Friday, January 10, 2014

Darned Short Enumerators

Rose Cecil O'Neill's "His Full Name"We depend upon records to reveal the “truth” about our pasts.

Yet sometimes records have anomalies.
Some are amusing or humorous.
Some are interesting or weird.
Some are peculiar or suspicious.
Some are infuriating, even downright laughable.

Yes, “Records Say the Darnedest Things.”

Records Say the Darnedest Things: Darned Short Enumerators

Maybe this is why the census enumerator had to ask the neighbors about your ancestor.

“In this illustration by Rose Cecil O'Neill (1874-1944), a timid census-taker queries Mrs. Grogan, the overbearing, pipe-smoking lady of the house, in her husband's absence. Asked for her husband's full name, she mocks Mr. Grogan's claim as head of household. Her ample size visually reinforces the point. A pioneering woman illustrator and author, known best as the creator of the Kewpie Doll, O'Neill produced hundreds of illustrations for Puck, some of which, including this scene, made fun of the magazine's largely male readership.”

Source: “His Full Name, 1900.
Published in Puck, August 8, 1900.
Ink brush and graphite.
Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature
Prints and Photographs Division
[Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]
LC-DIG-ppmsca-07919 (50).”
Digital image (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/cartoonamerica/cartoon-imaginary.html : accessed 15 December 2013), Digital Collections > Exhibitions from the Library > All Exhibitions > Cartoon America > Imaginary Worlds: Illustration.

1 comment:

  1. Love this! I had a Kewpie doll when I was little and Mrs. Grogan's face is definitely Kewpish!! Thanks for the smile today!

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