Caption: Some Necks. All postcards are clickable to enlarge.
Caption: December 7, 1941
Caption: The New Orderlies
C O L L E C T I O N — These are satirical postcards Esquire Magazine published in the 1940s during World War II. The artwork is phenomenal, the sentiments brutal, the political correctness absent. Most of the major players are present, FDR, Churchill, Mussolini, Hitler and Hirohito I believe.
I wish I knew more about the Second World War, I'm sure there are tons of nuanced meanings behind every image in these cards. My dad fought in the war, (and also the Korean Conflict) but we all know that his generation never really spoke about their experiences during that time. He spoke about some of his friends from that period, but really never talked about the war itself. How I wish he was still here. I'm pretty sure if I asked well-informed questions he would tell me the answers, but I doubt he ever would have been truly forthcoming about his experiences on his own, ever. The hellish images in the minds of what has been coined as 'the greatest generation' must have been truly terrifying and traumatic. He was 20 years old when the war started; he lied about his age and joined the Navy at the age of 16 in 1938.
He was mainly in the South Pacific theater. In fact, it's too large to fit on my scanner, but I have a framed "Imperium Neptuni Regis" proclamation, initiating him into the "Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep" which was given to each sailor as they crossed the Equator for the first time. His ship at the time was the USS Chaumont, and they were en route to the South Fiji Islands according to the document. The date on this proclamation? December 5, 1941, two days before the Pearl Harbor massacre/attack and the start of the war for us. I found a bit of history of this ship here, which states they were on a routine mission to Manila, but we all know you can't believe everything you read on the 'net, lol. I'm looking at the proclamation right now and it clearly states they were on their way to Fiji. Interestingly, the web article says the ship left from Hawaii. If they had left at a later date, who knows if my Dad would have been at Pearl Harbor that day, and who knows if I'd be typing this blog entry right now. He was also on this ship, the USS Goodrich; I have two ceramic ashtrays with that name on them which interestingly also includes text in Greek fired into them for some reason. I have photos of other ships as well; it seems my Dad was shipped around a lot, Maybe most sailors were, according to the needs of the day.
Hit the jump for three more of these historical and politically hot postcards. Would a major magazine publish something like these today?
Caption: The Map Maker
Caption: "This damn winter is just another intrigue of Roosevelt and the international bankers. Detour on the Glory Road."
Caption: Il Duce
VERY interesting and SO SO SO politically incorrect by today's standards (which is EVERYthing is incorrect!)
ReplyDeleteI also find it interesting that you have so many things in your possession and that you are aware of them...and feel the importance of their place in your history (and the history of others.)
Well done!
Mare
VERY INTERESTING. I ONLY REMEMBER BITS AND PIECES OF THE WAR. MY MOM WAS A BLOCK CAPTAIN. WHEN THE ALERT WAS SET OFF, MY MOM WOULD TELL US KIDS WHAT TO DO AND SHE WOULD GO OUT AND MAKE SURE ALL HOUSE LIGHTS WERE TURNED OFF ON OUR BLOCK. I REMEMBER BEING VERY SCARED. OUR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS WERE GERMAN FROM GERMANY. SHE WOULD ALWAY KEEP LIGHTS ON AND MOM WOULD HAVE TO DEMAND HER TO TURN THEM OFF. THERE WAS ALWAYS AN ARGUEMENT BUT THEY DID STAY FRIENDS TILL MOM DIED. IT WAS A GERMAN THING.HER HUSBAND AND MY DAD WOULD DOWN A FEW BEER AT THEIR KITCHEN TABLE AND ARGUE OVER GERMANY AT THAT TIME. WHEN DAD GOT MAD ENOUGH HE WOULD JUST STAND UP AND SAY THANKS FOR THE BEER AND LEAVE. ALWAYS THE SAME THING. HE WAS AN ARTIST. ALWAYS PAINTING THESE BEAUTIFUL PAINTING OF EUROPE. WHEN GRAMPS AND I GOT MARRIED HE PAINTED A SMALL PICTURE OF A CREEK, CABIN AND TREES. IT WASN'T THE BEST PICTURE LIKE HE ALWAYS PAINTED BUT AT LEAST I HAVE SOMETHING TO REMEMBER BILL FROM AT THAT TIME OF MY LIFE.I ALWAYS WANTED ONE OF THOSE BIG PICTURES WITH THE BEAUTIFUL COLORS HE WOULD USE. IT NEVER HAPPEN,I KNOW IF I HAD ASKED ANNA FOR ONE IN HER OLD AGE SHE WOULD HAVE GIVEN ME ONE. HER HOUSE WAS FULL OF HIS PICTURES.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mare. Oh boy, I haven't ben BEGUN to post about the stuff I have. When I was a kid, as I've mentioned before in other posts, I wasn't well-liked by other kids, hated and bullied is actually the way I'd describe it. I ALWAYS enjoyed the company of adults more, so I sat and listened to my grandmother, my aunt and uncle, my parents and all of their friends. I was always polite and well-behaved, so I was always include in their luncheons and cocktail parties (until bedtime of course, lol). I listened and listened and just took it all in.
