My Mission

Robert Sale-Hill’s poem, The True Origin and History of “The Dude” (The New York World, January 14, 1883) introduced the world to the word Dude, and kicked off a full-on Dude craze. A-Dude-a-Day[i] Blog is dedicated to preserving and sharing pics, pieces and poems from the early days of the Dude-craze of 1883. You can read more about the history and origin of the word Dude on my blogpost, "Dudes, Dodos and Fopdoodles" on my other blog, Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog.


Thursday, July 30, 2015

Dude #17 - Labeling a Boston Dude



Labeling a Boston Dude.
From the Boston Journal. 

A prominent member of the band of gilded youths of which this city is so justly proud is in a high state of excitement, and with difficulty held back by his friends from making a personal assault upon his jeweler, who, he conceives, had been “putting up a joke” on him. 

The facts, as gained during his lucid intervals, are these: - He is much addicted to attending the dramatic performances which occur in this city, his specialty being in steadily observing the female chorus in comic opera, and the sylphs of the corps de ballet in their ingenious gyrations.  It struck him that it would be a good notion to wear a scarf pin suggestive of his love for the lyric stage, and accordingly interviewed his jeweler upon this momentous subject.  The artificer in precious metals was prompt to meet the demands of the occasion, and in due time presented his customer with a neat design, consisting of a bar of music delicately fashioned in gold, with the treble clef in black enamel, and two notes in diamonds reposing between the third and fourth lines from the bottom. 

The customer, whose only knowledge of music was as it suggested the accompanying incident of female singers, highly approved this work of art, purchased it, stuck it in his scarf and went down to the matinee.  After the performance he displayed his new possession to the ladies, who admired it much.  At last he showed it to the prettiest and brightest one of all, who immediately exclaimed, “How very neat and appropriate!” 

“Do you think so?” inquired the delightful youth. 

“Certainly I do, and those beautiful diamond notes; they fit you so well.  Do, do – that makes dodo, you see.  How ingenious and how very true!” – and she tripped away, amid the loud laughter of all the assembly.  And, although the jeweler swears by the golden calf that he is quite innocent in the matter, he has thus far failed to make his customer believe it.
Evening Star (Washington DC), April 25, 1883, page 3, column 3.

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