Vintage Pix | Courtship & Spooning

Courtship
Couple in Love (20K animation)
Spooning

Spoon: to make love by caressing, kissing, and talking amourously (probably from the Welsh custom of an engaged man's presenting his fiancée with a spoon)

posted 26 July 1998 - updated 13 Nov 2004
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	Spooning in the Moon (1907 postmark) This young woman demonstrates how to handle the beau who gets too fresh.
	Two Tablespoons (1910 postmark) When the table must do For love's fond commune The absence of chairs Makes a fine Table Spoon Hey, get back in your chair, buddy! It's a sappy image, but I actually like it because of the celery dish on the table behind him.
	Let us come to the point. (1912 postmark) The card was sent to Albert Hendricks of Pine Village, Indiana, by Anna, who added to the caption the word "now." Her message is pretty tame: Hello Albert. How are you? Say, that card was just fine. I had almost forgot that it was leap year. How does this one strike you. Laura said tell you hello. Your friend Anna. This and the following card are from the same publisher, and appear to have the same models (or at least the dress looks the same). Notice how they decorously hold the tennis racket between them.
	A watched pot never boils-- (1911 postmark) The fuzzy focus is in the original image. Details in the photograph, such as facial features and hair, appear to have been highlighted by hand at some point in the printing process. I love all the kitchen details, but what the heck are the couple sitting on? It looks like an overturned canoe! UPDATE Nov. 2004 - I was looking through a book that I have had for over 20 years (long before I started collecting postcards), and I found a picture of another postcard showing the same couple seated on the same object but in an overstuffed Victorian parlor. I'm not sure whether my postcard just shows their image cut out of one and pasted into the kitchen or whether they just reused the same props on different sets. One of these years I will scan in the other image...
	Ten O'Clock (1907 copyright) Besides the expression on the startled swain's face, I love the stern mother in her nightdress and the interior details of the pocket door, bell pull, and the decor in the corner behind the lovers.
	Ye Book of Wisdom Never tempt a perfect lady to drink she may accept: with embarrassing results. (1911 postmark, signed art by Ryan) After ordering three bottles of champagne, the hapless suitor has been presented with a bill for $16 and only has $10. He's sweating, but the perfect lady remains serene. Here's a detail of the right page.
	Aw Go To -- We're Busy. (1913 postmark, art probably by Ryan) At first I didn't notice that a parrot was saying the words. This hapless suitor (who bears a strong resemblance to the gentleman pictured above) has arrived too late to woo. Note the couple demonstrating the intended use of a love seat. The handwritten note reads, "How's this for being busy?"
	"Just a Cousin o' Mine" (1907 copyright) Is this what they mean by "kissing cousins"?
	I am Desperate Desmond and you will be mine yet. (1912 postmark) An ancestor of Snidely Whiplash? He has the crook of his cane hooked around the neck of his intended amour.
	Hold me just a little bit tighter (copyright 1909) Bamforth & Co. Publishers Series No. 1539 Potential perils of courtship? This appears to be a retouched photo, and I think the "lady" in pink is actually a male model. (Compare with the wife in this post card from the same publisher.)

On Love, Courtship and Marriage, excerpts from a Victorian book on letter-writing etiquette at Miss Mary's Emporium

Historical Research in SE Wisconsin

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