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| Click image to see his glorious face in detail. |
Hi everyone! Sorry I’m a little behind schedule today. But, let’s get going with another fun and disturbing Victorian trade card. Part of the reason I enjoy these cards is because of the quality of the chromolithographs which are marked by incredibly rich colors and, in most cases, some truly beautiful artwork. Sometimes, however, as detailed and vibrant as the images are, they’re also a bit…peculiar when viewed with modern eyes. Still, for me, that’s part of the charm as I often find odd and offbeat things to be quite appealing.
Take, for instance, this card for Hickson’s CASH AND GROCERY HOUSE which was located at 113 East Madison Street, Chicaco, Illinois.
It wasn’t just a grocery store. It was a GROCERY HOUSE. I have all sorts of images in my head right now—a little Victorian house made of cheese and cold cuts with a door of bread and…
Well, I suppose I would have been very good as a Nineteenth Century advertiser. Perhaps that’s why this card appeals to me.
We see here, I very disgruntled terrier who has, apparently, been awakened from a nap. He is, after all, in bed. Isn’t he? He has, by his bedside, a large spoon/ He’s reaching for it, his queerly-human face, curled into a scowl.
Now, here’s where it gets weird. The green tablecloth on his bedside table is written with the words, “WHO SAYS RATS?”
Well, I do, unhappy dog, I say “rats.” “Rats” to you and your upsettingly charming hominid face.
And, now, I’d like to know what you have to say. Do you say “Rats?” Do you say anything? What’s going on with this poor australopithecine-faced dog? Let’s have a later-in-the-day caption contest. Amuse me. Answers in the comments section please.
20 comments:
This could be me when I wake up.
No, it couldn't. Because it's me.
Can't be either of you because it is the ancestor of the Shaggy Dog when poor Tommy Kirk played the role in 1959 in one of the cheesiest transitions anybody ever made from boy to dog and back.
But, that aside, why would some poor Grocer say "Splendid! I surely want my classy sounding Grocery House to have a motto that invites my customers to ask for Rats. I think I shall put them on special this week!" And then proceed to tell his artist that he wants to portray a dog whose parent had an affair with Lon Chaney.
Ha! Wonderful, Dashwood. And, so, true. He DOES look like Lon Chaney, Jr., Jr.
One must wonder about that slogan. Rats, no matter the century, never equalled fine groceries. Never, ever. Even the idea of rats is the antithesis of a desire to buy groceries.
You all know who I think it looks like.
Does she, too, eat rats?
An angry creature and the promise of rats is never good business.
Unless you're selling vicious snakes.
Now I have a craving for rats.
In your hair?
All I know is that I'm more frightened of Gene's mother in law than ever.
We all are.
That's a dog I'd like to know.
Me too!
I'm scared of it.
It can't hurt you anymore, Barb.
This is the sort of expression I imagine Finlay to have.
You're quite right about that, Marsha.
You know this dog just has to work for Bo Peep.
I can here the orders now." Just make sure you wipe your paw prints off the spoon, Spike. Bo Peep knows how to take care of rats. Those cheese eaters don't stand a chance."
Hooray! And Darcy for the win! Mafia Bo Peep would be a good movie or TV drama for HBO.
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