Naughty & Nudie Vintage Postcards

A few of the more interesting (to me) postcards from the nude and risque vintage postcard selection at Cherryland Postcard Auctions.

"Don't Touch It, Stick A Pin In It"

Details on this antique postcard-slash-pincushion at Kitschy Kitschy Coo.

Vintage Cocktail Pinup Postcard

A Good Mixer
The Shake 'em Up Girl

Unused vintage Tichnor Quality Views (Tichnor Bros) postcard, DG 8 on front, #75968 on the back.

Erotic Romance Postcard From The 1920's

Via ~Laura~* at Flickr.

Where Angels Fear To Tread

Or at least cherubs are perplexed by it.



I'm refraining from making jokes about quivers and quims.

Vintage French Jean Tam Postcard.

Madame La Rose In Hands Of Receiver

Because we all know that there's only way for a woman to settler her debts. (And only if she's young and sexy!)

I'll say she's in the hands of the receiver!

Vintage unused, dived back postcard by Tichnor Bros. Inc., Boston, Mass. (number 516 on front, 74803 on back).

The Bliss Of A Kiss

There must be bliss
In a kiss -- because
Everybody's doing it

Vintage divided-back postcard, postmarked February, 1921.

Winchell May Have Always Been Right... But Am I?

A rather crudely drawn postcard, featuring a woman behind a dressing screen in a doctor's office. She appears to be nude, except for her shoes; her stockings and bra draped over the screen. The male doctor appraises her.

"ARE YOU SURE DOCTOR?
WINCHELL'S ALWAYS
BEEN RIGHT BEFORE"

I gather the Winchell referenced is Walter Winchell, making this a humorous stab of gossip about the doctor's reputation, or the woman's, as well as Winchell's.

Then again, my guess that it's Walter Winchell is based, in part, upon the fact that the postcard's incomplete sentence relies heavily on the reader knowing about Winchell & the period's current events and persons -- something Winchell himself was known for.

Not knowing the context, the postcard becomes cryptic & convoluted. The humor is hinted at, but like a child hearing a double entendre, I just don't have enough knowledge to share the laugh.

I appreciate any information from readers.

Other postcard info: Signed ERICK (or E RICK). Divided back, unused; published/printed by Glacier Stationery Co., Great Falls, Mont. No year, circa 1940's - 1950's.

Vintage Risque Bathing Poastcard

"As long as there's no body around I'll take a dip in the raw."
"Oh, dear, now what'll I do?"

© 210
A Genuine KromeKolor Comic Card, published by Noble, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Antique Topless Illustrated Postcard

Marked ...A Sockl, Wien, 1. and Collection,, Vlan...Nr.713. I have no idea what that means, but it looks like a game of some sort... Any ideas? I know naughty cards give you "ideas"; but I mean do you have any helpful information? *wink*

Postcard measures 5 1/2" x 3 1/2". Via Ruby Lane.

Little Girl Garbo

Southbey's offersa collection of early Greta Garbo postcards and photographs owned by Garbo's childhood friend, Lisa Fager. The lot to be auctioned in London on July 17th includes:

i) a collection of fifteen photographs of Greta Garbo (Gustaffson), her classmates and 'Aunt Gustafsson', chiefly original prints, one of the portraits the only print to survive from the six copies which Garbo herself ordered from a professional photographer but then tore up, ranging in size from a small passport-size portrait of her in 1918 to large school class photographs of c.165 x 230mm. (plus mounts), chiefly c.1915-1930, traces of mounting

ii) an early autograph postcard signed "G.G." by Garbo (Greta Gustafsson), sending greetings in Swedish, written in pencil, with a mock-postage stamp also drawn in pencil

[literal translation:] "May the sun of joy [shine] its rays in such a way upon you on your celebration day, may happiness not stray from you I wish that out of my heart"

Garbo delivered this card herself after school through Lisa Fager's letterbox.

iii) an autograph four-line note signed by Garbo ("G.G."), in Swedish, written in ink on a magazine illustration

[literal translation:] "...Hanne how sweet I think you are. I have seen you so many times and all equally enchanting..."

iv) two autograph postcards written to Lisa Fager by Greta Garbo's brother Sven Gustafsson, in Swedish, sending greetings from a festive Paris and from London, 1928-1930

Some of this material is illustrated in John Wallin's book Garbo: En stjärnas väg (Stockholm, 1955), a copy of which is included in the lot.

