...a playful postcard

This postcard dated 1902 to a single lady has a message in backward writing and an inverted stamp. The positioning of a stamp on a postcard at this time often signified some friendly or romantic message, although sources differ somewhat as to the potential meanings.

http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Language-of-Stamps.jpg

This card was sent the very year that postcards first began to have a divided back on which to write both the address and the message.

I leave the reader to decipher the message, if they wish.

...Sad Sack comics 1960's

Sad Sack was a cartoon character invented and drawn by the American cartoonist George Baker (1915-1975). Baker did not however write the stories that he illustrated. The name Sad Sack was a shortened version of a then common, and mildly rude, phrase referring to an inept person or american soldier. (See the Wikipedia link below for more information).

The comics were imported and sold in the UK for 9d, that is nine old pence. But if memory serves me correctly, they were not available in mainstream newsagents, such as W H Smith, and one had to search them out, as one did the DC comics featuring Superman, Batman, the Flash etc.

Here is a typical example of Sad Sack's exploits.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad_Sack

...a sketch of Samer 1815

This ink sketch of the market place at Samer, in Normandy, Northern France, is dated 1815, and is probably originally from a traveller's sketch book, possibly someone British, if the pencil inscription is contemporary with the drawing.

The date is significant because 1815 was the period of Napoleon's so-called Hundred Days, which culminated in his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium on 18 June. This picture may date from just after this time, when many travelled to the newly liberated French capital, and may well have passed through Samer.

It shows a gentle scene; a woman carrying a pail, a lady holding a child, who seems to have a second child attached to her dress by a cord. A man lies prone, reading a book, together with others.  And behind them is the church of St Martins, to which unusually abuts a string of houses. One interesting difference. The artist shows a square bell tower, whilst the ancient shape is seemingly octagonal. A bit of poetic licence perhaps?

It is a scene that has changed little in two hundred years, as photos on the town website indicate:

http://www.ville-samer.fr/

...the Afflicted Man's Companion

This work from 1800 is not, as might be supposed, a medical textbook. Rather it is essentially a religious tome containing numerous injunctions to stoicism in the face of illness and infirmity.

An extract reads, "Be not anxious for recovery to health; but leave the issue of the present sickness to the will and pleasure of the infinitely wise God."

It was written by the evangelical minister John Willison and first published in 1737, remaining in print for more than a century.

See Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Willison

 This particular book was presented to Miss Mary Gilmour on 13 July 1819, and we can only speculate on the reason for someone choosing such a gift.

...a family portrait

By Edwardian times, when this photograph of an anonymous group was taken, the average size of family had already shrunk to just three children. So, to raise nine children was by then untypical. (I've assumed these are all the offspring of the seated patriarch and matriarch, as their distinctive chins would suggest.)

Today, in some developed countries - Germany is one example - the birth rate has fallen below what is considered to be the replacement ratio of 2.1 children. In Japan it is said to have reached a rather alarming 1.5, and is expected to result in a rapidly declining population over the next few decades, despite life expectancy continuing to increase, which naturally acts in the opposite direction, to shore up the level of population.

The current world population of 7.3 billion is increasing by around eighty million a year, and on some predictions will reach 9.7 billion by 2050. After that, however, some predict it will fall because of declining birth rates. Just how rapidly it falls, if at all, may depend on how successful (if that is the correct word) medical science proves at extending lifespan. The question is often put. Might future generations live typically to 200, or beyond ?

...a Russian tinplate toy

This wind-up Russian tinplate toy dates from around 1990, which indicates just how recently the (then) Soviet Union was producing these sharp-edged playthings. With a bit of encouragement it still hops.

The word on the little cardboard box simply says Frog.

...comic examples of corporal punishment

Is it ever acceptable to discipline children by beating them? It is apparently still just about legal in the UK. And why are comic depictions of it considered humorous?

This anthropomorphic example is from 1910.

And the following example is from a 1970's Beano comic.