Having a Blast with Victorian Fourth of July Postcards

Small children handling explosives... People in powdered wigs... And young George Washington cutting down the cherry tree with his widdle hatchet... These are the images of patriotism in postcards from the early 1900s. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you today, as well as a special downloadable Fourth of July present for you. But we'll get to that later!

Just look at this kid...


The cherubic face, the knee socks with sandals, the knickers and about a half a ton of crackers and rockets. This fine fellow is prepared to do some serious damage. Why, he even brought a cannon. He's been saving up his paper route money for MONTHS to buy this celebratory stash. And is he ever going to get noticed at his parent's Fourth of July garden party-- oh yes! Mother will never forget THIS holiday.

Following the theme of small unsupervised children with things that go "bang," here we have Buster Brown and his sister...


At least this seems like a more manageable amount of firecrackers. The card itself reads;

With Freedom's soil
beneath our feet
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us.

The definition of "freedom" is: blowing stuff up loudly, apparently.

Now THIS little guy, he's not only got a firecracker larger than himself, but he's armed with a sword...

I guess if I were a little boy wearing a powdered wig, I might feel the need to be armed, myself; oh, the teasing! The teasing! And kids can be so cruel. The caption reads:

This is a day of memory
T'is freedom's jubilee

I love the colors on these cards-- vibrant, but with still a soft watercolor or goache quality to them.

Now here, possibly more appropriate for President's Day than the Fourth of July, we see young George Washington explaining to his dear old dad why the family property is now minus one cherry tree...


The caption reads:

"Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my Little Hatchet."

The card doesn't explain WHY exactly George turned to deforestation, but he does get points for honesty.

Now let's meet "Miss Columbia..."


No, she's not Columbia's contestant in the Miss Universe pagaent. She's the embodiment of the land that Christopher Columbus was said to discover-- the United States.

Here we see her proudly brandishing the American flag while carelessly carrying the cornacopia of prosperity along the way, likely leaving fruit behind her all along the parade route. She also seems to have some foot trouble... One goes forward, the other turns a bit at an unnatural angle. Well, hopefully it's not going to be a very long hike.

Lastly, we have Arm and Hammer Baking Soda's lesser known product Arm and Flag...


It never really took off as well as Arm and Hammer, and eventually was cut from the product line.

Okay, I'm kidding you. It's the strong arm of America showing patriotism in honor of the Fourth. The card reads:

Our Flag, the Flag of Liberty
The flag that flies for you and me
United by Right from day to day
The Stars and Stripes are here to stay!

Now I'd promised you a treat today, didn't I? Well, I've taken a few scans of these cards and made them into a downloadable PDF so you folks can print 'em out and use 'em for projects of your own. Decoupage? Mixed media? Whatever you choose.

Just click here to download the file now.

• And the last bit of business-- if you missed last Treasure Box Wednesday and it's variety o' goodies, click here.

• And for folks who missed the parade o' pyrex last Sunday, click here.

Me, I have a friend coming to visit for the long Fourth of July holiday, so if I'm a little late in posting next weekend, never fear-- the post is coming. It might just take me a little longer.

Hope your collective Fourth of Julys are a blast, my friends!