Interesting Photo

[Samuel Kiteman Cody]

Has anyone else seen this?

http://www.sheboygan-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701030468

Talk about something to base an original upon.

Cheers

Sam Cody

[Silver Creek Slim]

Interesting.

Slim

[Ol Gabe]

Like they say in the news industry, "...this story is getting legs!" Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun, anyway, it is all over the net, here is the slug from NewsMyWay.com today:
Mysterious 1870s Wis. Photo Sparks Jokes
Jan 5, 3:56 AM (ET)
By ROBERT IMRIE
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) - Who is that mysterious, elegant man? And why is he sitting on a dead horse? Such are some of the questions sparked by a black-and-white photograph taken in Sheboygan between 1876 and 1884 that has led to nationwide curiosity, speculation and jokes.
It's a 1870s picture of a mustachioed man in a suit and stovepipe hat who sits rakishly on an expired horse in the middle of a dusty, deserted street.
The picture was included in a newspaper's 2007 calendar and the response from readers prompted news articles. From there, it took off on the Internet.
"This thing has gotten more mileage than you can shake a stick at," said Scott Prescher, who has a copy of the dead horse photo in his Sheboygan restaurant.
"It is just a funny picture," Prescher said. "He is sitting on there with a top hat like he had somewhere special to go and his horse just croaked in the middle of the road."
No one knows who the gentleman is, exactly what year the picture was taken or the circumstances surrounding it, said Beth Dipple, director of the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, which has had the picture in its collection for at least 20 years.
"It is a great picture and every time I see it I just laugh," she said. "But this time the novelty is everybody else is seeing it for the first time. The whole world is seeing it now."
After writing two stories about the picture, The Sheboygan Press received more than 50 calls and e-mails about it, including from a California genealogist.
Some of the ideas for what the picture depicts include the thoughtful - it was staged for a political campaign perhaps related to sanitation issues - to the bizarre - the horse is being helped to relieve "excess flatulence."
Dibble said the newspaper published the photo on Aug. 20, 1974, but mainly to focus attention on the nearby buildings. The caption said the man who provided the photo to the newspaper received it from a friend who had no idea about its origin.
A Web site sponsored a contest for readers to write the best caption for the photo and about 100 were submitted, including: "Lay still old girl, FEMA's on the way."
Dipple said about all that's known about the picture is it was taken at South Eighth Street and Indiana Avenue between 1876 and 1884 - based on the bridge over the Sheboygan River in the background and the lack of railroad tracks that were installed in 1884.
The city had laws on the books that required people to stay with their dead horses until they were picked up and disposed of, Dipple said.
"Who knows why somebody would take a picture of it?" she said. "People had weird senses of humor then just like they do now."
...
If you have magnifying software on your PC take a look at the ropeline strung between two short sticks or posts in front of the guy and horse, almost looks like it was put there to keep something or somebody out of the picture. I vote for a traveling show of some kind and a trick horse and rider posing for the local paper and that this picture was taken after fact from a side angle since the guy is looking to the left of the frame as is the fellow with the dog behind him. Well, it sounds plausible anyway.
Best regards and good researching!
'Ol Gabe

[Advertising]

[Silver Creek Slim]

I was just wondering if Johnsonville utilized that dead equine.

Slim

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Yummy!

[Delmonico]

I was just wondering if Johnsonville utilized that dead equine.

Slim

If not well.........................................................................

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Early candidate for Elmer's? Photographic proof that flogging expired equines is period correct..............Buck

[Delmonico]

Maybe the fella is a detective investigatin' a ride by shooting.   That stuff could be crime tape.

[French Jack]

Just goes to show that in the days before Al Gore invented the internet, there were dead horses waiting to be flayed.      ;P 

[James Hunt]

Who say's the horse is expired? It is the rare critter that will let you do that, but I've seen people do it on their "relaxing" animal before. For all the time it would take to set up a camera in those day's, if the horse is alive he must be known as one who would tolerate it. Perhaps that is why the picture was taken.

[Frenchie]

He's a politician and he's been doing one of the things politicians are good at. He's just resting between bouts.

[Delmonico]

Beatin' dead horses ain't just for poly-titions no more.

BTW I found a sorce that says the horses name is "Alpo's Choice."   He used to be a race horse.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

I wonder who Alpo was to have a horse named after him .......

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

Who knows, maybe it was a horse trained by John Rarey of Ohio or one of his protoge's.
Not enough room or time to go into who John Rarey is. If your into horses, I suggest typing his name in any search engine and read about him and a horse named Cruiser.

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

Update.....Rarey died in 1866.

[Ol Gabe]

...I found a sorce that says the horses name is "Alpo's Choice."   He used to be a race horse.

 Good guess Del, my choice would have been 'Stew Ball'...
"Old Stew Ball was a race horse,
and I wish he was mine,
he never drank Whiskey,
he always drank wine."
Anonymous, more or less

You can always tell when Winter is getting long, a story like this captures the hearts and minds of America and is told and retold daily as well as posted ad naseum. Heard it on several Public Radio shows over the weekend and it has been around the world multiple times. Caption contests are popping up and one that seems to be very popular is "Hold on, FEMA is on the way!"
Best regards and good researching!
'Ol Gabe

[Delmonico]

Ahhh, yes, Stew Ball, that racehorse of song and legand, got his story on a round hunk a vinyl upstairs in the closest with about 400-500 pounds of other ones.   The one I have is titled "Peter, Paul and Mary, 15 Years Together" or something like that, guess thats outdated, but haven't bought no new vinyl since 1989.

I can see where that picture might creat quite a stir anoung the bored Infedels of the world who study very little history and hence have most likely never seen an old photo that made ya say "Huh" and scratch yer head.     I know of one that also might drive them crazy, although just a slight bit out of our era. 

Dateline, 1907, place Kearny Nebraska, Mr. Butcher takes a photo of some savy bussinessmen and their new invention that is revaloutionizing house work.  Mr. Butcher has to take two photos of this wonderful machine and splice them together.  Sadly it's power plant was either out for repairs that day or was awaiting delivery on the next west bpund UP.

Sadly a smaller electric version will be invented in a few years that will not require a bulky, noisy and smelling gasoline engine whice would have be similar to the one in the second picture allowing this up-dated device to be used inside the house rather than dragging parts of the house outside for cleaning.   Otherwise these gentleman might be as famous as someone else and their names could still be a household word.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

A carpet beater! Just drag your carpets outside, toss them in, and wa-la, clean carpet......

[Delmonico]

Don't look very portable, I think you have to drag them over to these fellas place.  Maybe that is what the buckboard is for, "Pick Up and Delivery."

[Ozark Tracker]

Well ya notice they got it backed right up to the window, just open up the window and throw it in,  big as it is could just throw yer down matteress in there and get it fluffed