What strikes me is these guys do not quite appear to be the right age for Civil War veterans in 1888. i.e. they would have been a bunch of 20 year olds (plus or minus) in 1864, and so now are in the mid 40s. They look a bit more…seasoned than that. Then again, this was a era where bacon, whiskey, and cigars were their own food groups.
There were rallies like this all over the country in the late 19th century (apparently a tradition started in the 1860 election cycle, the ‘wide awakes’ being most notable). The New York Times has a headline about how one such rally in Brooklyn failed to fill the venue. https://www.nytimes.com/1888/10/27/archives/they-failed-to-fill-the-rink.htmlReport
Periodically, something like “Here is a picture of Ryan Seacrest at 45 and here is a picture of Lee Marvin at 40” goes viral.
I assumed Briggs was drawing something that was contemporary in 1918, rather than from 30 years before, and the name of the marching club was just a carry-over. The tall gawky one second from the right doesn’t look a day over 18.
This page from the Indianapolis Journal describes an 1888 event where there were many clubs of different names marching, eg the Railroad Club and the Irish-American Protective Club. At that event, many of the clubs had hundreds of men marching. By 1918, only remnants of past glory remaining?Report
i thought thay might be the case, but, they also look younger than people in their 70s. plus, “days of real sport” I’m pretty sure is always a flashback to Briggs’ youth (though usually also featuring kids and their activities)
Also, I doubt that Levi Morton was a particularly memorable vice President to warrant an annual tribute. e.g. wasn’t on the ticket for Harrison’s relection campaign.
Hey, fun fact, he *was* asked to be Garfield’s Vice President, but turned it down. so Chester “The Mustache” Arthur got it instead.Report
What strikes me is these guys do not quite appear to be the right age for Civil War veterans in 1888. i.e. they would have been a bunch of 20 year olds (plus or minus) in 1864, and so now are in the mid 40s. They look a bit more…seasoned than that. Then again, this was a era where bacon, whiskey, and cigars were their own food groups.
There were rallies like this all over the country in the late 19th century (apparently a tradition started in the 1860 election cycle, the ‘wide awakes’ being most notable). The New York Times has a headline about how one such rally in Brooklyn failed to fill the venue.
https://www.nytimes.com/1888/10/27/archives/they-failed-to-fill-the-rink.htmlReport
Periodically, something like “Here is a picture of Ryan Seacrest at 45 and here is a picture of Lee Marvin at 40” goes viral.
Skin care has come a long way!Report
I assumed Briggs was drawing something that was contemporary in 1918, rather than from 30 years before, and the name of the marching club was just a carry-over. The tall gawky one second from the right doesn’t look a day over 18.
This page from the Indianapolis Journal describes an 1888 event where there were many clubs of different names marching, eg the Railroad Club and the Irish-American Protective Club. At that event, many of the clubs had hundreds of men marching. By 1918, only remnants of past glory remaining?Report
i thought thay might be the case, but, they also look younger than people in their 70s. plus, “days of real sport” I’m pretty sure is always a flashback to Briggs’ youth (though usually also featuring kids and their activities)
Also, I doubt that Levi Morton was a particularly memorable vice President to warrant an annual tribute. e.g. wasn’t on the ticket for Harrison’s relection campaign.
Hey, fun fact, he *was* asked to be Garfield’s Vice President, but turned it down. so Chester “The Mustache” Arthur got it instead.Report