I 💓 Letterpress. While doing COVID shelter-in-place cleaning my friend, Stephen at Tahoe Letterpress, found this very cool cut, I was impressed at its complexity and curious about its beginning.

How old is it? It definitely has some details to help determine its age. The dapper fashion is a big give away. 

The gentleman with his tucked at the waist suit and a fedora adorning his head is the epitome of what a 1940's guy looked like. Dapper indeed.

The woman's full skirt, accentuating her tiny waist... I would have loved to live in the 40s. I envy this incredible style.

And by no means am I intending to offend anyone reading this post and I sincerely hope I don't. I love words (etymology) and one obvious detail that indicates this cut is vintage is the adjective GAY, a word with a long history in the English language. When did its meaning change from just meaning happy? According to Origins of Everything, it has been on its evolving path since the 16th century, way before the image was created to promote San Francisco.

Growing up, the word gay was definitely a part of my lexicon. From 1960 to 1966, when we were with Fred Flinstone we were sure to "Have a yabba dabba-do time. A dabba-do time. We'll have a gay old time!" And in 1965, Maria from the The Sound of Music (the movie) not only felt gay but pretty and witty, too. Diana Ross even asked "Why do birds sing so gay?"

Gay will continue to be an adjective that reminds me of happy, from the songs of my past. And interestingly, when I was in San Francisco last summer, 70 years +/- after this letterpress cut was created, I found the City by the Bay to be quite Gay and Fascinating as advertised!