Thanksgiving Leftovers Again?!

I still think I had probably posted last week's Thanksgiving leftovers some years ago, so here are some old Thanksgiving editorial cartoons from 1921. I know I've never rewarmed these before.

"His First Thanksgiving Away from Home" by J.N. "Ding" Darling in New York Tribune, Nov. 24, 1921

Nearly all of the political cartoons that Thanksgiving Day were about the arms limitation talks then underway in Washington, D.C. Of chief concern was the three-way naval arms race underway among the U.S., Great Britain, and Japan.

"All the Fixin's for a Real Thanksgiving" by Herbert Johnson in North American, Philadelphia PA, ca. Nov. 24, 1921

Republican stalwart Herbert Johnson was quick to give credit to the GOP administration and Congress not only for Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes's proposal to freeze warship building for ten years, but also for yet-to-be-seen tax cuts and economic prosperity.

"All for World Peace" by John Cassel in New York World, Nov. 23, 1921

Democratic-leaning John Cassel also lauded the disarmament conference, but reminded his readers that former President Woodrow Wilson's idealism had produced the League of Nations, with the promise that future wars could be averted there.

That promise of peace would not outlast the promise of prosperity by all that much.

"The Proof of the Dinner, Etc." by Nelson Harding in Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Nov. 23, 1921

The Hungry World, like "Ding" Darling's diners, looked forward to its Thanksgiving feast; yet Nelson Harding left open the possibility that the dinner might not live up to the menu.

"I'm Bubbling Over..." by Clifford Berryman in Washington (DC) Evening Star, Nov. 23, 1921

The holiday produced lots and lots of turkey jokes, as it does every year.

"The Idea of World Disarmament Is a Beautiful Thing..." by Wm. Morris for George Matthew Adams Service, ca. Nov. 24, 1921

The disarmament talks hit a snag just before Thanksgiving, which might explain a tiny bit of skepticism in the cartoons of Harding, Berryman, and Morris.

"The Barnyard Delegates..." possibly by Elmer Bushnell for Newspaper Enterprise Assn., ca.Nov. 24, 1921

I could not find a copy of this cartoon with the cartoonist's signature; I'm guessing that it might be Elmer Bushnell largely because the original caption (which I have replaced to make it more legible) was in the font and box style that I've seen over many of his cartoons. The heavy border also suggests Mr. Bushnell to me.

"The First Move to Curb Excessive Immigration" by G. Burr Inwood in Life magazine, Nov. 24, 1921

Aside from family dinners and turkeys, the other leitmotif in Thanksgiving cartoons is of Indians and Pilgrims. Here G.B. Inwood gets all sorts of ethnic details wrong, but it does show that the cartoon idea of Native Americans Against Immigration is older than you probably thought.

"Thanksgiving 1621 and 1921" by unknown cartoonist, ca. Nov. 24, 1921

I was hoping to find this cartoon in a newspaper that did not crop out the cartoonist's signature; but other than in the Miami (OK) Record-Herald of November 25, I have only found it in two New York newspapers, one of which also cropped out the signature and the other in which it is completely illegible. 

The cartoon's depiction of Native Americans is only slightly less fanciful than Inwood's. To my 2021 sensibilities, it seems to mark the 300th anniversary of Thanksgiving by giving thanks that Uncle Sam no longer needs to worry about hostile Injuns lurking behind trees. Given Oklahoma had been created from what was officially "Indian Territory" only fourteen years before this cartoon appeared, its thankfulness strikes me as being at the very least, smug. And at worst, racist. 

Most certainly, confident that no Native Americans subscribed to the Miami Record-Herald.

"The End of a Perfect Day" by Magnus Kettner, for Western Newspaper Union, ca. Nov. 23, 1921

Let us, however, turn to the non-political cartoonists end on a lighter note. Magnus Kettner trafficked in the quaint and gentle — most of the time — as in his "The End of a Perfect Day" series. Kettner's Thanksgiving proved to be a perfect day for Fido; not so much for Tom Turkey.

"Naturally You Feel Terrible" by Alfred "Zere" Ablitzere in New York Evening Post, Nov. 23, 1921

For the meleagrically sympathetic, Alfred Ablitzere's cartoon offers a happier ending.

Finally, I had expected to find many daily comic strips celebrating Thanksgiving 1921, but most strips' gags were no different than any other day of the year. A marked exception was "Doings of the Duffs," a family cartoon that paid attention to current events. (For example, the older son in the family, Wilbur, joined the Army during the Great War, although he didn't see much action.)

On Thanksgiving Day 1921, The Duff family were sucked through a hole in the space-time continuum and emerged three centuries earlier.

"Doings of the Duffs" by Walter R. Allman for NEA, Nov. 24, 1921

But only for one day.

Happy Hanukkah!