Comic Postcards

"Thanksgiving Greetings." A nutty Thanksgiving postcard featuring a squirrel!

"The Revolt of Turkey. Bernhardt Wall. Copyright 1907 The Ullman Mfg. Co. New York. 2130." This appears to be a case of domestic poultry unrest rather than foreign political intrigue.

"Thanksgiving. A wingless steed will take the winner to a fine Thanksgiving dinner. C. Beecher. Copyrighted 1908 by Fred C. Lounsbury. 2088-4." From what I can determine, Tom Turkey is driving the winning football team to a victory meal. But does Tom know what main dish is traditionally served at a Thanksgiving dinner?

"'Rah, 'rah, 'rah, Thanks-giving!!! HBG." Is it a tussle on the football field? Post-game hugs? Or something else? I'm not sure what's going in this scene created by postcard artist H. B. Griggs and dated November 26, 1912, on the other side. There's no football visible, but the "rah, rah, rah" certainly sounds like a typical college football game cheer (see the chants in North American sports section of Wikipedia's Cheering article for examples).

It's somewhat difficult to see, but the caption, "The Kids from Butler, Pa.," is written in gold lettering across the left side of this postcard. Multiple baby cards like this were published in the early twentieth century. Printed on the back: "Serie 1525. United Art Pub. Co., New York." Postmarked Butler, Pa., March 24, 1910, and addressed to Miss Twila Daniels, Clarington, Pa. Unsigned message on back: "I love my wife but O you kid . You know who."

"When other lips and other hearts / Their tales of love would tell, / Remember, oh! remember, pray, / That l___s go to h__l. Needle-Points." Printed on the back of this postcard: "B.B. London & New York. Series N.P. 1. Printed in America." The first two lines of this quatrain ("When other lips and other hearts / Their tales of love would tell") come from the beginning of a song, "You'll Remember Me," from the opera The Bohemian Girl . The last two lines ("Remember, oh! remember, pray, / That liars go to hell"), however, are unique to this postcard, which probably dates to the 1910s. For the original song, see the full lyrics to Then You'll Remember Me on the Aria Database, or listen to John McCormack sings, "Then You'll Remember Me," from Balfe's The Bohemian Girl, 1916, on YouTube.

1er Avril. Tout mon Coeur. Devinez-qui? Google translation: April 1st. All my heart. Guess who? A French April Fools' Day postcard.

"Canoodling" plus "canoeing" equals "canoedling" in this early twentieth-century postcard.

Printed on the back of this postcard: "Th. E., L. Theochrom-Serie No. 1210|6. Printed in Germany." Postmarked Baltimore, Md., Apr. 7, 1910, and addressed to Miss Ella Killinger, Mongul, Franklin Co., Pa. Handwritten message: "How is your five o'clock beau. Just the same I guess. With love to all and from the girls. Our address is 2334 E. Monument St., Balto., Md. From Ellen Truer." Anyone know what a "five o'clock beau" might refer to? A boyfriend that you only see after work perhaps?

Oh You Lobster! With all your faults tell us why Our love for you, you can't deny. For other lobsters, see To My Valentine, A Lobster I Am and Always Will Be and Oh! You Lobster .

Even if ewe didn't do it on porpoise, please quit your lion! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) Punning humor from a 1910 postcard with an illustration of a lion (which itself is lyin' or reclining) that substitutes for the word lyin' (as in fibbing).

"What the pig tho't of the ghost." A humorous Halloween postcard published by Julius Bien & Co. in 1908.

For a similar membership card parody published as a postcard, see Independent Order of Hot Air Dispensers Membership Card (below). Buzzer's Hot Air Club and Grand Order of Windjammers This is to certify that Mr. ________ has been elected member of Buzzer's Hot Air Club and is allowed to expound his hot air at any time with police protection. A. Airmerchant. president.

"I'm all ears. Tell me all about it. Wall." A corny postcard by illustrator Bernhardt Wall .

Thanksgiving greetings from a wacky turkey with an Uncle Sam head! Posted for the Weird Vintage Postcards group.

I think this was intended to be humorous at the time it was published a century ago, but I'm not sure that it seems as funny today.

...except for the poor turkeys forced to carry their cooked kin upon their backs. A bizarre Thanksgiving greeting posted for the Weird Vintage Postcards group.

An example of postage stamp collage art on a vintage postcard. This clever construction consists of used U.S. postage stamps that have been cut apart and arranged to depict a colonial interior scene that includes a grandfather clock, spinning wheel, writing table with a quill pen and inkwell, chair, fireplace, cat, and two works of art hanging on the wall. Based on the issue dates for the Warren G. Harding stamp (1925) and the Yorktown sesquicentennial stamp (1931), the collage was probably created sometime in the 1930s. Although this postcard was not postally used (there's no message, address, or postmark on the other side), the glaring hole in the middle of the Yorktown stamp suggests that it was hung on the wall at some point. For some interesting articles on stamp collages, see David A. Norris, "Vintage Stamp Collage Postcards," American Philatelist , Jan. 2012, pp. 56-58, and Russ Hahn, "Postage Stamp Collage Art," American Philatelist , Dec. 2012, pp. 1120-32 (to locate copies, Google the article citations). For another example of repurposed stamps, see Easter in Stamps :