This is for all the historical comedians out there …
Seeing the illustration above, titled “The Naughty Boy,” in Lauren’s post Slate, Before the Hype started me wondering what led up to this scene. There has to be a good story here. The sulky pout. The curls and the dress (which to modern eyes appear gender-bending). This scene cries out for creative description.
Wow us with your best tag lines and the readers of Past is Present will vote for their favorite (I’ve added a thumbs-up function to the comments section). Keep coming back to vote! Next week we’ll announce the winner of another of our antiquarian-glory-only prizes. And who knows? Maybe we’ll post a few other fun images that have come across our desks recently.
(Check out the results in our later post, The Antiquarian Oscars)
I don’t want to look like daddy!!
“Mother, I hate you. My sister died and you feed me until I’m fat, dress me in her clothes and shoes that won’t fit and hurt my feet. You refuse to cut my hair and buy me the clothes a boy of my age should wear. I am enraged and you refuse to see what you have done to me. You sequester me away at home like this so I will not get sick and die as Emeline did playing outside. I am your precious remaining progeny to be kept out of any harm outside. YOU are killing me, my body and spirit inside, always at home — inside, inside, inside. I am not your doll made of china body and dressed up by you. You are killing me in mind, spirit, and body just as surely as Emeline died of the pox. You’ve put me in your own pox box.”
“Mother, I hate you. I’m not the daughter, my sister, you lost. I will rebel.”
Little Lawrence finds out too late that although slate is rock, it will break when thrown to ground during a temper tantrum.
Sally’s dress is not finer than mine! My mother made this for me!
Just perfecting my “Napoleon in a Dress” costume for Halloween.
Yes, I broke my slate, and I’ll break the next one too–I want an iPhone like all the other kids have!