B. T. Babbitt's Soap

Benjamin Talbot Babbitt was born in Westmoreland, New York in 1809 and became a very successful businessman. He is best known for his soap, but for a long time he also controlled the baking soda market, and sold baking yeast. Although Babbitt was somewhat of an entrepreneurial genius, he fell victim to an embezzlement scam by some of his employees. It is also rumored that he was the inspiration for Sinclair Lewis' novel Babbitt, about vulgar and ignorant businessman. When B.T. Babbitt died in 1889, he left an estate valued at $5 million.

St. Patrick's Day

Here to brighten up your St. Patrick's day - Shamrocks, pipes, harps and green everything.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

Freswick House

Freswick House is built upon one of the most important archaeological sites at the northern tip of Scotland, a former Viking settlement. Although it may look spooky and forbidding in this photo, it apparently now operates as a haven for artists to discover and develop their gifts. I'm afraid it would scare the gift right out of me.

My favorite story about Freswick House has to do with taxes. Apparently tax was assessed based on the number of windows. But the tax collector seemed to determine a different number of windows each year. Henrietta Munro has written an amusing article about the window taxes and Freswick House.