Display Array

Cristian Crisbasan calls this display of postcard nudes Delicatessen.



I guess you need to bring your own salami.

Via Roue Ataraxia.

The Pleasures of Window Shopping

Deanna at CQ interviewed Marina Bianchi, a professor of economics, regarding collecting and consumerism. It's a fascinating look at consumer choice theory and the role of novelty in consumption & satisfaction, motivations usually left to psychologists & sociologists, I encourage you to read it.

Of course, my personal motivation has always been an interest in history -- or, perhaps more accurately, an interest in anthropology. This is often dismissed by others who view my quest to be purely carnal, so I delighted in the following:

Fundamentally, is there much difference between ‘research’ and ‘collecting’?

I think that between intellectual or scientific research and collecting there are many things in common. In research, as in collecting, we have a frame of reference that provides the organizing guide and that gives shape to problems or challenges and tells us where to look for possible solutions. And also in research the aim is to conquer something new that reshapes one’s organizing framework and opens new paths. But collecting is more playful, light, and pleasurable in every phase. Enjoying your collection is as pleasurable as when you are searching for a new addition to it, and the difficulties you meet only increase the final enjoyment. Buying an already made collection would destroy half the pleasure. Research is more costly in terms of intellectual efforts and discipline, but, yes, the principles are the same!

This is all "reflected" in an antique postcard I purchased in this past weekend's hunting.


In this postcard, a man and woman stand before a large millinery shop window. While she gazes at lovely hats, his gaze is upon a lovely lady on the street (who decadently shows ankle!). The caption reads, "I love my wife, but oh you kid".

While both the man and the woman we presume to be his wife are window shopping, full of wistful longing, we see the inherent joys & motivations of collecting displayed. Each views and desires the novelty of something new, but there is no indication that either finds what they have, be it an old hat or a spouse some might call "old hat", as inferior either. For as Professor Bianchi has said, "each additional item is new and exciting, whether it adds something different within an order or provokes a re-thinking of that order."

A collector "adds to" rather than replaces -- even without the physical action of adding a new item.

As this card shows no action other than thought or desire, it at least suggests (if not proves) that even when one does not increase the size of one's collection through ownership, simply viewing possibilities also adds to one's collection; it adds something to the framework and has us re-thinking the order of things.

And in many cases such "window shopping" increases our satisfaction & pleasure in what we have.

Language Barrier

An interesting collection of relationship postcards from Spain.



While the online translations (both the owner's and my own attempts) remain awkward, the illustrations say much about relationships and communication.

The Bare Truth Of Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew
One drink enough to make you hunt the bares

Seen on eBay -- I was hoping to find a better image and more info, but so far, no luck.

Risque Valentines

Participating in Mute Monday, the Valentine's Edition...



Vintage risque Valentine via ebay.


Risque Black American Valentine via eBay.




Altered arts cards by Scarlett's Society of Quirky at Etsy.



Cupid Dr. Dan postcard (1908 By Walter Wellman No. 1080) at eBay.

The Savage 70's

A retro postcard for Casino de Paris at the old Dunes in Las Vegas. Casino de Paris, with it's cast of 100, was conceived, produced and directed by Frederic Apcar, and came to the Dunes in '63.

I cannot make out the artist name on the illustration (no credits are on the back), nor do I know if the nude blonde with a tiger is representative of any particular star. Any help is appreciated.

I just love that the risque card was sent to, "Dear Mother & Father".


According to the image below, via Las Vegas Mikey, Savage '70's started in 1970. (The postcard's postmark is difficult to read; it looks like it could be 1971.)



Related:

* Mondo-Vegas on the Dunes Hotel

* more images & info on Casino de Paris

* a Dunes menu with the same art

* Loulou Gasté (related to photo of Loulou Gasté & Line Renaud in front of classic Dunes sign promoting Casino de Paris, below)

Beware The Secretary

No, not that Secretary; the kind you might find fear in hubby's office:

What every Woman Knows

That this Girl is the right sort for Hubby's Office

(C A.P.F. postcard; Serie No. 82)

Written on the front by the sender of this postcard in 1910 is: My you think you are smart.

Because, remember, all women are in competition for men.

Horny Old Asses

From Penny Postcards, found via Baikinage's StumbleUpon page.

Where Do I Come (In)?

Via The Marketing Whore I found Gram Ponante's talk on Creampies:

It is when I asked about creampies that I drew blank stares.

