Details
Title Joyous birthday [graphic].
Publisher United States : [publisher not identified]
Publisher UNITED STATES. 1935
Date [ca. 1935]
Physical Description 1 print : die-cut, color relief ; irregular sheet 4 x 13 cm (10 x 5 in.)
Description Racist, metamorphic birthday card depicting a caricatured portrayal of a Black man taxi driver and a Black man passenger, riding in a taxi. Scene, with the card closed, shows the exterior of a yellow taxi with blue and checkered trims. The passenger and driver, depicted with exaggerated and minstrelized features, including wide eyes and a circular mouth, look out their respective rear and front windows, and toward the viewer. The passenger wears a bowler hat and the driver is in a uniform, including a cap. A suitcase is strapped to the top and a a spare tire is attached to the rear of the vehicle. Scene, with card opened, shows the rear door of the car open and the passenger, attired in a pink plaid suit, seated on a blue car seat, and holding a pot with three flowers on his lap. The trim of the taxi is pink.
Notes Title from item.
Date deduced from the visual content.
Printed in the vernacular on inside front cover: When yo' Birf'day rolls around. May it find yo' Up to Snuff,' And may it bring de best ob joys. Now ain' dat Fare enuf?
Printed on verso: Made in U.S.A.
Manuscript note on verso: Hoping you have many more Happy and Joyous Birthdays to come. Ruth.
RVCDC
Gift of James Hill.
Subject African American men -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Flowers.
Passengers.
Racism in popular culture.
Taxicab drivers.
Taxicabs.
Genre Birthday cards -- 1930-1940.
Metamorphic pictures -- 1930-1940.
Relief prints -- Color -- 1930-1940.
Location Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| ephemera - Cards - Birthday [P.2021.26.2]
Accession number P.2021.26.2