Once again we merge our Theatrical Cartoons and Valentine’s Day/Romance series into one post, with the 1882 fold-out booklet, The Romance of a Hammock. This short tale of love-gone-wrong, was recited in comic verse by actor & producer Gus Williams (pictured on the cover in his role of John Mishler, the lead character in the play One of the Finest, by Joseph Bradford). The fold-out booklet promoted the play, which began its run in the early 1870s under the title Law in New York, and which was a comedy about the New York City Police Department. (Some of the above information, plus more about Gus Williams, the play, and playwright Joseph Bradford, can be found by clicking on the following link to the July 1, 2025 publication of The Critic)

Click on the above & below pictures, to open larger versions.

Later, a second fold-out version of the story was published - with recipes placed inside the open space in each panel (except, notably, in the panel where the woman has collapsed in exhaustion from cooking!) — to advertise Yarnall’s Spoon in Can Baking Powder.

Doug Wheeler

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