Up Stares, Down Stares

     This page seems to be having a run on Marital Woes postcards.  A really serious blogger would either settle in for an in-depth discussion of marriage in comedy through the centuries, or move on to some other significant topic, like “Are there regional differences in what people put into their devilled eggs?”  But weContinue reading “Up Stares, Down Stares”

Delayed at the Office

     Last week in this space, we considered a couple of the cartoon side effects of marriage: fighting about money and carrying groceries.  In checking my inventory of fascinating but somehow not yet sold postcards, I find another popular cliché about the married man, especially, the married man of business: the suspicion that his workContinue reading “Delayed at the Office”

Shop Around

     As you no doubt recall, we spent our last thrilling episode discussing how postcard cartoonists addressed the age-old question of how husbands and wives handled their mutual finances.  Here is another expression of a perennial joke, as mentioned in that essay.  (And, again, if you decide to hunt through the world for other examplesContinue reading “Shop Around”

Not a Chance?

     One of the most reliable gambits for the cartoonists preparing our postcards in days of old was marital discord.  And among the prime choices of causes for marital discord was one that just about any postcard buyer could sympathize with was financing said marriage.  Long before a genius noted that “Romance without finance ain’tContinue reading “Not a Chance?”

Spanish Moss: Legendary Legends

     When I received THIS wordy postcard, I checked, as I usually do, to find out how many other examples were for sale on eBay.  Hoo boy, as they say in Paris.  There were at that moment 1183 postcards featuring the Legend of Spanish Moss, at prices ranging from low to exorbitant.  There was aContinue reading “Spanish Moss: Legendary Legends”

Excuses, Excuses

     Well, we’re sneaking up on spring, or vice versa, and I’m sure you’ll remember that fine old line: “In spring, a young man’s fancy turns lightly to what the young ladies have been thinking about all winter.”      Postcards were never shy about romance, and the artists responsible for the images on postcards knewContinue reading “Excuses, Excuses”

They May NOT Be Out There

     I hang out with a number of Luddite intellectuals: that is, these are people who still read books and watch television, and wonder about some of the things they learn in these places.  But since they do not believe in allowing the Interwebs into their homes, they then tell these things to me, knowingContinue reading “They May NOT Be Out There”

Old Joke Archaeology

     The problem of dealing with archaic humor is that you often run into jokes which are amusing primarily if you know the context, and know something about the times.  That joke about why Santa Claus won’t bring you a television because he has so much trouble with antennas on the roof isn’t quite theContinue reading “Old Joke Archaeology”

Metal Millinery

     This blog does not really concern itself with current events.  I’m going for material with long-lasting value, not observations on the passing scene.  What’s that?  You feel my observations on butt jokes on vintage postcards is material which will live on for the ages?  Thank you; perhaps it will last at least as longContinue reading “Metal Millinery”