I don’t know why I have this particular picture, other than it just seemed so wonderfully bizarre at the time that I had to download it from Wiki Commons. It is the frontspiece from Curious Punishments of Bygone Days by Alice Morse Earle, published in 1896. The caption reads ‘The Drunkards Cloak’ and shows a woodcut of colonial gentleman wearing a beer barrel. Now, whether this is a copy of a colonial woodcut or simply a Victorian’s idea of one, I don’t know. But the man in the beer barrel wearing his tri-corner hat just seemed so odd I decided to keep it.

Frontspiece from _Curious Punishments of Bygone Days_ by Alice Morse Earle, 1896. Caption reads 'The Drunkards Cloak'. Click to view full sized.

I’m thinking of making a digital stamp of the man in the barrel. [For more on digital stamps, here is an article on them on About.com - it seems like a good idea for a stamp poor person like me to try...] If someone comes up with a creative use for this picture and sends me a copy, I’ll publish it in the blog and [my hopefully soon to be uploaded to the website] gallery [provided, of course, that it is no more than PG-13!]

Peace,

Bekka

Tags: 1896, barrel, bw, Colonial Era, daily public domain, graphics, image, man, PD, public domain, Victorian, Wiki Commons, woodcut