The picture we have today of American life at the turn of the 20th century typically involves heavy clothes buttoned up to the chin and tightly repressed inner yearnings. Everyone was unfailingly polite—failure to follow social etiquette meant being ostracized for life…and then, suicide. But this art-house movie version of history loses some of its credibility when you view actual bits and pieces of popular culture from the time, whether it be posters for bawdy Broadway shows or even pornographic photos. In this case, we have postcards that reveal an ironic sense of humor during a pre-Jazz Age era when everyone was supposed to be seriously earnest (except, perhaps, for Mark Twain).

Got any satiric postcards you'd like to contribute? Scan 'em and send 'em in!

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