"It's a porn thing, right?" asked a student at San Francisco's Cordon Bleu School who had, in fact, had sex with a MILF that very morning.

"Oh Yes."

And this is tragic, because it is evidence that porn has made a generation of people think that male gratification doesn't exist unless evidence of it is deposited on the face, breasts, belly, ass, or windshield of one's partner.

For a creampie is simply an internal cumshot that is then expelled or leaked from where it was deposited. It is for this reason that most men never see a creampie, because their girlfriends/spouses immediately run to the bathroom after sex, or simply mark its arrival by rolling away from it.

I find this interesting for two reasons:

One, it furthers my thoughts on the things we learn from our porn.

Two, it goes along with the "Where do I come in?" postcard shown here (postmarked 1911, Theochrom Serie 1230-70) which I had just scanned.

Imagine, a generation of people who don't know where to spew? Linked to fertility problems? Probably not. I think Gram jests a bit. But it's true that there's a greater demand for seeing ejaculate leak than ever before.

Safer sex means (I hope!) more folks are not seeing the natural phenomenon, and so the film version is likely as erotic to them as anything else 'rare' seen in porn.

Yup, as rare as a threesome seemed in 1911.

Flea's Pleasure

This flea has writ his autobiography on the prostitute's leg:



Via Postcardman's prostitution cards.

Of Storks & Babies

My friend collects vintage storks, as do I, so when I spotted this card, I had to post it here:

A bonnie Scotch laddie wi' kilties to his knees kin nay do wi'out ye, an' yearns to bae your cheese cake. He kenn hoo to play the bagpipe un hae muckle siller, un your only trouble will be the keeping o' his knees warm, in fact most o' your troubles will be little ones. Dinna pass him up.

May the collector with the bigger budget win. lol

Storks are fertility symbols and I've long wondered why. They aren't particularly cuddly looking... Too pointy to have near delicate babes. Which is why I collect them. Maybe if I see enough of them I'll figure something out. But so far, no luck.

I asked my German grandma because I remember her talking about actual "stork children".

She said storks were lucky; so, therefore, were folks who had babies. But I pushed about the old fable.

She said that the souls of the unborn lived in watery areas such as marshes and ponds and in the caves and rocky areas around them -- the "Adeborsteine" or "storkstones" -- and that storks, who frequented both such watery places and the steep rock crevasses, were the creatures who fetched the souls as babies & delivered them to their parents.

This, of course, from a woman who thought that she was dying when she got her period and she had no knowledge of such things. So it could be complete BS, yah?

But I did some searching for 'storks' and 'Adeborsteine' and found this. So she isn't nutty -- or at least she's no more nutty than the rest of our German ancestors. *wink*

She had no info to offer on this old post... Do you yet?

Antique Tommy Also Came

This antique postcard reminds us that it's not just Mary's who have all the fun...

Mary had a little Brother,
Tommy was his name,
Every time she had a caller
Tommy also came.

Bamorth & Co. Publishers, Holmfirth (England) And New York No 1234
Copyright 1910 Bamforth & Co.

Lest you think I am imposing our current use of "come" or "cum" (that darn "rampant presentism" problem) upon ye olde world and poor innocent Tommy, let's look at the slang term.

According to Online Etymology, the word come -- specifically the sexual use (including variant spellings) of 'come' -- began it's life as a word for orgasm in 1650, in Walking In A Meadowe Greene, (found in a folio of "loose songs" collected by Bishop Percy) as follows:

They lay soe close together, they made me much to wonder;
I knew not which was wether, until I saw her under.
Then off he came, and blusht for shame soe soon that he had endit;
Yet still she lies, and to him cryes, "one more and none can mend it."

Ironically this seedy use of "come" wouldn't mean the literal seeds until later. According to Online Etymology, again, the meaning "semen or other product of orgasm" wasn't on record until the 1920s.

Which would mean that this postcard, both copyrighted & postmarked 1910, would refer to Tommy's orgasm, not his semen.

Germans use "kommen" (to come) in the same context.

Now Will You Be Good!

It's not posed as a question, so I'm guessing they knew that any straight guy would love to be forced into a dip with three women. Even in 1910.

But he couldn't leave his hat on.



I'm guessing the pomade kept him from ruining his 'do'.

Postcard copyright (and postmarked) 1910 by the Colonial Art Pub. Co, B'klyn, N.Y. Published by F. G Henry & Co.