ReplyDeleteLike my entry on racial stereotypes and the postcards I have from that period, it's difficult to figure out how to present these items, but it's so important to keep them in the recorded history of this country and of all of us.
http://artandcolour.blogspot.com/2010/03/achingly-haunting-historically.html
Granny: I find your comments fascinating! Your personal memories are so valuable. To think of someone of German descent living in the USA during WW2, and how they interacted with other "americans" is something very few have knowledge of. I have several oil paintings OF Germany, the Alps in southern Germany where I was born, but in reality they border on the caricature, and were probably tailored to the visiting soldiers at the army base. I bet your neighbor's paintings of Europe were much more interesting. Thank you, again!
ReplyDeleteTO CONT. A LITTLE, MY BROTHER QUIT HS WHEN HE WAS 17. MY PARENTS HAD TO SIGN FOR HIM TO GO. THEY GAVE MY BROTHER SO WE DIDN'T HAVE TO LIVE UNDER THE NAZIS. PURE HELL IT WOULD HAVE BEEN. TODAY YOUNG PEOPLE DON'T HAVE A CLUE. ALTHOUGH HIS SHIP WAS HIT AND HE WENT OVERBORAD HE LIVED. ONLY BECAUSE ANOTHER FELLOW SAVED HIM. THAT'S THE ONLY STORY I EVERY HEARD OUT OF HIS MOUTH. THE MEN WHEN THEY COME HOME FROM WAR THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE SEEN. THEY CARRY THOSE SCARS FOREVER. DOES ANYONE REAL CARE TODAY WHAT OUR BOYS ARE GOING THROUGH? ONE FOR ONE WOULD GIVE EVERYONE OF THEM A HUG FOR TRYING TO KEEP OUR FREEDOM. THEY ARE HEROS.THE WOMEN OF OUR LITTLE CHURCH WOULD COME TO OUR HOUSE AND LEARN RED CROSS RULES. MOM PUT A BED IN THE LIVING ROOM AND I CAN REMEMBER THE LADIES LEARNING HOW TO BANDAGE A WOUNDED PERSON. THEY USED ME AS ONE OF THE MAKE BELIEVE WOUNDED.THEY WOULD TEAT SHEETS INTO BANDAGES. THEY SPENT HOURS LEARNING IN CASE THEY WERE NEEDED. I REMEMBER THE DAY I WAR WAS OVER. I WAS IN THE CITY STAYING WITH MY AUNT [MY SPECIAL AUNT AND UNCLE]. I WAS PLAYING WITH MY BEST GIRLFRIEND. WE DECIDED TO TAKE A WALK AROUNF THE BLOCK. WHEN WE FINALLY GOT TO THE LAST LEG OF OUR WALK WE WERE IN FRONT OF THE BANK WHERE THERE WERE PEOPLE RUNNING UP AND DOWN THE SIDEWALK YELLING THE WAR IS OVER. OVER AND OVER AGAIN. EVEN JANE AND I KNEW WHAT THAT MEANT. MY BROTHER COULD COME HOME SOON. YOU SEE THIS WAS MY OLDEST BROTHER THAT I REALLY LOOKED UP TOO. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BROTHER LIKE HIM EVER, EVEN THOUGH MY OTHER BROTHERS ARE MY SPECIAL THERE WAS ONLY ONE THAT PULLED AT MY HEART THE WAY HE DID. NEVER ONE UGLY WORD OUT OF HIS MOUTH TO ME EVER. HE DIED OF A TERRIBLE CANCER. I'M STILL NOT OVER HIM DYING THAT WAY BUT IT NEVER COMPLAINED. HE WAS A GREAT WARRIOR EVEN IN DEATH. I SLEPT IN HIS BED WHILE HE WAS AWAY UNTIL MOM OPENED THE HOUSE TO THE SOLDIERS FROM THE BASE NEAR US, THEN I SLEPT IN THE HALLWAY. SO MUCH MORE.
