You'll feel like a New Man, Alfred

[dr_hermes.insanejournal.com]

Yikes. Is this one of the most famous faces of the 20th Century? you bet.



Alfred E Neuman is not an original creation of MAD MAGAZINE, of course. The grinning impish face (with a missing tooth and ears like an early warning system)goes way way back. He appears in ads and postcards in the years before WW I, although the further back one digs, the less clear the resemblance becomes until you're not sure if you can really call that poster for a painless dentist an ancestor or not. This charming portrait first appeared in MAD# 27, the April 1956 issue. The illustration was taken from an old postcard. The border itself is worth studying for a few minutes at the higher magnification, being art by Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder and Wally Wood.

Comments

[volksjager.insanejournal.com]

Have they ever come out with a collection of just the Mad "fold-ins" ???

[lbd_nytetrayn.insanejournal.com]

"Learn something new today... check."

Seriously, that's neat. I never knew. Do they admit/deny this?

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

[dr_hermes.insanejournal.com]

From the start, MAD said that Alfred had a long history. Human nature being what is, a few people tried to claim ownership in hope of racking up some cash, but examples of the Alfred face were produced on postcards and ads going back to the early 1900s. Today, it's a trademark and protected as long as MAD uses it.

[kenn_el.insanejournal.com]

And, to think, he grew up to become our POTUS! (I like "What...me worry?" better than "Change you can believe in", but I may not have been the target demographic.

[dr_hermes.insanejournal.com]

(http://pics.livejournal.com/dr_hermes/pic/002rwy7s/)

[ashtoreth.insanejournal.com]

Nice etching! They coulda gone into counterfeiting.

[dr_hermes.insanejournal.com]

There's a legend that one issue of MAD (when it cost 25 cents) featured a reproduction of a 3 dollar bill which fooled the change machines of that day. So you could buy a copy, cut out that image and get four quarters. Sales were good for that issue, but MAD got a warning from the Treasury Department not to reprint that page or do anything like it again.