Bamforth & Co: Postcards & Films

While Bamforth & Co is remembered for their "saucy seaside postcards" (postcards with bawdy & risque captions sold on promenades and piers to Victorian English folk on vacation 'seaside'), the story doesn't begin there - that's the end, so to speak.


James Bamforth was a photographer in the 1840's and he founded the company in founded the company in 1870 (in Holmfirth, Yorkshire), specializing in Life Model lantern slides.



According to Magic Lantern:

James Bamforth specialised in the mass production of photographic "Life Model" slides, often based on religious themes or moral instruction. He was no doubt influenced by the nonconformist, chapel based religion of that area, so it is somewhat ironic that the company should become more generally famous in the 20th Century for saucy postcards.

Bamforth built a studio in Holmfirth, and designed and painted the backcloth's and sets. Members of his family and other local people posed for the photographer for little or no pay. In many ways the Life model slides were made like early movies which they predated by 20 years or more. It is not surprising that Bamforth's became involved with movie making. ".....he chose homely themes, due to his use of neighbours as models and sitters...Thus it came about, to his lasting credit, that the simple characters of his stories combined with the perfect naturalness of the leading figures in them, has endeared his life model sets to millions of children and adults." Photogram February 1899

Many of the slides illustrated hymns and other popular songs. With each slide depicting a verse, they were designed for audiences to sing along. They were such a great success that Bamforth build a factory in 1898 and began mass production.

Since the magic lantern slides told simple tales, and Bamforth had everything required -- a skilled photographer, studio & production space, a pool of performers, costumes, and experienced in plot construction -- it seemed only natural that Bamforth would begin making films.

Screenonline says:

Possibly in response to this expertise, Riley Brothers of Bradford, who had been involved with moving picture technology since 1896 and had already begun to make films of their own, commissioned Bamforth in 1898 to produce further films to be sold exclusively to purchasers of their equipment. Although the exact business relationship between the two firms and the production dates of the films remains unknown, the subsequent advertisement of these productions in a 1903 Hepworth catalogue as 'RAB' films acknowledges their partnership.

(For more on Riley, see here.)

While Bamforth only made films for a few years (during two brief periods, 1898-1900 and 1913-1915), he made quite a few of them. Enough for film historians to call his films as the earliest examples of British comic film. His biggest star was Reginald Twisk, who played a Chaplin-like character known as Winky.

Some of his films were inspired by the magic lantern slides, including the themes and stories themselves. While I haven't been able to see many of Bamforth's films (Screenonline only allows Brits in schools to do so), it seems the morality lessons have taken on a more cheeky air.

Two must-see movies are:

Women's Rights (1899): Gossiping housewives find themselves in an awkward predicament.

Lover Kisses Husband (1900): Comedy short in which an adulterous tryst is foiled by a cunning husband.

In 1914, the war itself affected both film making and the focus of Bamforth & Co. The popularity of lantern slides had dimmed with the popularity of films, but movie production slowed due to World War I, and Bamforth & his sons focused on the growing market for picture postcards.



Not surprisingly, the sentimental was popular, and some of Bamforth's song & hymn lantern slides were converted into postcard series. Often called Bamforth Song Sets these cards are highly collected themselves, and these collectors consider the postcards the best characterizations of the soul of Bamforth & Co.

But with war also comes the need for comic relief, and while the English "seaside holiday" may have been an invention of the Victorians, the seaside postcards became extremely popular during and after the First World War.



So much so, that by the end of the war Bamforth & Co had moved away not only from the sentimental but from photographic images and the company began to really focus on the artist drawn risque comic postcards.



Derek Bamforth once explained the success of the cards:

'The more vulgar, the better'

He said: "We never publish anything obscene, we know where to draw the line. But the more vulgar the card, the better it sells."

And so it went, for decades.


Until the 1980's when James Bamforth's grandson retired and the company was sold to Scarborough printing firm ETW Dennis. In September 2000 ETW Dennis went into receivership and the Bamforth name and the copyrights to thousands of designs were bought by Ian Wallace, owner of The Beatles Shop, for an undisclosed sum. Now Bamforth designs can be found in new limited edition sets and licensed as Wallace plans to entice a younger audience who has never seen these gems:

"It's the humour of Carry On films and Benny Hill - they're just plain daft."

However, not everyone sees the images as a "bit of fun". Critics in the past have branded them sexist relics, best left in the past.

"OK some people think they're a bit sexist, but I think they're just fun," said Mr Wallace.

