming Pig" seems more benign (and maybe even kind of fun). Ralph became the star of the Texas tourist destination Aquarena Springs in the 1950s and his descendants carried on the tradition until the 1990s.
1 comment:
Yeah. Well, diving horses are probably a shade better than a cock fight or dog fight. But man. Anyway, kudos to you for scoring some more fascinating bits of paper
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