Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Object of the Day: Don't Cry Johny



Click image to make Johny cry.



“DON’T CRY JOHNY.” WE HAVE A NEW WHITE SEWING MACHINE, THAT WILL SEW YOU ALL UP SO YOU WILL STAY. 

“Don’t cry, Johny. We’ll misspell your name and I’ll lead you into a dangerous situation where you’ll not only rip your clothes, but, apparently expose your innards. But, it’ll all be all right. You see, we’ll sew you up when we get home. There’s a new white sewing machine with your misspelled name on it. It’ll fix you up so you’ll stay, Johny. Oh, yes. You’ll stay.”

Is it just me or does the little girl look like the Devil complete with horns?

No matter that Johnny’s bleeding so much that it’s coming out of his armpits. Mama can fix his coat and torn breeches just fine with her new white sewing machine.

And, that’s it. We know nothing more. We can’t really be sure if this Victorian card is advertising a new white sewing machine or a new White Sewing Machine or a New White Sewing Machine because of the capricious Victorian use of all caps.

The card is stamped by one Mrs. M. M. Wilcox of Horseheads, New York. Was she a retailer of white sewing machines? Was she a seller of dangerous sleds? Was she a devil? We’ll never know. 


The card was printed by W.J. Morgan and Co. of Cleveland, Ohio.  There's nothing on the reverse.  

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