"Anyone who takes the images too seriously and doesn't laugh at them is a bit sad."

He is adamant that he can find a new audience willing to appreciate the cards' humour.

"I think there's a lot of young people who haven't seen this kind of stuff," he said.

"The images have been out of the public eye and hopefully they will come across as being fresh and fun."

Mr Wallace, I couldn't agree more.


For more (do you need more?!) on Bamforth, see Remembering Bamforth & Co. Ltd..

Antique and vintage Bamforth postcards can sell for cheap on eBay.

Lingerie Falls Victim To The Black Hand

A victim of the black hand.--

Theochrom Seris 1225-26
Postmarked 1911

A woman finds the dreaded black hand mark on her dainties. Presumably a play on Black Hand extortion which was rumored to be the start of Italian crime and the start of the mafia.

However, Jay Robert Nash, in the World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime (p. 56) argues the Black Hand was a tactic, not an organized group:

The Black Hand, despite the wild claims of newsmen and yellow journalists to the contrary, was never a formal organization with any kind of international ties. The Black Hand was never a society (although a Black Hand Society did exist for hundreds of hears in Spain as an organization designed to help the needy and to fight invaders, but died out before 1900; another Black Hand Society originated in Serbia, a secret cabal designed to establish Serbian dominance in the Balkans). The Black Hand was never tied to any of the real secret societies or criminal conspiracies, such as the Camorra, the Mafia, or the Unicone Siciliane, even thought many members of these nefarious organizations practiced the sinister ways of the Black Hand. It was simply an extortion racket practiced upon decent citizens, first in Italy and Sicily as early as the 1750's, and later in the U.S., chiefly affecting Italian-Sicilan immigrants in major metropolitan areas, especially New York, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, and San Francisco.

The racket was prosaic--and deadly. An anonymous Black Hander would threaten various types of violence to extort money from one, usually well-to-do, victim. These threats most often involved kidnapping a family member, threatening to blow up a business or shop, or to attack, injure, or kill a family member or the recipient of the Black Hand note. These notes were crudely written in broken English (in the U.S.) and boldly demanded a certain amount of money, with a specific instructions as to how the cash was to be delivered. The note would usually be decorated with a number of horrific symbols and images--daggers dripping blood, a bomb exploding, a gun smoking at the barrel, a skull and crossbones, a body dangling from a rope tied about the neck. The signature of the sender was invariably a hand imprinted in heavy black ink, thus the sobriquet, La Mano Nera (The Black Hand).

As for our lady with the hand printed lingerie, one can only imagine that this infers a different sort of blackmail or threat.

For more, see this article which uses the 1950 film, Black Hand (starring Gene Kelly as the Italian man seeking vengeance), to discuss the Armenian Black Hand.

Cultivating: Waist Places & Waste Places

Turn of the century (1900's) postcard featuring one man between two women, his arms about the waists of each. Text reads: Cultivating the "Waist" Places.--

Theochrom Serie 1230-56, printed in the U.S.

A humorous play on waste lands, those lands which have not yet been made property but which may be reduced to that condition, be it the desire of an individual or a group (a country or politician in the name of colonization, for example, or a religious group in the name of God). All of which fall under the category of sheer greed.

The issues of waste lands, conquest, emigration, war, and dominion as ordained by God were quite fascinating to folks in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

For more, see The Rights of War and Peace, including the Law of Nature and of Nations, translated from the Original Latin of Grotius, with Notes and illustrations from Political and Legal Writers, by A.C. Campbell, A.M. with an Introduction by David J. Hill (New York: M. Walter Dunne, 1901).

See also, The Waste Places (1915),a poem by Irish poet James Stephens (1882-1950) as well as Eli Siegel's Beginning with Psychiatric Terms: An Aesthetic Realism Consideration (1966) in which the poem is an allegory for ethical unconscious.

Spooners Delight

I'm not like the beggars who want a full meal,
Just "a spoon -- a spoon" is my humble appeal.

Copyright 1908, J. Thomas.

I love this postcard, and apparently Thomas created a series as you can find others like it, each with the iconic spoon. Another example is here.

Vintage Dotty Dimwit Postcard

Dotty Dimwit says..
Girls with pretty faces
Shouldn't stand in windy places...

For men that stand in windy places
Don't notice
pretty faces

Postcard art by Craig Fox.

Postcard Collector Tips

How to identify real photo postcards.

