Leap Year

"The Man Hunt—in 1908. Leap Year. Ha! Ha! A butts! Foiled curse you! 1067." Many Leap Year postcards from the early twentieth century depicted gender stereotypes that seem outrageous to us today. This series of comic postcards (see examples above and below), for instance, featured women using guns, axes, dogs, nets, and traps to capture men, who could easily be lured with food and drink (pretzels, cheese, and beer) or money. The Leap Year lemon logo on each of these 1908 cards likely derives from the fad that began in 1906 or 1907, when handing someone a lemon was a way of saying "scram," "beat it," or in the slang of the day, "skidoo" or "23 skidoo" (for additional information, see my Skidoo 23 Is Now 37 postcard and Skidoos and Lemons album). For more on Leap Year postcards, see Katherine Parkin's Leap Year Postcard Database on Monmouth University's Web site and Gwen Sharp's posting, Leap Year, Gender, and Reversing the Proposal Script , on the Sociological Images blog, Feb. 29, 2012.

"You're not safe in 1908—unless you have your (marriage) license. Leap Year. Dog wagon. Ma. Pa. 1063."

"The Trap. One way of catching them—in 1908. Be careful, girls, this one will put up a fight! Leap Year. 1060."

"The End of the Chase—in 1908. I surrender. Pa. Ma. Leap Year. 1070."

"Where did you catch him, May? In 1908. Leap Year. Hunting Season from Jan. 1, 1908 to Dec. 31, 1908. Game can be hunted with any old weapon--trapped, shot, or stabbed. Any huntress found with more than one specimen will be prosecuted under the laws governing the preservation of species. 1071."

"How to Catch Them—in in 1908. Build a large mouse trap. Disguise the front entrance as a palatial mansion. Take an empty flour sack, fill it with rubbish, and print a dollar sign on it. Hang on for bait. Scatter a few loose coins about the entrance for effect and await results. Leap Year. 1065."

"Leap Year 1908. I'm Yours. D. P. Crane, '08."

"Leap Year 1908. Be my chauffeur on the auto of life. D. P. Crane, '08." Leap Year postcards (above and below) from a 1908 series by illustrator Donn P. Crane .

"Leap Year 1908. Say you'll marry me or I'll press the button! [Button:] Burglar alarm. D. P. Crane, '08."

"Leap Year 1908. An Object of Dispute. He's mine. I saw him first. He's mine. He loves me best! D. P. Crane, '08." Postmarked Nov. 19, 1908, and addressed to Mr. Ross Thompson, Vienna, Ohio. Unsigned message: "Make up your mind quick."

"Leap Year. I saw you first!" Leap Year --when women are supposedly free to propose marriage to men--was the topic of comic postcards in 1908 and 1912 (see examples above and below).

"It's Leap Year. Sh-ss-h! Here comes one!. Dwig." Postmarked Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 23, 1912, and addressed to Miss Lettice Mitchel, Beaver Springs, Pa. Unsigned message: "Guess?" A Leap Year postcard by "Dwig," otherwise known as the American cartoonist named Clare Victor Dwiggins (1874-1958).

"Leap Year. Love me little. Love me long!"

"Leap Year. Between the devil and the deep sea."

"This is Leap Year, don't refuse."

"Leap Year. Running after a good catch."

"This is Leap Year, I want to propose; give me a chance before the year goes. 1912."