Strange Red Cow: and Other Curious Classified Ads from the Past [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Sara Bader (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Sara Bader has produced one of the most delightful and original history books to come along in a while. Bader intuitively understands that the real stuff of history is people's everyday lives and she sets out to find it. . . . Inspired [through unrelated research], she decided to comb the classifieds of U.S. newspapers dating back to the 1700s and the result is this fascinating and charming book which allows the reader, in Bader's apt words, to "untie the twine that once wrapped up (parcels), rifle through satchels, empty out coat pockets . . . and practically touch the contents." —Calgary Herald

Product Description
Came to my plantation, in Springfield township, Philadelphia county, near Flour-town, the 26th of March 1776, A STRANGE RED COW. The owner may have her again, on proving his property, and paying charges. PHILIP MILLER. —May 1, 1776, The Pennsylvania Gazette


To sift through classifieds from any era is to uncover the practical needs or urgent desires of a community during a particular period of time. By definition, the classified advertisement is released for public consumption, yet often it tells a very private story: a precious keepsake misplaced, an intimate relationship sought, even a young child kidnapped. At times shocking, often amusing, and always enlightening, these brief notices offer rare glimpses into who we are, what we value, and where we’re going. And yet they have always been the most ephemeral of artifacts, tossed and forgotten without a second thought. Until now.

While researching a historical documentary, Sara Bader stumbled upon something that transported her back in time: an eighteenth-century classified ad about a lost red cow. Authentic and evocative, this discovery inspired a search for more of these vivid scenes from everyday life, past and present. In Strange Red Cow, Bader presents a sampling of ads from as far back as 1704 up through contemporary Internet postings, sorted and assembled thematically. She places these micro messages in a broader context, revealing intimate stories of American history and popular culture.

By turns humorous, heartbreaking, and insightful, Strange Red Cow offers a new lens through which to observe our evolution as a nation and a people.

From America’s first newspaper classified in 1704 to today’s online postings, Strange Red Cow captures, in colorful detail, scenes of everyday life in the first-ever overview of the nation’s unofficial history text: the classified ads.


“If we strain to identify with those who commuted in horse-drawn carriages and depended on candles to light their corridors, these ads can personally introduce us. They had good days and bad days; they got distracted, disorganized, and like us, left important things be-hind. That our collective ancestors forgot their books in carriages, left their capes on battlefields, and dropped their keys and their cash is oddly reassuring. We are still losing our stuff today, though what we own and wear and carry with us—and what we decide to return and retrieve—inevitably changes over time.” —From Strange Red Cow

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (October 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400051207
• ASIN: B0017HT5CO
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,060,458 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ads, Ads, And More Ads!, December 24, 2005

By	Penny Dreadful (Under Your Skin) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Strange Red Cow: and Other Curious Classified Ads from the Past (Hardcover)

"Will swap my .410 shotgun with box of buck shells for picnic table or lawn chair. Call Hicksville 5-4631.

September 2, 1948
Levittown Tribune"

And that's one of the tamer entries in this funny history-isn't-boring book! Covering hundreds of years worth of odd, hilarious, disturbing and inexplicable classified ads (and leaving plenty of room for a sequel) this is the sort of book that works as a light read, as a study in human sociology, or as a trek through the side of history the textbooks never get right. The changes in the American language alone make this worth owning. My favorites among these ads are the ones that are so bizarre you wonder what on earth the scenario was that led up to it.

For instance:

"Twenty dollar reward--Escaped from my room...one GREY SQUIRREL--The above reward shall be paid for his delivery..."

Were squirrels so uncommon in 1860's Virginia that one was truly worth twenty dollars? And during a war, too! I wish we could contact these original advertisers and ask what on earth their ads were about.

This is one of those engrossing books that you pick up and before you know it you're a hundred pages in. It's a lot of fun.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange Red Cow is a Blue Ribbon Winner, November 30, 2005

By	T. Duvall (Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Strange Red Cow: and Other Curious Classified Ads from the Past (Hardcover)

This is a well researched, tightly written book that I tore through like a pint of Ben and Jerrys. It is alternately fun, poignant and disturbing. If you like history, you'll dig this book. In places you'll chuckle and in others you will shake your head in disbelief. In the end, if you have ever lost, bought, sold or pined for anything or anyone in your life, you will see yourself in these pages. It will give you a first person glance at the quirky, nutty, and bizarre history that is our own. Finally, hat's off to the author for seemlessly blending Craigslist and the Colonial era, a feat likely never before accomplished.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange Red Cow, November 9, 2005

By	J. E. Bergh "Jeb Bergh" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Strange Red Cow: and Other Curious Classified Ads from the Past (Hardcover)

Fascinating! "Strange Red Cow" is literally the voice of all sorts of different people talking to us from over the past three hundred years. Their voices tell us of things they lost and their value to the owner. They tell us their desires. They tell us of their anger. We get a very personal look at how goofy, thoughtful, practical and romantic we have been. We also get a very hard look at arrogance and inhumanity in the runaway slave ads. The author backs up these ads with good research and her own thoughtful commentary. A good book that is easily picked up and put down and will be enjoyed for a long time.