Caring For Your Monkey

To keep it nice and clean was Mary's greatest hope.
So she washed her little monkey with the best kind of soap.

I've had this image on my pc for a few years, and never did find out anything more on it. Occasionally I run another search -- this time I found an old ebay auction. The listing no longer had the photo, but did have this information:

1. Mary has a little Monkey, just as cute as it can be,

It was covered with the softest hair that ever you did see.

2. To keep it nice and clean was Mary's greatest hope,

So she washed her little Monkey with the best kind of soap.

3. The boys all like Mary, and like her Monkey too,

And when they play so nice with it, what can Mary do?

4. Once Mary's Monkey got real cold That filled her with alarm

So she bought some woolen pants For to keep her Monkey warm.

5. Mary went in swimming and she took her little pet.

A wave hit in the "Good Old Summer Time"

and she got her monkey wet.

6. Mary now is married and it keeps her on the jump,

And between the man and Mary, her Monkey has to hump.

It's clear from these cards that Mary's attentions to her Monkey are about her own genitals. While most of us think of 'spanking the monkey' and other monkey euphemisms are about the penis, it's rather clear that this was not always so.

I blame later periods when women were not to masturbate (which likely lead to the later "hysteria" requiring hysterectomies) for dropping the ability to refer to female monkey business.

The seller says they are risque arcade cards -- but they do measure 3 1/2 X 5 1/2 inches like a postcard.

Perhaps this information will help me find more information (and this time while the auction is still on).

Wow, racist Black Americana and a sex joke.

Hubby and I went to an auction, and won a box full of old postcards and photos. He pulls out this first one and says, "Wow, racist Black Americana and a sex joke."

I look at the card and am puzzled... "Sex joke? He's just feeling like the black sheep..."

"Look at the sheep's mouth!" he insists (his tone a mix of impatience and disbelief at my stupidity).


Oh

My

Gawd.

The black sheep is in the same blackface as the man.



"He's been screwing the sheep and this is proof," he exclaims triumphantly. (Not pleased at the imagery, is he, but rather he's glad my light-bulb finally went on.)

So much for me being the 'sex collector' with sex on my mind all the time, huh.

Well, it is my virgin experience with such an item.

Sure, I've seen variations on the old sex with sheep joke, but it's always been the Greeks who sheepishly become the butt of the joke. Not that I'm saying it's better to make jokes about the Greeks than it is the black people, but then blackface takes things to a whole other level. Just talking about this makes me uncomfortable...

Not sure I should even own it. Not sure who should. But for now, I do.

This card, published by Central Minnesota Novelty Co. (St. Cloud, Minn), number 190, also shocks me because is it postmarked 1954. The freakin' 50s?! If this had been from say the 30's, I wouldn't have been quite so shocked. Repulsed, yeah; but less shocked.

But wait, there's more!

We also found another vintage racist postcard in the box. This one depicts a little black boy behind a fence with a goose pecking at his, err, pecker. The text reads, "Early bird catches the worm."



A bit less shocking to me -- maybe because it's after seeing the other one?

...Then again, when's the last time you heard a black man's genitalia referred to as a small worm?

Published by Noble (how ironic is that?), of Colorado Springs, "A Genuine KromeKolor Comic Card" (I'm surprised they didn't make one more "c" a "k" to get the three K's), this one is postmarked 1951. It bears a copyright symbol and is card number 217.

World of Nudes

If you think the world lies at the meeting of her thighs more than in her eyes... Check out Vintage Pulchritude. (Found via Fleshbot.)

So good, you'll need a Nookey Ration Card!

A Day Late, But Not A Dollar Short (Thank God!)

I just got back from a day at an out of town auction and I had to post this right away!

I know it's a day after my anti-suffrage post, but damn if I can help the luck of the find -- and I think I am darn lucky to find this:

I Hate To See A Woman Do A Man's Work

Another thrust at male fears -- the dreaded lesbian! If she votes, she'll become one!

Even the elderly woman in more Victorian garb will turn lezzie if women get that right to vote.

No mark for maker, just 125 on the right side near the bottom (click to see a larger image and you should see it). No date, but is there really a question as to the time period? lol

At an estate sale, for only a dollar!

Suffrage & ERA Attacks

Anti-suffrage propaganda warned of the dangers -- tampering with men and women's 'natural' gender roles would lead to the breakdown of society. Here are some selected images...

