Stanley Novelty Company & Dyngus Day

Boston Public Library

Dyngus Day! For generations, Western New York has wholeheartedly embraced this Polish-American folk custom, celebrating Easter Monday with spirited sprinklings and pussy willow flirtations. The traditional Dyngus Day ritual of drenching a young woman with water is shown in this circa 1930s postcard, printed by the Stanley Novelty Company of Buffalo.

The Stanley Novelty Company was located at 200 Ogden Street, Frances Dorothy Pufahl and her husband Stanley J. Malinowski founded the company in 1932 and sold specialty items such as calendars, wedding invitations, mechanical pencils and other advertising novelties. After her husbands death, Frances continued to run the store until her retirement in 1992.

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Stanley Novelty Company & Dyngus Day