First, the Stars and Stripes with the American Eagle.
Next, the Statue of Liberty. If you arrive in the USA through the NYC Harbor (or just take a boat trip around), it's one hell of a sight. The Mother of Exiles - as she was originally called - was constructed for the US Centennial Anniversary of 1876. It was designed and donated by France. Moneys were also raised in the US and a poem - now very famous - was written as part of this effort (much more about the poem later).
I find the imagery around the Statue of Liberty breathtaking. It's not a statue showing military strength to scare the enemies nor to glorify American military strength. It's not a statue of a general or horseback nor of a triumphant arch.
It's a statue of a female welcoming the refugees. The word "homeless" appears in the poem quoted at its base. And while it is a statue of a Womyn, this is no Madonna focused on her child. There's no hint of subservience about her. She be powerful. The Statue of Liberty is inscribed by a poem written by a woman.
This statue's imagery runs counter to current thinking both from the American Right: Poor people: stay out of the USA! And from the Leftists: Historically, there's been no American respect nor recognition for women, they've been hidden by history.
Here's the inscription:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore....
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore....
Here's The New Colossus poem in its entirety by Emma Lazarus:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor
,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
One more Statue of Liberty joker. This one is from a deck published starting in 1912 published by Russell Playing Card Cards and Kalamazoo, It's Ru18, The Hochman Card Encyclopedia. P131.
Here's The Stars and Stripes. Not much more to say about her...I do like the way my image is reflected in this picture of the flag. I am a "Navy Brat" as in my father was a career Navy Officer and a Naval Academy Graduate.
Here's a joker of a classic war memorial. Cannons, cannon balls, muskets, and eagle. I feel like I should be able to date it from the munitions. Is it an Independence or Civil War Era memorial?
I'm now thinking about our National Holidays. What do they say about us? The American Government has created the following:
Memorial Day - Last Monday in May - To remember those lost in the wars.
The 4th of July - The Fourth Day in July - To Celebrate the Birth of our Nation
Labor Day - First Monday in September - To Celebrate Labor. The rest of the world does this May 1.
Columbus Day - Second Monday in October - Due to the recent public recognition that Columbus was a slaver and generally despicable, this is changing to either not existing as a holiday(stock markets now stay open) or to becoming an Indigenous People's Day.
Thanksgiving - Fourth Thursday in November - A harvest festival. To give thanks for something to someone.
Christmas Day - December 25th - This celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Initially held in the spring, it was moved to December about a thousand years after he died as part of cooping a winter festival in some land.
New Year's Day - January 1st - It's make-a-resolution and nurse your hangover day.
MLK Day - Third Monday in January - Celebrating Dr King's Birthday. Increasing, it is considered a day of service.
Presidents Day - Third Monday in February - To celebrate our presidents, it was derived from Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday.
It's interesting that Good Friday is not a Federal Holiday. There is also a less-celebrated Federal holiday worth noting: September 17, the day the Constitution was signed in 1787. In 2004 the day was designated as the mash-up of celebrated Constitution Day and Citizenship Day (and the previously celebrated I am an American Day). My source on all this is Wikipedia US Holidays.
I just wondered, if it wasn't the government that created holidays, would we have a different set of holidays? My personal preference?
1. I'd elevate Valentines Day and reschedule it to the second Saturday in February.
2. I'd also make Halloween the last Saturday in October.
3. I'd redo Columbus Day entirely and convert it into a Multicultural Day to celebrate and build understanding of our differences.
4. I would import The Day of the Dead from Mexico. My understanding is that in Mexico, everyone picnics at cemeteries as a way to remember, celebrate, and perhaps communicate with those that have passed on.
1. I'd elevate Valentines Day and reschedule it to the second Saturday in February.
2. I'd also make Halloween the last Saturday in October.
3. I'd redo Columbus Day entirely and convert it into a Multicultural Day to celebrate and build understanding of our differences.
4. I would import The Day of the Dead from Mexico. My understanding is that in Mexico, everyone picnics at cemeteries as a way to remember, celebrate, and perhaps communicate with those that have passed on.
OK, back to jokers. Or at least to reflecting on the significance to me of the symbolism on the jokers.
Here's a nice symbol: the Liberty Bell. It always reminds me of the old days when communities were more physically defined and an important distance was earshot. Bells were an important part of the community communication.