In What, Dinner Not Ready Yet! What Have You Been Doing? the poor husband is left with screaming babies, burning dinner, cats in the milk jug, and utter chaos. He is additionally feminized with his attire, including a frilly apron. The wife returns home to find him inept, apparently denigrates him, and is literally shown wearing the pants.

(Very popular imagery for the anti-suffragists.)


Here's a lovely bit to send to your Valentine -- you know how I love these -- a postcard just making me feel worn all over:

If you will only marry me you can have all woman's rights
Such as staying up on evenings when I'm out late at nights
And should such things not satisfy the longings of your soul
You can wash up all the dishes and carry all the coal
As a really model husband I feel I'm bound to shine
So say that you take me to be Your Valentine

In the Suffragette "I told you so" postcard, (Copyright 1909, by Walter Wellman), a man and woman read a poser which reads:

"The Morning Suffragette Bulletin.
A New Era of Prosperity at Hand.
With the news that a suffragette has been elected as our next Presidentess, several flatiron and rolling pin factories have resumed on full time.
It is stated that 10,000,000 faltirons have been ordered by the new War Department alone."

Ah, yes, one of my favorites... Because male voters viewed their ability to pull a lever for a candidate akin to having their own levers pulled...

"Which Do You Prefer? The Home of Street Corner For Woman: Vote NO on Woman Suffrage"

Even women thought it was bad for women to vote. Every era has it's Phyllis Schlafly.



The image above is from this blogger, who writes that "Schlafly and others were able to exploit fears about the larger meaning of women’s equality, and a lot of those fears have faded." I don't see it that way. The ERA still isn't an amendment.

In fact, those against the ERA employed the same tactics of the anti-suffrage movement -- and for the same damn, tired reasons.



As with suffrage, the Equal Rights Amendment is all tied to the scary notion that women are equals. If women are more than or at least not limited to care taking roles for those with more rights, what will happen?

I'm so glad you asked, because here's a sampling...
Well, I certainly don't want the government, let alone this administration, in charge of anyone's children... But this is ridiculous.
Women in football?! The horror! (Notice hos she doesn't get any chest protection lol)
This one is not funny at all. Using the fear of unisex bathrooms as a 'progression' to rape. (Click to enlarge the image and see that the artist included a bit of newspaper clipping to authenticate his stance.) Disgusting fear mongering.

Still A Good Egg

I meant to get this posted on Easter, but I didn't manage it...

You can buy copies here.

Also, read about frisky sexy spring.

I may be late in posting, but I'm still a good egg (a rotten egg would have just skipped posting it at all).

You Just Wanted To Wrestle

"Don't talk to me -- You said you just wanted to wrestle."

I'm not sure, but I think this vintage postcard may be an error print... Not that it matters for the reasons I'm showing it here -- that's for the giggle. But I thought I'd point it out anyway.

The front credits the art to Michael Angelo, with copyright 1949 Dennis Delger, but the back says, "From an original etching by Wm. Standing. Noted Indian Artist."

I couldn't find any references to Angelo and Standing other than other copies of this postcard for sale, and the style doesn't seem in line with Standing's usual works. (I'm not suggesting the artist would be incapable of such whimsy, just noting that it is more cartoon like than the works I've seen -- including his sketches. I am no expert here.)

I find moments like this intriguing. As a collector I often find myself side-tracked into researching something or someone that I've never heard of before -- or wanting to know more than I do -- simply because of an object. While the Internet can be a helpful tool, I'm still so very surprised when there's nothing on Google. If it's not in Google, can it really exist? It must, for it's in my hand...

The temptation might be to think you have something very rare, simply because it's 'nowhere to be found.' But that's a puzzling thing because most of my junk isn't so rare... For example, this postcard is from 1949, not 1849, and isn't all that rare. If this postcard isn't rare, then why hasn't anyone else posted about the Michael Angelo/Wm Standing connection?

I have so many stories like this, where what I think will be simple research simply isn't. (Neither simple nor existing.) I must admit here that this can only make me more obsessive. I've wasted hours, days, on trying to find answers to simple things like this. To no avail.

Sometimes my husband rolls his eyes when I'm two hours into such a search (not that he should, he's nearly as likely to do so for his things) wondering if I've lost my mind (at least I acknowledge that sometimes I've lost my priorities for a day or two). But he's partly to blame: he took me to the auction, the estate sale, the flea market etc. Like the snarky feline on this postcard I speak over my shoulder, "Don't talk to me -- you said you just wanted to bid on some stuff."

