African American History Month: Higgins Soap, c1880s
To close out African American History Month, we present the following trade card (i.e., advertising cards) series, given away in the 1880′s by Higgins Soap. While it does have stereotyped dialect (and one use of “Sambo”), it otherwise (in my opinion) avoids a racist presentation. It’s especially refreshing, in comparison to other cartooned soap advertisements [...]
“Cupid & Crinoline”, Thomas Onwhyn 1858
This year for Valentine’s Day, we present the British fold-out comic strip booklet, Cupid & Crinoline. Published on October 20th, 1858, creator Thomas Onwhyn parodies the impediment to romance that the popular women’s fashion known as a “hoop skirt”, or, “Crinoline”, imposed. Click here to find previous Valentine’s Day postings. To complete the story (never [...]
Silk Hat Harry’s Divorce Suit
This being the time to shop for gifts, let’s take a peek at what the comic strip fan of a century ago, might have hoped to find waiting for them beneath the tree. And what better gift to begin with, than Silk Hat Harry’s Divorce Suit, by Thomas A. Dorgan (who went by the nickname [...]
Women’s Suffrage: Cartoons Magazine Centennial 1912
We’re approaching both Halloween and next week’s election. What could be scarier subject for male Republican candidates than Women’s Suffrage(given how often they’re prone to make the colossal mistake of letting slip what their true opinions are)? All pages extracted from the October & November 1912 issues of Cartoons Magazine. Click on the above & [...]
Women’s Suffrage, Loves, and Life: Cartoons Magazine Centennial, September 1912
From the September 1912 issue of Cartoons Magazine, above, a set of Women’s Suffrage cartoons, by Fontaine Fox, J.E. Murphy, and Oscar Cesare. Click on the above & below pictures, to view the cartoons in detail, and read their captions. Below, Teddy Roosevelt shown courting the women’s vote (women could vote in the Presidential election [...]
Nelson Harding’s 1912 “A Political Primer”, R thru W
We today conclude our presentation of artist Nelson Harding‘s ABC book parody, “A Political Primer”, making fun of Teddy Roosevelt. Found within the magazine-sized booklet, The Political Campaign of 1912 in Cartoons, collecting Harding’s cartoons published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. But wait! You may be asking, “What about X, Y, and Z?” Sorry. You’ll [...]
Olympic Games: Cartoons Magazine Centennial, July 1912, Part 8
For Opening Day of the London Olympics, we have a few cartoons from the July 1912 issue of Cartoons Magazine. Above, Uncle Sam, tired of the dirty sport of politics, looks forward to a diversion of the “clean sports” of the Olympics. Below, a rather racist cartoon involving Native American athlete, Jim Thorpe. Click on [...]
Women’s Suffrage: Cartoons Magazine Centennial, July 1912, Part 4 + Themes Revue
Above & below, from the July 1912 issue of Cartoons Magazine, are a couple pages of cartoons on the subject of Women’s Suffrage. Above, American cartoons, including one by Robert Satterfield; beneath, two views from the Italian comic publication, Turin Fischietto. Click on the above & below pictures, to view the cartoons in detail, and [...]
Women’s Suffrage: Cartoons Magazine Centennial, May 1912, Part 10
Above, from the May 1912 issue of Cartoons Magazine, a couple of pages on Women’s Suffrage from Britain (right) and Germany (left). Deliberately juxtaposed, I’m sure, for the fact that both make reference to prepping for war against the other. The British anti-suffrage cartoon, referencing using the suffragettes themselves as weapons of war. The German [...]
What Might Have Been
To conclude our coverage (this year) of Women’s History Month, we look above at What Might Have Been, by artist Henry Barkhaus. It was published in the San Francisco humor magazine, The Wasp, on November 15th, 1884 — shortly following the 1884 Presidential Election. The cartoon’s title pokes fun at “What Might Have Happened”, had [...]
