Domino and Dice Postcards by Fred C. Lounsbury
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All of the material you have access to here -- the instructive booklets, the nostalgic postcards, the boldly graphic ephemera, and all of the historical information researched and shared from the mind of the woman who is making it all happen -- can easily fit into one 8 x 10 foot room in an old Victorian farmhouse, but you would never see it without the investment of the time it takes to produce such a site and the caloric input such a site requires in the form of food for the writer, graphic designer, and database manager, as well as the US currency needed to pay for the computers, software applications, scanners, electricity, and internet connectivity that bring it out of that little room and into the world. -- can easily fit into one 8 x 10 foot room in an old Victorian farmhouse, but you would never see it without the investment of the time it takes to produce such a site and the caloric input such a site requires in the form of food for the writer, graphic designer, and database manager, as well as the US currency needed to pay for the computers, software applications, scanners, electricity, and internet connectivity that bring it out of that little room and into the world. So, as you can see, this site is the darling of many, and it is growing at a rapid rate ... but although it is "free," there also is a cost. Your financial support underwrites this cost.
Fred C. Lounsbury of the Crescent Embossing Company of Plainfield, New Jersey, released five sets of fortune telling postcards in the year 1907, for what seems to me to be a total of 24 cards. (I may be missing some, but this is my total so far, after many years of collecting):
- Series No # Dice (3 cards)
- Series 2306 Dominoes (4 cards)
- Series 2307 Playing Cards (8 cards)
- Series 2308 Tea Cup Reading Postcards by Fred C. Lounsbury (6 cards)
- Series 2309 Palmistry Reading Postcards by Fred C. Lounsbury (3 cards)
From 1905 through to the First World War, the postcard craze became a huge phenomenon in America and the rest of the world. The best cards — embossed and gilded, with multi-hues of ink and impeccably tight registration — came from Germany, where chromolithography had become a fine art. Because the German cards were distributed in English, French, German, and other languages, the art was often embossed, but the lettering was surprinted in spaces left open for its insertion. Lounsbury and other American chromolitho printed set themselves up as furnishing American-made cards featuring American holidays and patriotic themes, with large embossed and gilded lettering in English. Today, Lounsbury is still best known for his holiday and patriotic cards, but in 1907 he commissioned his artists to create several magical and divinatory sets of cards, including a set on Good Luck curios and the three sets that featured a total of five methods of divination. Lounsbury's Crescent Embossing Company prospered. By 1910 he had offices in New York City and Philadelphia, as well as a sales representative based in Boston.
With the understanding that all of the Lounsbury divination postcards are stated to be "Good Fortunes" and that no negative predictions will be included, let's see how his Domino and Dice cards accord with traditional methods of fortune-telling. For comparison, i will be consulting my own book, "Throwing the Bones: How to Foretell the Future with Bones, Shells, and Nuts". The material on Dominoes is covered on pages 54-60 and the material on Dice appears on pages 51 and 52.
*12.00
BOO-DIV-BONE
DOMINOES
Lounsbury's Domino set was officially marked as Crescent series 2036, number 1 through 4, with the cards sequentially numbered on their faces. The word "Crescent" -- the name of the company -- was stylized as a waning crescent moon that formed the letter "C." The card-numbering scheme on the face of the cards makes no sense in terms of the number of spots on the bones, so i will show them in numerical order of the spots.
Two methods of reading Dominoes are given in "Throwing the Bones" -- the "Gypsy Domino Fortune Telling" system (which is actually British and American, despite the name) and the "Yoruba Domino Oracle," (which is actually from the Cuban Santeria tradition, despite the name). I will give the interpretations for both, and we can see how they compare with Lounsbury's brief readings.
According to Fred C. Lounsbury:
- Double Ace: Riches and Happiness in Matrimony.
According to Gypsy Domino Fortune Telling:
- Suit of Ones: [twice] Journeys, travels, moves, vacations.
- Double-One: A reunion with someone you have not seen in years.
- Total Spots 2: Someone you meet at a party or social event will affect your life.
According to the Yoruba Domino Oracle:
- Double-One: Happiness in love and business. Be sure to give thanks.
All three readings spotlight happiness and another person, to Lounsbury it means marriage and wealth, in the Gypsy system there is travel and an unexpected meeting with an old friend of lover which will change your life, and in the Yoruba oracle, happiness in love and business are prophesied.
According to Fred C. Lounsbury:
- Double Two: Success in Love Affairs.
