Sunday, April 21, 2024
Wish You Were Here, from Walter Wellman
Here's a 1909 card that was probably self-published by Walter Wellman. The gag somewhat depends on the postcard recipient being aware of an organization known as "The Black Hand", an old-timey name for what we now call the Mafia. The Black Hand was the subject of cartoon gags on a semi-frequent basis back in the early years of comics, so I was surprised to find I've only referred to it once before here on the blog, way back in 2009.
Thanks to Mark Johnson, who scanned this card from his collection.
Labels: Wish You Were Here
Comments:
"The Black Hand" was used for all kinds of secret organizations. I recommend Wolf Durian's Bill of the Black Hand, a young adult book from the 1920s, about a gang of street urchins who get into an advertising contest.
# posted by 
: 4/21/2024 3:36 PM
: 4/21/2024 3:36 PM
Mainly the Black Hand, or Il Mano Neri, was a terroristic group that specialised in kidnapping and extortion, leeching off their fellow Italian immigrants. Their origins were of course, back in Sicily, the Mafioso association prominently on display. The inky Black Hand print was a feature of their correspondence with victims; it represented the grasp of death, if said victim should contact the Polizia. Pretty much died out in the 1920s because of Mussolini's crack down of the Mafia.
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# posted by : 4/22/2024 8:31 AM
: 4/22/2024 8:31 AM 