22.00 USD
Wonderful find! We're stepping out of our usual period here as we tend to start with the mid-1890s at Red Poulaine and move forward into the 1930s, but not usually past that. This card is probably from the 1940s and still we're very pleased to share it!
No history on Homer and Holly we're sorry to say, but this card was probably used for promotional purposes, sent to possible venues and perhaps distributed among dance-goers who attended performances.
Jitterbugs, or bitter jugs? Jitterbugging is said to have originated with the Lindy Hop, and other dances out of the teens and twenties.
What is the jitters? The term may have appeared with a spoonerism for gin and bitters, the very popular prohibition era drink, twisted into the phrase, "bin and jitters."
During prohibition, "bathtub gin" sometimes contained all sorts of nasty stuff to lend it flavor and a kick, like battery acid, formaldehyde, etc., no kidding...you got the jitters (also known as the "heebie jeebies" not just from drinking too much or too often (which was certainly common enough in the "Roaring 20s"), but from some of the poisons included in the illicit potion!
The legendary Cab Calloway, Mister Hidey-hidey-ho himself, in his song "Call of the Jitterbug" wrote:
"If you'd like to be a jitter bug,
First thing you must do is get a jug,
Put whiskey, wine and gin within,
And shake it all up and then begin.
Grab a cup and start to toss,
You are drinking jitter sauce!
Don't you worry, you just mug,
And then you'll be a jitter bug!" (Thanks Wikipedia!)
You get the idea. His recipe however, was a cleaned up version of some of those dangerous brews common in the 20s.
The style of dance quite likely earned the name through the shaking, jerking and jittering that were among its common features.
Follow this link to Youtube to get a general idea of 1940s jitterbugging. The little girl at 2 minutes 50 secs (approx) shows us some of the actual "jitters" :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS5oCLXrQLs
Awesome card! Please examine our high res scans for detail.
The item you are considering for purchase is, unless otherwise noted, a vintage postcard of approximately 5 and 1/2, by 3 and 1/2 inches. Postage is for fully-insured, first class shipping in a secure photo mailer (to avoid any damage to your purchase in the mails), and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, we will not charge for postage on the second card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, because of increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more. We do not charge for insurance or shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.
And please come visit our blog at:
redpoulaine.blogspot.com
where we post biographical and historical tidbits, images of cards and photographs for sale, some already sold but remembered fondly, related images of historical interest and sometimes even images of items that have not yet arrived in the shop, but that are expected to arrive soon, as well as coupon codes, links to other related sites, and more!