Historic Treasure of the Week - November 29, 1992
By Barbara Carney
Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - November 29, 1992
By Barbara Carney
Vigo County Historical Society
Advertising card published in 1893
Led by former first lady Nancy Reagan and now just a dial of the telephone away, our appetites for hearing our futures forecast or our characters analyzed seems never to be satisfied. Explanations of personality traits always have been intriguing.
The Barbour Brothers Co. counted on this characteristic of human nature when it put out an advertising card in 1893. This company, advertised as the largest linen thread manufacturer in the world, had plants in Ireland, the United States and Germany. Their trademark, the hand, was pictures on every spool.
The card is designed to advertise Irish Flax Thread, and is bordered by green shamrocks. Centering the card is a large fan with differently shaped hands--the square hand (front and back), the pointed hand and the spatulate hand. Character readings, as indicated by the different shapes, are given.
This "one size fits all" form of palm reading tells us that the square hand denotes love or order and good reasoning powers. It usually is hard, which means courage and activity.
When looking at the palm, one should first examine the Line of Life. This shows condition of health and probably length of life. The Line of the Head indicates greed, if long; feebleness of willpower of short.
If the Line of the Heart is of good color and straight, as affectionate disposition is indicated. Then there is the Line of Saturn. Its length and clearness determines the success of one’s undertakings.
The lucky person with a pointed hand is imaginative, loves beauty and has taste for detail. However, hair on the hand of this character is said to be a positive indication of cruelty.
The spatulate hand is indicative of a nervous, almost tyrannical disposition, but if the hand is red and has considerable hair, that person tends to have sanguine temperament, loves luxury and is sensuous.
Seeing this advertising card brought back memories of my early years when I often visited my aunt and uncle in Chicago. My aunt and I had a favorite lunch time restaurant on the near northside called Jacques.
In the summer when the courtyard was open, the restaurant employed a rather heavyset woman who wore a long black dress and wandered among the tables reading palms. She fascinated me. A part of me really wanted to have my palm read and another part was afraid of what she might say, so I never did.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.