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
CASEY, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW BEAUTIFUL THOSE PICTURES WERE HANGING ONTHEIR WALLS. AS A YOUNG KID I USED TO KNOCK ON ANNA DOOR AND SHE WOULD INVITE ME IN . WE WOULD SIT IN HER LOVELY LIVINGROOM AND SHE WOULD TELL ME SO MANY STORIES THAT I DON'T REMEMBER.SHE HAD ON SON AND HE ALSO WAS BULLIED. YES, HE WAS VERY SPOILED AND COULD DO NO WRONG IN HIS MOTHERS EYES BUT I THINK THE WORST BULLY WAS HIS FATHER. MOSTLY WHEN HE WAS DRUNK. BILLY DID GET MARRIED AND HE MOVED TO ANOTHER STATE NEVER TO RETURN BUT ONCE OR TWICE. ANNA BEING GERMAN SHE WAS MORE THAN CLEAN. SHE WASHED HER HOUSE TWICE A YEAR BY HAND. I ALWAY THOUGHT THAT WAS FUNNY BUT NOW I UNDERSTAND. SHE COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY AMERICAN HATED GERMANY AT THE TIME THE WAR WAS GOING ON SO REALLY EXCEPT FOR MY MOM AND DAD THEY REALLY JUST STUCK TO THEIR OWN FAMILIES.BACK THEN, EVERYONE KEPT THEIR EYE ON ANYONE THAT WAS GERMEN BECAUSE THEY MIGHT BE A SPY. THERE WERE MANY I'M SURE. THERE WAS ALWAYS TALK ABOUT A COUPLE GERMAN FAMILIES ABOUT A MILE FROM OUR HOURS. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE OR [WERE NOT].I KNOW FOOD WAS BOUGHT BY STAMPS. SO MUCH SUGAR,COFFEE, AND SO FOURTH. SHOES WERE ANOTHER THING YOU BOUGHT WITH A STAMP. I THINK YOU COULD MAYBE BUY ONE PAIR OF SHOES WITH A STAMP ONCE A YEAR,PLUS THE MONEY IT COST.IT GOES ON AND ON. YOU NEVER THREW FOIL AWAY. YOU'D TURN IT IN TO RECYLE. WOMEN WORKED IN THE FACTORY WHILE THE MEN WORKED. ON AND ON.EVERYONE HELP AS THEY COULD.
ReplyDeleteI WORE SHOES WITH HOLE IN THE SOLE. YOU WOULD PUT A PIECE OF CARDBOARD INSIDE AND KEEP WEARING THEM. NOT TODAY, THE KIDS THINK WE OWE THEM. LITTLE SNOTS. LOL GRANNY
I JUST POSTED A LONG ONE BUT I THINK I LOST IT.WELL ANOTHER DAY.
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
beautiful memories, even the sad ones. Thank you so much for taking your time to write them here.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother and aunt were plane spotters during the war. There was a tall tower in our town, and the women could sign up to learn how to tell an 'enemy' plane from one of ours if they ever showed up. I have their IDs and pins they had to wear. They both worked in factories at some point during the war also, making ammunition and other metal stuff for the war effort. I still have some of that stuff too. My mother was a nurse, so she worked in the hospital in New Haven, but had many nurse friends that joined the Army to serve overseas.
