Classic Cover: The Craziest 4th of July

The craziest 4th of July? Why, that had to be 1914 in Tinkham’s Corners. I really feel for the pig. (The kids may want to help you find him.)

Weekly Newsletter

The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox!

SUPPORT THE POST

The craziest 4th of July? Why, that had to be 1914 in Tinkham’s Corners. I really feel for the pig.

The kids will have fun with this one! We have a magnifying glass below to view this unique cover from The Country Gentleman magazine in 1914, a sister publication of The Saturday Evening Post‘s for many years.

4th of July Blaze at Tinkham's -Country Gentleman by Harrison Cady
“4th of July Blaze at Tinkham’s Corners” Country Gentleman by Harrison Cady July 4, 1914

Harrison Cady was a comic strip artist who had an extremely long career. For more than 70 years he illustrated for The Country Gentleman, the Post, and Ladies Home Journal, among other magazines.

Cady created several covers with wacky doings in minute detail. Where’s Waldo, indeed! In this one, a large box of fireworks (just below the center of the scene) has exploded in Tinkham’s Corners. Horses are spooked, people are fleeing, and guns are going off accidentally in the midst of the mayhem. Just below and to the left of the exploding box is a gentleman whose rifle is discharging, taking out a streetlight. (Back then, some people fired rifles into the air to make a celebratory noise, which is why some of these lunatics are running around with them.) Up and to the left of him is a little rapscallion setting off the town’s Revolutionary War cannon. There are rotten kids in Tinkham’s Corners.

View the larger version of the cover below and see if you can find the following:

1) The pig with the firecrackers tied to its tail;
2) The no-good kids vandalizing the sign: “To Our Brave Soldiers and Sailors” (changing it to read ”Scolders and Failures”) (I told you there were rotten kids in Tinkham’s Corners);
3) The marching band;
4) The cat with it’s hackles up (hint: a rooftop);
5) The man getting squashed by a runaway horse and carriage;
6) The woman in the polka dot dress landing on her behind;
7) The man with a basket of eggs that are getting smashed;
8) The “Hop Sing Laundry”;
9) The most remarkable citizen of Tinkham’s Corners—the napping man!

We hope you have a fun, safe, and exciting 4th of July—just not this exciting!

Become a Saturday Evening Post member and enjoy unlimited access. Subscribe now

Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *