Friday, December 01, 2017
Wish You Were Here, from Fred Opper
Somehow the Mutual Book Company of Boston, a somewhat cheapsie sort of outfit I gather, got the rights to an Opper postcard image in 1905. Also rather odd that Opper, if he was in fact the author of the caption, chose to appropriate a very similar term to one popularized by his Hearst compadre, F.M. Howarth (Mr. E.Z. Mark). But I doubt Opper chose the caption, because I was able to find one other Opper postcard in this series, and that one appropriates the gag from a popular postcard series of the time "The Whole Dam Family". Seems like the folks at the Mutual Book Company were trying to play piggy-back on proven sellers.
The cartoon itself is a bit opaque to me -- I guess Opper might be saying that oysters served at a church fair are a good bet to make you sick (you're a Mr. Easy Mark). If that's the gag, it seems like the oyster might have been drawn to make it obvious it is noxious. This one looks like a fine upstanding citizen.
Labels: Wish You Were Here
Comments:
Mystery solved. Opper illustrated a book by Eugene Field ...
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tribune-Primer-Eugene-Field/dp/1530811309/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512167151&sr=1-2&keywords=Complete+Tribune+Primer
... which included a bit about how one oyster is responsible for all the weak oyster stew sold at church fairs ...
https://books.google.com/books?id=gkFLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=%22Eugene+Field%22+primer+oyster&source=bl&ots=cWBxeo-afL&sig=Bxkk70EGHF8lwV9vp6h2qyMaqZE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1--Xj6-nXAhWE64MKHZomD38Q6AEIRTAM#v=onepage&q=%22Eugene%20Field%22%20primer%20oyster&f=false
The Easy Mark is most likely anyone who buys the oyster stew this fellow is involved with.
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https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tribune-Primer-Eugene-Field/dp/1530811309/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512167151&sr=1-2&keywords=Complete+Tribune+Primer
... which included a bit about how one oyster is responsible for all the weak oyster stew sold at church fairs ...
https://books.google.com/books?id=gkFLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=%22Eugene+Field%22+primer+oyster&source=bl&ots=cWBxeo-afL&sig=Bxkk70EGHF8lwV9vp6h2qyMaqZE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1--Xj6-nXAhWE64MKHZomD38Q6AEIRTAM#v=onepage&q=%22Eugene%20Field%22%20primer%20oyster&f=false
The Easy Mark is most likely anyone who buys the oyster stew this fellow is involved with.
