My dear customer: 
If you were able to come to my gourd studio you would wish 
that you would have known something about gourds long ago, for 
you would be astonished to see so many beautiful articles made from 
gourds with hardly any tools or machinery, depending mostly upon 
the nature or the different kinds, shapes, patterns and designs. Each 
individual article is the art of nature with the finishing touches of the 
artistic hand. 
The great opportunity that is open to those who will take 
advantage of this new enterprise is beyond imagination, for in the 
near future the gourds grown by American farmers and finished by 
American artists will displace the cheap foreign merchandise in our 
stores. 
It is my sincere desire to see those days when American 
products will be used in American homes. 
You will receive the greatest pleasure and satisfaction when 
you play and assist nature in growing your own gourds, and then 
your fun begins by transforming these cucurbitas into the art and 
beauty of your dreams. 
You can put the finishing touch to your love charm, center 
piece or fruit bowl with seed pods you may be lucky enough to find on 
trees or shrubs growing in your vicinity or you can grow your own. 
Grow your gourds for pleasure and profit, 
Sincerely yours, 
John Ciesla 
Turk’s Head 
Crown of Thorns 
Dish Rag Gourd 
