Intolerance has, for some reason, enjoyed leaving behind a well chronicled trail of ephemera. The "real" photos of the hangings of black men in the American south, the anti-Jewish manuals done by Henry Ford are classic examples of books, photo- graphs, and pamphlets which were nothing but downright hate mongering. These have not only survived but are avidly collected.
Have you ever seen on the back of a postcard, or pamphlet the words "selected clientele"? That meant no Jews, Blacks, or any other undesirable group that management did not want to hobnob with their elite, very white guests, should not even dream of trying to stay there.
Ethnic groups were not the only ones to be discriminated against. Ever wonder why school teachers were unmarried women? If she got married, she lost her job. It's as simple as that. It was believed that a married woman was not "fit" to teach school. It would be interesting to know just what the town fathers who decided this meant. That a woman took leave of her senses and intellect when she got married?
Stereotypes show up in many ways. At the turn of the century, it became extremely fashionable and accepted to send Vinegar Valentines or penny dreadfuls, because they cost a penny.
Actually, they had started well before then and were the catalyst for changing how part of the postal service worked. Previously, the person receiving the mail paid for the postage, not the sender. With the advent of penny dreadfuls, it became a case of insult added to injury if you got a rather nasty missive and had to pay the mailman for the privilege of receiving the insult!
There were all types of personalities and professions that were ripe for this type of abuse. Just as lawyer bashing is popular today, it was just as popular at the turn of the century.
"Where there's a will there's a way. To break it, the legal sharps say"; and, "Between you and me, A contingent fee is a case of "The devil to pay!" or "The Law's majestic course you trail; With rant and jesture, war and wail; In accents wild you tell your story; And think that this is "Oratory."
Times don't change all that much. School teachers didn't always have adoring pupils who sent sugary missives to pretty teachers. Spoil the rod and spare the child meant the ruler on the knuckles and perhaps the strap. This was a chance to get back at the old crow, but good.
"How Can you expect to Teach a School When all you know is the rod and the rule? We'd be willing to bet cents to dollars That you could Take lessons from your scholars" or "She thinks she is so wise no one can fool her Or further in Knowledge can school her: but, the truth to impart, She makes the boys smart. Briskly applying the ruler!"
Ethnic types also came under the crossfire of the acidic quip and barb. The dumb Irishman, the cheap Scotsman, the big nosed, money lending Jew, the subhuman Chinaman in pigtails who was good only for washing clothes and menial work, the thick lipped, semicivilized Black, the murderous Turk, all came in for more than their share of being insulted.
Some people sent the cards not to be hateful, but because they thought it was funny or they really believed the message.
"The beastly Old Turk swears he never will work But will loaf around his harem instead. He's a bum and a shark and he'll quibble and quirk, And he bowstrings his wives it is said. Oh a horrid old man is this Mohammedan With his concubines two or three score. T'would be a good plan if some likely young man with his corpus should wipe up the floor."
Pretty hateful and hardly socially correct today, but these were sent years ago and times have changed.
The butcher who sold poor quality meat, the social climber, the flirt, the taxi driver, the crooked politician or judge, all received cards which acted as a catharsis for those who had to live with the antics of these professions. Some made their bed of thorns and deserved it, while others were molded into that position by society.
"The exorbitant Prices you get for your beef Are enough to change any good man to a thief, And the cats and dogs which pass under your saw Will soon put you safe in the grasp of the law!"or "You pose for a grocer so swell But we're on to you full well; Your sugar's sand, and second hand Is all the stuff you sell." Some would think this was still appropriate to send to some grocery stores!
The earliest penny dreadfuls were a flat piece of paper which would have been folded and placed in an envelope. Some were actually hand done, or at least hand colored. The later ones were made as postcards which meant your mailman and everyone else knew you had received one.
Some of these ditties don't translate today, but others are timeless little gems. Certainly, the ones for doctors are dated and need to carry a line about
making people wait for hours!
"He comes to see you when you're ill, He gives you powder, dose and pills Your tongue consults Then feels your pulse and he is always dressed to kill" is outdated as is "Because you bought your way through college, You think you have sufficient knowledge of medical facts to hang up a sign, For which false pretense you should pay a fine."
Later with the exhibit or arcade cards that were bought out of vending machines, the graphics were reduced to messages. "Hi Baby, Ever hear it said that some girls go places and do things,
and that others just go places? And that means, Tootsie, that with the bulges in your figure you're tops; with the figures in your budget, you're flops... In a bathing suit you are a fascinating eyeful but your I.Q. is a trifle. 2&2 makes 4; and too beautiful and too dumb make for dull evenings. Hoping it dawns on you." or "Dear Con Man, of all the strong arm roughnecks I ever met, you are the worst. You take a perfectly sweet girl to dinner and think you are married to her. Your stories are putrid; your jokes so bad any respectable person would muff them. Your worn out tin lizzie looks as tough as you do. It's a wonder the police let you run loose, you lop-eared hound. Any girl riding with you should take roller skates along. If I were a man I'd punch your ugly mug for you. If you ever show your pug-ugly landscape to me again, I'll call the police"
Must have been some dinner date!
Some of these passed good taste, were meant to hurt feelings, perform the task of cutting a person down to size, or to bring a person to their senses. Used properly, they could act as a social vehicle to convey messages, and this is why people have taken to writing and publishing their own. A revival of these dreadfuls with a section to put in the senders and recipients name could be edifying. Prices on the sheet, pre 1900 types are between $20-$50 depending on age, condition, and workmanship (hand done). On the post cards $4-$12 depending on the profession, graphics and condition. Modern hand made ones can be quite fun, especially if sent to or from a public figure.