SERIES: Pictorial History of the Sports and Pastimes of All Nations
SCENES: Dog-sledding, elk, seal hunting
SIZE: 5" x 3"
ARTIST: Not signed, but reportedly Frances Brundage
DATE: 1893
LITHOGRAPHER: Kaufman & Strauss
CONDITION: Very good, I'd say. The card is only very lightly soiled, with slightly worn edges and corners. There's a mild crease running into the body of the card from the left edge, aw well as a small crease and a thumb bend at the lower left corner. (Please see scans.)
MULTIPLE ITEM SHIPPING DISCOUNT: I will ship up to 4 cards for the single base shipping charge shown. For purchases of more than 4 cards, the shipping charge will increase by just a small increment for every 4 additional cards.
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REVERSE TEXT: ESQUIMAU.
FAR northward, where lie those lands of the "midnight sun," Greenland and Iceland and the Faroe Islands, are peoples whom we, who deem ourselves more fortunately placed, are disposed to pity. Yet it is to be doubted whether we enjoy ourselves more in our ways than they in theirs. They possess many pleasant customs, games and sports. Notwithstanding the inclemency of their climate, they enjoy in their own way many unique diversions. The peoples of these lands are squat, short and hardy, good-natured, patient and of happy dispositions.
Of course skating is a universal pastime, as are most of the sports of the colder temperate regions.
The favorite mode of locomotion over the snow-covered surface of these wintry lands is by low sleighs propelled by dogs. Sometimes as many as a dozen of these are harnessed in single file to the vehicle, in which sits the proprietor warmly clad in furs from top to heel. These dogs fairly fly over the surface, and are not easily exhausted, so that a day's journey will cover a great many miles.
Seal-fishing while not so great a sport as a source of revenue, gives much pleasure to those pursuing it. The seal in great numbers climb to the blocks of ice which fringe all the shores of these Arctic regions. The hunters or fishers approach cautiously armed with clubs, and before the animals slide off into the water, are able to stun some of them by a blow over their heads. These are then easily dispatched.
Elk or moose hunting are favorite sports. These animals are dangerous to capture as they are very large and powerful sometimes weighing fully 1200 pounds.
The favorite musical instrument of the Greenlander is a crude imitation of our tambourine. The Icelanders play chess and a game resembling checkers extensively.
