Vintage Valentine Museum: cultural stereotypes

Showing posts with label cultural stereotypes. Show all posts

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Cultures and Ethnicity: Asian

Valentines, like other vintage ephemera, often reflected attitudes of the day that may not be comfortable viewing today. The cards shown on this page reflect the cultural and racial prejudices of their day employed as comic fodder and light entertainment. Some cards may be more problematic than others. It is easy to forgot how pervasive this type of stereotypical imagery was in popular culture in the last century. Items like these as mundane, everyday, fare are not that far in our past, nor entirely vanquished. As relics that tell the story of our past, warts and all, we present these images in the Vintage Valentine Museum so we cannot forget how we got to the place we are now.

Have I a Chinaman's chance to be your Valentine.

5" x 3 5/8"
dated 1937
Mechanical Flat
Marked: Made in U.S.A.
no other publisher's marks

You are my NUMBER ONE Valentine.

3 1/8" x 4 3/8"
circa 1950s, 1960s
Flat
marked: made in U.S.A.
no other publisher's marks

Got a YEN for a velly nice Valentine How about me?

7" x 2"
circa 1960s
Flat
made in USA

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Artist - Bonte: Marie Louise Quarles and George Willard Bonte

I'm Yo' Valentine

6 3/4" x 4 1/2"
circa 1890s - 1910s
Standing Flat with 3-D Feature
moving eyes are suspended on string
Signed Bonte
printed by Ernest Nister
E P Dutton and Co.
Printed in Bavaria
marked: No. 1889

It is unusual for one of the cards published by Nister to retain the artists mark as this card does. Nister was a lithographer based in Nuremburg, Germany with offices also in London, England. E. P. Dutton was the exclusive agent for Nister in the USA.

Marie Louise Quarles Bonte and George Willard Bonte are probably best known for their book ABC in Dixie - A Plantation Alphabet, published in 1904 by Ernest Nister. Book News - An Illustrated Magazine of Literature and Books, Vol 23, September 1904 - August 1905 (p 236) described it as "An alphabet of exaggerated negro pictures in garish color, printed in Germany, giving closely the German view of negro aspect." Nister produced a postcard series based on the book. Be careful in purchasing those as there is a reproduction of the series as well as the Nister originals. The book is quite difficult to find completely intact. Its scarcity and shocking nature to today's sensibilities make any full copies something of great interest and therefore of some value, to a variety of collectors. The Nister card shown above features a character quite similar to those seen in this particular book.

George also did a 1905 calendar (another work published by Nister) called The Coon Calendar for 1905. In an ad for Dutton's calendars in The Churchman, Volume 90 of Dec 3rd, 1904 The Coon Calendar is described as: "Thirteen pages of humorous negro types by Willard Bonte. One of the best and most humorous ideas of the year."

Willard Bonte did other solo work including 1904's Fun and Nonsense, which featured anthropomorphic characters. He is credited with both the illustrations and the writing for it. He did other such personified characters for Raphael Tuck. An image from his book Sandman Rhymes (also from 1904 - quite an industrious year for Bonte) makes an appearance in Tuck's Coupling Pin post card series from the 1920s.

Bonte was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 16th, 1873. By 1899, he was an artist on the staff of Outing Magazine. He was by this time living in New York, New York. Bonte dabbled in political cartooning, including an image with poem in the Lexington Herald of May 1916, regarding German U-boats in support of the US entering WWI. Much of his time was undoubtedly consumed by his role as Art Director of the New York Herald from 1906 - 1920. He died March 3, 1946 after seeing the world emerge from yet another massive war.

To Greet me Valentine

4 7/8" x 3 1/8"
circa 1900s - 1910s
Flat with Easel Stand
Signed 'B'

printed by Raphael Tuck
Artist Series
Marked: Publishers to Their Majesties
I have not yet confirmed that this is by Bonte, but strongly suspect that it is.

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Sources:

American Ancestry: Giving Name and Descent in the Male line of Americans whose Ancestors Settled in the United States Previous to the Declaration of Independence, AD 1776, Vol 12 (1899), edited by Thomas Patrick Hughes, et al

Taking the Town: Collegiate and Community Culture in the Bluegrass, 1880-1917, by Kolan Thomas Morelock

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Wooden Shoe Be Mine? Dutch Themes

Be My Valentine - This Valentine's about as wee As any your bright eyes will see But still it's packed and loaded too With tons and tons of love for You.

3 1/4" x 3"
circa 1920s, 1930s
Flat
Made in USA
By Carrington
'A' in tree logo

Valentine Greetings I've got TWO LIPS to share with you ~ Like you? Why of course I do! I just thrive on liking you! I want to tell you so, what's more! That's what Valentines are for!

4 1/2" x 4 1/2" (4 1/2" x 9" opened)
circa 1930s
Modified French Fold
by Carrington
'C' in tree logo

Here's my Valentine.

4 3/8" x 4"
circa 1920s
Mechanical Flat
made in Germany

I'd be in DUTCH if I didn't ask you to be my Valentine.

6 1/4" x 7 3/8"
circa 1940s, 1950s
Flat
marked: 776/7
made in USA

Two Lips (Tulips) for you Valentine.

2 7/8" x 3 3/4"
circa 1930s
Flat
Girl in Wooden Shoes with tulips
Part of a series of cards of figures posed in front of a painting set on an artist's easel
marked: made in Germany

For my Valentine ~ Dutch kiddies look cute, but very queer So I prefer those over here For they are just as sweet - and fine As any foreign Valentine.

2 5/8" x 3 7/8" (3 7/8" x 5 1/4" opened)
circa 1920s, 1930s
Single Fold
Pair in Wooden Shoes with Windmill in Background
Girl with doll
marked: made in USA
Carrington ('A' in tree logo)
H (in a circle) 5009

Be My Valentine ~ Though clouded the sky and storm does whine, In my heart shines love for my Valentine.

9" x 7 5/8"
circa early 1900
by Ellen Clapsaddle
The same figures appearing on this die-cut card can be found on postcards
Card has easel stand on the back the bottom of which is seen above under the heart at their feet.