Two funerals and no wedding

New York Times, May 20, 1908. I don’t recall Yahweh signaling His opposition to May-December matches in Scripture, but in this instance He ostensibly sided with George Sterry Jr. against Sterry Sr.’s desire to take a second, younger bride.

Cruel stepfather

Chicago Inter-Ocean, August 11, 1874. It was strongly talked of, see? It was not the passing subject of gay badinage and persiflage, nor something obliquely alluded to in a manner that went over the heads of most. The talk of lynching was strong.

Mommy track

Savannah Tribune, November 9, 1922. Call me judgmental, but that is just plain bad parenting.

Rambunctious little shavers

New York Tribune, May 24, 1921. Maybe they were Boy Scouts earning their “Vigilante” badges. Well done, lads. Note how revulsion against wife-beaters trumps revulsion at the spectacle of youths physically tormenting an old man. The KKK reference is significant: the Second Ku Klux Klan is riding high in 1921 and was big in and around Akron.

Mean ol’ man Krueger

San Francisco Chronicle, December 20, 1892. I see this as an urban precursor to “You kids stay off my lawn!” It also exemplifies the mass acid attack, of which we’ll be seeing more.

Huh?

Detroit News, April 16, 1931. I find this cartoon funny precisely because I have no idea what the joke is meant to be. The tiny caption in the corner reads: “Is efficiency spreading in this young and going age? You might be surprised.” I gather that the gag relates to the notion that three years represents a long engagement, and is thus not efficient. But the dialog between the girl and her swain–”Any recommendations?”–is pure dada to me, likewise the blah, affectless expression on her face.

Ax of violence

Detroit News, March 27, 1931. Why does a stockbroker in Hawaii even own an ax? I can’t imagine he was splitting a whole lot of firewood. Plus he apparently had access to a perfectly good gun.

The way you wear your hat

Detroit News, April 4, 1931. “Hell no, grandma: It’s a pessary.”