My mother would have been 93 this year, and her generation was ALWAYS very thrifty. OF course we always thought it was silly that she would conserve and use things 'til the very end and then some, but now I see the value in it for sure. I'm more like both of my parents every year. I wish they could see that, because for much of my life all I could do was try to show them how much I WASN"T like them. I like to think that somehow they know though, and are smiling. Whenever I do something today that would make my mother laugh, I swear I hear her. Or when i buy the butter that's on sale, whether or not it's Land O'Lakes, i hear her chuckle and say "I told you so" because I ALWAYS insisted she buy the 'name' brand. Boy have I learned! : )
ReplyDeleteI don't think you lost that long one Granny. I have to click them so they post and I was just in the kitchen for a while. I'm going out for the afternoon now, so I'll get back to my blog around 5pm. I love your posts, every one of them. I wish I could bring YOU lunch today. We'd have a great time sitting around and talking.
ReplyDeleteI MADE ALOT OF FINGER MISTAKES CASEY INN SPELLING AND WORDS BUT IF I HAD TO REWRITE THE STORIES I'D NEVER DO IT.AS MY DAUGHTER SAYS, MOM IT IS WHAT IT IS.I DO MY BEST. YOU'D MAKE A MOTHER SMILE. YOU COME ACROSS ON HERE AS BEING A VERY GENTAL PERSON AND THAT'S A GOOD THING. I TRY VERY HARD TO BE KIND. I CAN GET PUSH OVER THE EDGE BUT IT TAKES ALOT. WHEN I DO WATCH OUT. THEN I GET OVER IT IN 5 MINUTE. I LEARNED A WHILE BACK YOU CAN'T TAKE WORDS BACK WHEN YOU'VE HURT THAT PERSON, ALL YOU CAN DO IS SAY I'M SORRY. THAT'S WHO I AM. I ALWAYS SAY I'M SORRY.
ReplyDeletei don't mind the typos at all, Granny. If you could only see the way professional AUTHORS send in their manuscripts. Sometimes it takes longer to edit a book than it did for the author to write them, but once a contract is signed, we pretty much have to go forward with the books. Maybe I'll do a post of some of the book covers I've designed one of these days...
ReplyDeleteI don't get mad very often, it takes a LOT. But when I do, I tend to write that person off for good. Life is too short for me to have negative thoughts. The "Sanborn" side of me, my mother's side, had feuds for generations with each other, and I definitely have that tendency. I think it's a way of not getting hurt again too though.
WOW!
ReplyDeleteI did a report in college based on western and eastern interpretations on animations!
And I got an A+
I know you like, and know your history, Woody! I actually thought of you when I posted these. I would have KILLED for a B+ in college. I was a pretty pathetic college student. I had WAY too many parties to host and go to, lol. Oh well, we live and learn!
ReplyDeleteI do miss going to those history classes and seeing my teacher in tight leather scream out profanity while using $10 words that your average MIT student never encountered.
ReplyDeleteIf you like these cartoons, maybe you should get your hands on Barefoot Genhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_Gen
which depicts the aftermath of the bombs being dropped on Hiroshima. For a cartoon that centers itself of nationalism, why do the character looks a bit occidental?
Now if i had ulterior motives like that for going to class it might have been another story, lol. I wouldn't say i 'like' these cartoons, they're just odd as hell to me, but I certainly appreciate their place in our history.
ReplyDeleteI'll check out that link. thanks, Woody!
These cartoons existed for quite some time. I believe
ReplyDeletethe Japanese started using them around some 1,000 years ago in Heian Japan to depict themselves, and once they saw "Westerners", their own images changed but perhaps this is an over simplified explanation. Tokoguawa and Meiji were also eras of assimilation as well. Maybe I will transform all of this into a next blog project..hmmm...
that would be a cool project, Woody. That's just what you need, more blog work, right? : )
ReplyDelete