My Aunt sent this (you can enlarge by double clicking) to me a few years ago. My Aunt is 1/2 Italian. Her grandparents on her father's side were from Palma Italy. they immigrated when my aunt's father was 6 weeks old. They lived in North Beach, San Francisco, California. So, there is no insult intended by the postcard.I thought that this postcard was so funny that I kept it. I found it just today tucked away in a drawer. After I received it, it took my a couple of days to digest how really funny it was designed to be. If you look carefully, every one's eyes are a little "funny" from all the drink. The man in the middle seems to have weak knee syndrome from drinking to much and he is holding an axe. The man on the far right is holding a rifle that is broken open (I don't know the correct expression for when a person doesn't intend to shoot and the open the rifle so accidents do not occur), the woman on the far left is actually holding the camera cable but it looks like a cigarette, and the other woman doesn't look like she can move. Every time I look at this card, I laugh.
I have photos of my Grandmother and my Aunt's Mother pretending to be "layed out" in the parlor with Lilies on their chests. I have to remember that the camera was still a unique item for the average citizens to own. So like children, they played with it and experimented. I think that people took their amusements differently from "us". But they had as much fun as we do.
In this way, I can also enjoy their amusement and that makes me feel connected to the past.
1 comment:
I can relate. Guess I'm a wine snob, but I think this is pretty funny. We tend to think in "those days" people were always serious and upright. I am hoping they had as much fun as this photo portrays. Obviously, they had a good sense of humor.
Post a Comment