"You're not safe in 1908--unless you have your (marriage) license. Leap Year. Dog wagon. Ma. Pa."
Tags: ephemera postcards greeting cards greetings Leap Year postcards cards paper printed Leap Year Leap Year Day Leap Day February 29 holidays women men daughters children mothers fathers marriages dogs licenses marriage licenses dog catchers animal control nets catching catches chases chasing pursuing run running safe safety dog wagons dog catcher wagons wagons horses lemons red green yellow humor humorous funny antique old vintage 1908 1900s illustrations
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"The Trap. One way of catching them—in 1908. Be careful, girls, this one will put up a fight! Leap Year. 1060."
Tags: ephemera postcards greeting cards greetings Leap Year postcards cards paper printed Leap Year Leap Year Day Leap Day February 29 holidays women men guns rifles revolvers axes knives traps dogs pretzels beer cheese drinks food catching lemons humor humorous funny comic amusing illustrations red green yellow 1908 1900s antique old vintage typefaces type typography fonts speech bubbles speech balloons thought balloons
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A Leap Year postcard from 1908. The song titles in the illustration reflect actual sheet music published between 1902 and 1906.
For a real photo postcard with a related theme, see Try This on Your Piano.
Try This on Your Piano—It Will Catch Him in 1908
Maybe it's a coincidence; but it certainly looks suspicious!
-- I'm So Lonesome [1904]
-- I Just Can't Make My Eyes Behave! [1906]
-- I'm Wearing My Heart Away for You! [1902]
-- Don't You Think It's Time to Marry? [1906]
-- Everybody's in Slumberland But You and I! [1905]
-- 'Way Down in My Heart I've Got a Feeling for You! [1904]
-- Dreaming [1903]
-- Every Little Bit Helps [1904]
Oscar.
Leap Year.
The Piano Proposal, or The Message of the Music
Tags: ephemera postcards greeting cards greetings Leap Year postcards cards paper printed Leap Year Leap Year Day Leap Day February 29 holidays women men pianos musical instruments music sheet music proposals marriage proposals lemons humor humorous funny comic amusing speech bubbles speech balloons thought balloons illustrations red green yellow 1908 1900s antique old vintage typefaces type typography fonts
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"The Man Hunt—in 1908. Leap Year. Ha! Ha! A butts! Foiled curse you! 1067."
Many Leap Year postcards from the early twentieth century depicted gender stereotypes that seem outrageous to us today. This series of comic postcards (see examples above and below), for instance, featured women using guns, axes, dogs, nets, and traps to capture men, who could easily be lured with food and drink (pretzels, cheese, and beer) or money.
The Leap Year lemon logo on each of these 1908 cards likely derives from the fad that began in 1906 or 1907, when handing someone a lemon was a way of saying "scram," "beat it," or in the slang of the day, "skidoo" or "23 skidoo" (for additional information, see my Skidoo 23 Is Now 37 postcard and Skidoos and Lemons album).
For more on Leap Year postcards, see Katherine Parkin's Leap Year Postcard Database on Monmouth University's Web site and Gwen Sharp's posting, Leap Year, Gender, and Reversing the Proposal Script, on the Sociological Images blog, Feb. 29, 2012.
Tags: ephemera postcards greeting cards greetings Leap Year postcards cards paper printed Leap Year Leap Year Day Leap Day February 29 holidays women men guns rifles hunting hunters hunts manhunts dogs animals lemons humor humorous funny comic amusing illustrations red green yellow 1908 1900s antique old vintage typefaces type typography fonts speech bubbles speech balloons thought balloons
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"The End of the Chase—in 1908. I surrender. Pa. Ma. Leap Year. 1070."
Tags: ephemera postcards greeting cards greetings Leap Year postcards cards paper printed Leap Year Leap Year Day Leap Day February 29 holidays women men guns rifles axes knives threatening gunpoint laughing lemons humor humorous funny comic amusing illustrations red green yellow 1908 1900s antique old vintage typefaces type typography fonts
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