Thursday, June 13, 2019
Obscurity of the Day: Hints to Society
Robert A Graef produced three series for the New York Herald -- The Leap Year Society for the Getting Back at Mere Man, Hints to Society and a third we've still not covered here on Stripper's Guide. At this rate, I calculate we'll cover that last one around 2026. Stay tuned!
Hints to Society was Graef's longest-running series for the Herald, appearing from August 21 1904 to May 21 1905*. In it he makes tongue-in-cheek etiquette suggestions for the upper crust. Above we see him addressing a problem in the automobile's brass era -- riders wore much-needed dust protection in these open vehicles, and therefore could not tell which other high society folk they were meeting. Adding an etched calling card on the all but useless windshields of these vehicles allowed members of the 400 to determine whether they should greet or high-hat those in the other cars.
* Source: Ken Barker's New York Herald index in StripScene #20.
Labels: Obscurities
