Lot # 705: Fascinating 1916 Michigan Agricultural College Freshman Hazing Postcard

Starting Bid: $10.00

Bids: 2 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed


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Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall, 2017 Ringside and Premier Auction",
which ran from 11/9/2017 4:44 AM to
11/26/2017 10:12 AM



When flipping through a small collection of postcards with our consignor we encountered this a postcard directed at Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) Freshmen from the upperclassmen. It's not sports-related it's not really Americana we're unsure if it has any value - but we had to sell it. Have you ever seen anything like this? It's simply a threatening postcard telling Freshmen to "Count Your Days " going on to state that "Considering your undesired and abominable appearance we the Class of 1916 will eradicate your goodfornothin' carcases from our sanctum on DOOMSDAY October 4 '13." Alongside the threat is a cartoon image of a member of the Class of 1916 having recently beheaded what can only be a freshman pools of blood underneath the headless body. Were a postcard like this mailed in 2017 it would be the subject of extensive police investigation. In 1913 however the result was likely different entirely more likely to be greeted with snickers and humor. Condition? Does it even matter? We'll call it FAIR but frankly if you're a collector of postcards from the early 20th Century or paper ephemera in general you need to own this. NOTE: Shortly after the auction opened we received a note from an astute collector advising us that M.A.C. stands for Michigan Agricultural College which is now Michigan State University (not Michigan). As always we love getting the kind of email that helps us learn something AND provide accurate information - we have updated the description accordingly.

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