According to Gypsy Domino Fortune Telling:
- Suit of Twos: [twice] Parents, children, sibling, in-laws, close friends.
- Double-Two: A personal wish will come true at last.
- Total Spots 4: You will assume a leadership role in school, job, or society.
According to the Yoruba Domino Oracle:
- Double-Two: Business success, travel. Seek a reading from a Santero.
This time Lounsbury's interpretation has almost no congruence with the other systems of domino reading. He stresses love affairs, they speak of family, business success, and the assumption of a leadership role.
According to Fred C. Lounsbury:
- Double Three: Wealth and Happiness.
According to Gypsy Domino Fortune Telling:
- Suit of Threes: [twice] Romance, love, marriage, fidelity.
- Double-Three: Significant wealth or an item of great value will arrive.
- Total Spots 6: You can lose money on a bet or investment; avoid this through caution.
According to the Yoruba Domino Oracle:
- Double-Three: Unearned money, a visitor, recovery from illness, reunion.
The majority of these readings mention the arrival of money, and one warns against making investments. An arriving visitor is also noted, as is love. Lounsbury boils these ideas forn the "Wealth and Happiness" and is not incorrect in doing so.
According to Fred C. Lounsbury:
- Double Five: Good Luck and Success.
According to Gypsy Domino Fortune Telling:
- Suit of Fives: [twice] Job, workplace, co-workers, career, fame.
- Double-Five: A change of fortune, possibly a new home.
- Total Spots 10: Your routine will change for the better at school or on the job.
According to the Yoruba Domino Oracle:
- Double-Five: Start new projects, find triumph in love. Herbs for Ochosi.
The keywords shared by these readings are job or career, change, new home, job or school, new projects, love. Lounsbury goes with good luck and success but doesn't dive into the ideas of job, school, or, carer; change or fortune or moving home; and starting new projects.
DICE
Lounsbury's Dice set was one of very few he issued to bear neither Crescent series number nor an individual card number on the front of the card. because these dice cards are not numbered at all, i will show them in numerical order of the spots.
Two methods of reading Dice are given in "Throwing the Bones" -- the "Dice Numerology" system, which totals the spots and reduces the number by adding digits together as in regular numerology, and the "British Dice Reading" system of three dice. I will give the interpretations for both, and we can see how they compare with Lounsbury's brief readings.
According to Fred C. Lounsbury:
- Nine: Good Luck in Business and Love Affairs.
According to Dice Numerology:
- Total Spots 9: Complete, selfless, compassionate, generous, benevolent, patient, humanitarian, creative. Maybe, with a twist of fate it will happen.
According to the British Dice Reading Oracle:
- 9 Spots: A marriage or union takes place that will somehow affect you.
All three readings emphasize love in one form or another, from selfless charity to love affairs to marriage. Only Lounsbury adds business as an additional option.
According to Fred C. Lounsbury:
- Fifteen: Success. (This particular card is surprinted "A Happy New Year" in red ink, but it is also found without the surprint and i have it both ways in my collection .
According to Dice Numerology :
- Total Spots 15, which is 1-plus-5 and equals 6: Harmonious, artistic, just, balanced, service-oriented, responsible, loving, protective, nurturing, sympathetic. Answers will come forth.
According to the British Dice Reading Oracle:
- 15 Spots: Mind what you say and do; do not gossip lest disaster befall.
These interpretations are all over the map. Lounsbury's generic "Success," especially with the added "Happy New Year," can be seen as allied to the Dice Numerology idea that "answers will come forth," presumably in the New Year, but that still does not accord with the idea of being artistic, service-oriented, or protective, and it is in completely different realm of prediction from the stern warning not to gossip "lest disaster befall" that is given by the British Dice Reading Oracle.
According to Fred C. Lounsbury:
- Sixteen: Good Luck.
According to Dice Numerology :
- Total Spots 16, which is 1-plus-6 and equals 7: Philosophical, analytical, introspective, understanding, intuitive, inspirational, reclusive, aware, studious, meditative. You will win.
According to the British Dice Reading Oracle:
- 16 Spots: You will take a pleasure trip or vacation with much happiness.
Lounsbury and Dice Numerology agree on good luck and winning, but i like better the extremely specific British Dice Reading Oracle which puts you on a pleasure trip or vacation. Combining the two i see you gamling on a cruise ship or at a casino and coming home a winner.
See Also
Defining Divination Categorizing Cards
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catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
Your Wate and Fate
Special thanks to my dear husband and creative partner nagasiva yronwode for illustrations, scans, and clean-ups.