We both knew what would happen if we did. ;)

I don't think I'm alone here in my urge to quest. Most collectors' purpose or interest surpasses just questing for the objects and goes to the larger picture or context of the object itself.

In the scheme of things, this little innuendo postcard isn't important. On its own it's amusing and I'd like to keep it -- and when added to the rest of my risque-to-naughty collection, it sure provides a fuller picture of things. But the matter of who drew it isn't as important to all of that. At least not to my collection's story. But I just like to know...

And as a collector, I know these details are part of its value; the whole collection's value.

So, if you know anything, let me know.

It's number 45 in a series by Western Stationary Co., Yachats, Oregon, if that helps...

Mouth Made For Pie; I Could Just Die

An old postcard I got this week... This one reads:

If all the world was made of pie
I could be happy, quite
You see this little mouth I have
For pie is built just right.


Around the boy/man is a dotted circle -- just begging for me to cut or punch it out. (I won't; but I want to.)

Of course, it could just be my dirty mind which makes me think this vintage naughty. (Maybe the circle is nothing but a design... And maybe pie is just a tasty pastry treat.) But I was laughing so hard at this, I had to buy it. A whopping US dollar. Now that's priceless, MasterCard.

The only marking is a 'G' in the lower left corner. If you know more about this gem, please let me know!

Valentine's Day Warning Postcard

This Valentine greeting sends a warning...

Behind the all-business, matronly suffragette's raised fist there is a heart wearing a pair of pants (with suspenders making an 'X'), with "Back to the background" beneath it.

The postcard's text reads:

Be careful, men, of the advocate
of woman's rights in the single state
If you marry one,
your trouble's begun--
You'll count for less than half your weight!

Clearly an anti-suffrage card to be sent on Valentine's Day to express love -- and protective instincts towards -- one's 'brother'.

This Valentine Greeting, is dated 1906, © Raphael Tuck & Sons' Valentine Post Card, Series No. 5.

Raphael Kirchner

Lovely art by Raphael Kirchner.

I just love this image with the doggie -- I have one who looks just like it!

I found the image digging around in the vintage newsgroups. There was no information, but with Kirchner's name on it, I am certain it was an old postcard.

I'm off to ebay to see if I can find the real postcard or print... But before I go, some info on Kirchner...

Raphael Kirchner was born in Vienna in 1876 and attended the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in the city. He went to Paris at the turn of the century, where he remained until the outbreak of war in August 1914. Then he moved to the United States.

Kirchner produced a wide variety of postcards in Europe, but is chiefly renowned for his erotic illustrations which are very much like more modern pin up girls. Kirchner's "Geisha" series was the most successful. It was reprinted four times, for a total of 40,000 copies.

While he produced in excess of 1,000 postcards during his short lifetime, his postcards cards are not commonly found in America because Kirchner died on August 2, 1917, (in New York) when was just 41 years old.

Collectors may still find Kirchner postcards. To help date them, use these tips:

* The earliest cards have undivided backs. They are also recognized by a strong art nouveau style and chromolithograph printing.

* The middle period always has the title of the individual postcard printed on the back, in French.

* The late period cards have the publisher's name on the front of the card. (Usually Burton or Alpha.)

Get Raphael Kirchner posters.

**Addition/Update**

I found it! But it's not cheap... poo

"Everybody's Doing It!"

Circa 1910, this postcard claims "Everybody's Doing It!"

In it, a balding middle-aged man composes a telegram. He writes: "Dear Wife - Can't get home for dinner tonight. Detained on business."

It's rather clear that the pretty young female companion is the "business" at hand, or the "it" everyone is doing.

I'm not certain if the intent is to mock the man or the woman, or even the poor wife, but the woman sure seems to be the least reduced to a poor stereotype (the poor waiter and telegram boy are obviously not treated as well).

Vintage Risque Postcard: The Morning After

With a copyright of 1905, this postcard certainly defies most of our opinions on those prudish folks at the turn of the century -- or does it?

Even without the title "The Morning After", this postcard sends a rather clear message of dirty impressions...

The couple appear to be under a boardwalk, neither wears a wedding band, and the physical proximity suggests an intimacy beyond 'Sir' and 'Miss'.

However, there is more to this card.

The body language, especially the faces, leads one to think that "The Morning After" is in fact a morality lesson. While at least half of their faces are hidden by their hats, what parts of their faces that can be seen seem to tell the story of a woman who is less than happy... and he seems to be cajoling her.