I've always thought there was a lot that should be said about the crack in the Liberty Bell. In my mind, the crack evokes the mistakes and shortcomings at the creation of the US. Even as Freedom started to ring and we talked about a government by the people and for the people, the bell was cracked but not totally broken. Got yet the symbolism that I see?
The first break to get addressed was the creation of a country based on the Articles of Confederation. It was a disaster. A little more than a decade later, faced with overwhelming problems including Shays Rebellion, many of the American leaders met in Philadelphia for a long hot summer. They had been convened to amend the Articles of Confederation. Instead, largely in secret, they fomented a new revolution, this time scheming to replace the existing American "United States" system with a new Federally-focused American constitution. It was treasonous, it was risky, and it was successful. They created the US Constitution.
But the Liberty Bell was still cracked. No freedom at all for Blacks (or other non-white races). No voting rights for women or for men who weren’t landowners. A pretty limited view of democracy. The original constitution had no mention of civil rights at all. This flaw of the constitution was fixed as a condition of most states adopting the Constitution: the addition of a Bill of Rights.
Flaws that were later recognized and fixed in the constitution including recognizing that all Americans had the right to vote and protection under the law including all genders and all the races. I wonder if we'll fix more flaws soon perhaps to improve our representation of voters.
I'd love to see some progress increasing the separation of state and religion. I've wondered all my life why our money is not inscribed with "We the People" rather than "In God We Trust." The addition of "In God We Trust" is relatively new: it was added in the 1950s as part of fighting the godless commies. This movement also added “under god” to the Pledge of Allegiance. I think it's wrong-headed and I'd love to see my generation, the Boomers, fix it before we pass on. Specifically, we should maintain a strict separation between our government and any support or mention of religion. This is the true American way as embodied in the Constitution. I worry that we'll backtrack on a women's right to choose? The Liberty Bell's cracks remain. (addition - this was written in 2020 before the devastating reversal engineered by the Supreme Court and many States).
This joker, which I show front and back, is from the 1904 St Louis World's Fair.
I like to see (maybe I should create it) a TV series on the World Fairs since each of them were so rife with stories. There is a best seller book set in Chicago World's Fair (Devil in the White City). Well-known buildings left over from these world's fairs includes:
- the Crystal Palace in London from the first World Exposition in 1851 (there's a really great episode of the TV series on Victoria which tells the story of how Prince Albert championed and inspired this Exhibition to an astonishing level)
- Trocodero Palace in Paris for the 1871 World's Fair
- Eiffel Tower in Paris for the 1889 World Exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution
- Much of the city of Chicago?
- The 140 foot high Unisphere (stainless steel model of the earth) built for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
- Much of the city of Chicago?
- The 140 foot high Unisphere (stainless steel model of the earth) built for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
More US Exposition jokers in my collection:
This is the start of the general inventory of my Americana jokers. They are shown largely as they are stored in three ring binders, nine to a page.
The joker on the right of the middle row celebrates A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as The Chicago World's Fair held from 1933 to 1934.
The joker on the middle row on the left above (shown again below) cites winning in the 1878 Paris Exposition. The New York Consolidated Card Company won a Gold Medal for best playing cards in the 1878 Paris Exposition.
Congress Playing Card Jokers |
This concludes the Americana joker section. Want to see more jokers?
The Americana jokers, a subsection of the travel section, is closely related to the Real People / Americans section, American politicians (that's a different part of the collection), American scenery travel jokers, and entertainers like Elvis or Sports Figures. Note the World Exposition Jokers.
There are sections that focus on American people. Subsections include:
- American people
- Cowboys
- Native Americans
- People of Color (not all American)
Here's a summary of the travel subsections of the joker collection: now all online although often not updated
- Vehicles
- Americana (this article) Also, Congress Joker section
- American scenery
- Non US Places
- Maps
- International people types
Here's a link back to the overall joker organization.
Columbian Exposition Souvenir playing cards, G.W. Clark, Chicago, 1893. The joker shows two medallions and the words "Columbian Souvenir Playing Cards". https://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/columbian-exposition-1893
ReplyDelete1904 St. Louis World's Fair Aluminum Playing Cards Deck With original Case.
ReplyDeletehttp://playcards.bonnum.com/price_photo.php?ind=playcards_2017-3-4_1_7