Two rare 1920s ‘Outsider Art’ pen, pencil and ink on card illustrations.

Description

Black Americana, Folk Art, and Ragtime & Blues Music Interest.

The first of these two rare cards shows an African American man running down a suburban street clutching bird cages, one labelled as containing a mocking bird. He is hotly pursued by a policeman, who is shooting at him. Outside a shop called 'A. Mott's Bird Store', a man gesticulating at the thief follows the policeman, and another stands behind him looking bewildered. There's a wealth of additional detail, from a dog chasing a cat with a bird in its mouth, to a bird escaping from its cage, and a row of grim terraced houses or industrial buildings by a river in the background. The back of the card bears the first verse from a song beginning "When he sees a mocking bird these words he'll loud exclaim, That bird is a talking hen although she's changed her name, he also says a canary bird, is a chicken that's learned to sing..."

The second card (by the same hand) shows the same man seated opposite his wife at a dinner table, carving a roasted bird and spraying meat juices over his wife. A man stands behind them armed with an axe and a saw. As before, around them are a many details - broken cutlery and crockery lie strewn on the floor, a cat eats some discarded food, and a goat has a pie in his mouth. The back of the card bears the first chorus "Some birds are raised up for a prize, but a knife and fork make all one size.".

While I cannot trace the verse, the chorus can be traced to a popular Blues and Ragtime song 'All Chickens Look The Same To Me" which was written in 1899 by African-American songwriter Irving Jones (1874-1932) in 1899, to mimick and mock a song with a similar (intentionally racist) title by his fellow entertainer, the famed and successful Ernest Hogan (1865-1909). 'All Chickens Look The Same To Me' was recorded by in 1926 by African-American New York street singer Sweet Papa Stovepipe, whose real name was McKinley Peebles (1897-1985). Aged two when the song was written, he was 29 when he recorded it. You can hear him singing it here.

I am unaware of who produced these unsigned illustrations of the song (presumably), or why, but it may have been for educational purposes - to teach people the song. Alteranatively, they may have simply been somone's hobby. Whichever, they are extremely rare survivors of the time that speak very much of the day they were produced in.

First card 26.3cm widest, 23.3cm highest; second card 26.3cm wide, 23cm high.

Condition
Losses to some corners, dents etc, as photographed. Browning and some stains to the card, as to be expected with their age and presumaby through display and use.

Shipping
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