Creator |
Chicago Picture Co. |
Title |
I'm a masher [graphic]. |
Publisher |
[Chicago] : Chicago Picture Co |
Publisher |
ILL. Chicago. 1882 |
Date |
[ca. 1882] |
Physical Description |
5 prints : chromolithographs ; sheet 11 x 8 cm (4.5 x 3 in.) |
Description |
Set of five collecting cards depicting African Americans, portrayed in racist caricature with grotesque facial features, to
satirize womanizing, courtship, marriage, and fatherhood. Includes (1) "I'm a Masher" showing a dapperly-dressed African American
man, attired in a derby hat, a red bow tie with yellow polka dots, a yellow waistcoat, a blue jacket, and a watch fob, holding
up a swagger stick, as well as cigarette that he smokes; (2) "I've Made a Mash" showing the "masher" in a close embrace with
a stylishly-dressed African American woman, attired in a red dress with black polka dots, gold drop earrings, and yellow gloves;
(3) "I'm Married" showing the couple on promenade with the woman, attired in a red dress with a yellow bow, a yellow and red
hat, and white gloves, and the man, smoking a cigarette, and attired in a green bowler hat, a red ascot with shiny cravat
pin, a blue jacket with a yellow flower boutonniere, a matching yellow with gray striped waistcoat and pants, and red gloves;
(4) 'Home Sweet Home" showing the man, attired in a white collared shirt and blue-striped pants, seated with a look of anguish
and surrounded by his six small children; (5) "Dady's [sic] Dead" showing the children as older and dancing around their father's
grave adorned with a headstone inscribed "To the Memory of the Masher." Masher was a later 19th-century slang term for a womanizer,
known for garish clothes and a vulgar manner.
|
Notes |
Copyrighted. |
|
Series no. printed in upper right corner. |
|
Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation. |
|
RVCDC |
|
Description revised 2021. |
|
Access points revised 2021. |
|
Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the
Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
|
Biographical / historical note |
Chicago Picture Co, a Chicago publishing firm of advertising card and novelties, was active circa 1881-circa 1883. |
Subject |
African American children -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
African American men -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
African American women -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
African Americans -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Couples. |
|
Dance. |
|
Fathers. |
|
Graves. |
|
Hugging. |
|
Marriage. |
|
Racism in popular culture. |
|
Womanizers. |
Genre |
Chromolithographs -- 1870-1880. |
|
Collecting cards -- 1870-1880. |
|
Satires (Visual works) -- 1870-1880. |
Location |
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| GC - Genre [P.2012.25.1-5] |
Accession number |
P.2012.25.1 |
|
P.2012.25.2 |
|
P.2012.25.3 |
|
P.2012.25.4 |
|
P.2012.25.5 |