« Push, Dougie, Push! »

Robert, Bruce and Douglas Montgomery about 1918. Douglas isn't putting a lot into it because obviously someone is pulling outside the frame of this large print made from a small original negative (it came from California but the location is unknown).

Robert, sitting on a homemade buckboard of boxes, is intent on the motive power as any good driver should be; his shirt has a tie and arm patches reminiscent of a scout uniform but he is too young for that. Bruce scowls at the camera as any cramped passenger might. Douglas does what all little boys do – make anything go; his dress is what all little ones wore until they were trained and it was convenient to go into pants. Are their hats castoffs provided for the photo since boys of the period preferred caps?

The Paris Coaster by Paris Mfg. Co. of South Paris, Maine, the premiere wagon of the early 1900s, has nice wooden wheels, a dovetailed frame, and is oak with a natural finish. An antique Paris will go for $500 up.

Spratt's Patent Meat Fibrine Dog Cakes were the first manufactured dog biscuit, began in England in 1860, the favorite of country sporting gentlemen; they began manufacture in America in 1870 (acquired by General Mills in the 1950s). From Spratt's formulas and marketing success came the pet food industry which is ubiquitous today.