I had this card simply because otherwise it is going to be a very masculine week, and this is an interesting subject, for here we have a "Bearded Lady", and look, she has a moustache too.
This is but an artist`s impression, and there never was a "Harriet. the Bearded Lady", she was but a character in a radio show, conjured up across the airwaves for the delight of the audience, who sat enthralled.
Now this piece has to start with the truth, which is that most of the so called "bearded ladies" at the circus were not. They were either men dressed as ladies, or ladies wearing false hairpieces. However, there are ladies who are just extra hairy, though for the most part it is fine laguno hair, and very much less unnoticeable to anyone else. The problem arises when the hair is darker, and whilst areas which can be concealed whilst clothed (the back, stomach, and legs) are less concerning, other parts are always visible (the arms, chin and upper lip). The main reason for this is two fold, genetics - because some races have more hair than others, and of a darker hue - or polycystic ovary syndrome - which leads to an excess of the male hormone testosterone.
This card falls into a grey area, for some people do not call it cartophilic, yet it was given away, and with a product, for it is a lid from a tub of ice cream, and what is more it lists the ice cream as well as the issuer, Dixie, who were actually the Individual Drinking Cup Company, Inc.
There are twenty-four lids in the set, and each shows a character from the National Broadcasting Company`s, or NBC`s, radio programme "Dixie`s Circus", so technically these are radio collectables too. It must have been a fun show, but I imagine it was not a room filled with animals, but one or two people doing all the voices and impersonations. The wording around the edge also varies, you can get them saying either
- "One of the 24 Animal Heroes of Bob Sherwood’s Radio Stories / Over the WJZ Chain Every Friday Evening" - title in picture
- "One of the 24 Animal Heroes of Dixies` Circus Radio Stories / Over the WJZ Chain Every Saturday Evening" - title in picture
- "One of the Animal Heroes of the Dixies` Circus" - the title being removed to below the image in the white border
- “One of the Heroes of the Dixies’ Circus.” - the title being removed to below the image in the white border
As for dating them, the show began in 1928 on Friday nights, with Robert Edmund "Uncle Bob" Sherwood, who had actually been a clown at P.T. Barnum`s Circus, as well as been involved with motion pictures; in fact in 1915 he was listed as a co-author on a book called "Charles Chaplin's Funny Sayings", and the two seem to have been good friends. Later the radio show moved to Saturday nights and changed its name to "Dixie`s Circus", though Bob Sherwood continued to present right until the radio show was cancelled in 1931, and he did not die until 1946.
It seems that the first twenty four cards were issued more than once, first advertising the radio show on Friday nights, and then changing it to Saturdays, before being altered again, probably in 1931, to remove all trace of the radio show. This seems to have been when the final cards were issued, with the human performers, as I have not found a single card from the human section linking it to the radio show..
The cards are quite elusive, but these are all the ones we know of so far, and the list also includes a note as to which ice cream appears on the reverse, because there are more than one :
- - "Caesar" The Lion (front 2) - Breyer / Reid`s
- - "Sheetah" The Tiger
(front 2) - Breyer`s / Hershey`s / Huber`s / Supplee
(front 3) - Supplee - - "Midnight" The Leopard (front 2) - Breyer`s / Castles / Hoffman`s / Philadelphia Dairy Products / Supplee
- - "Zira" the Panther
(front 2) - Breyer`s / Supplee / Philadelphia Dairy Products
(front 3) - Arctic - - "Queen" The Elephant (front 2) - Breyer`s / Philadelphia Dairy Products
- - "Rollo" the Rhino
(front 2) - Breyer`s / Castles / Horton`s / Philadelphia Dairy Products
(front 3) - Breyer`s - - "Old Mary" The Giraffe
(front 2) - Philadelphia Dairy Products / Reid`s
(front 3) - Always Best - - "Henry" The Hyena (front 2) - Breyer`s / Reid`s / Supplee
- - "Scotty" The Fox Terrier (front 2) - Breyer`s / Huber`s / Supplee
- - "Daniel" The Chimpanzee (front 2) - Breyer`s / Horton`s / Philadelphia Dairy Products
- - "Olympia" The Hippo - (front 2) - Breyer`s / Horton`s
- - "Ossy" The Llama
(front 2) - Breyer / Castles / Philadelphia Dairy Products
(front 3) - Breyer / Supplee - - "Sammy" The Sea Lion
(front 2) - Castles / Reid`s / Supplee
(front 3) - Always Best / Huber`s - - "Emperor" The Horse (front 2) - Breyer / Supplee / Philadelphia Dairy Products
- - "Nannette" The Kangaroo
(front 2) - Reid`s / Supplee
(front 3) - Hubert`s - - "Omar" The Camel
(front 2) - Breyer`s / Horton`s / Neuman`s / Philadelphia Dairy Products / Reid`s
(front 3) - Supplee - - "Zeb" The Zebu
(front 2) - Castles / Hoffman`s / Horton`s
(front 3) - Huber`s - - "Cuffy" The Bear
(front 2) - Philadelphia Dairy Products
(front 3) - Southern Creameries / Supplee - - "Wally" The Wolf (front 2) - Breyer`s
- - "Stripes" The Zebra (front 2) - Breyer`s / Castles / Horton`s / Philadelphia Dairy Products
- - "Tillie" The Tapir (front 2) - Breyer`s / Castles / Supplee
- - "Jimmie" The Fox
(front 2) - Breyer / Castles / Philadelphia Dairy Products
(front 3) - Huber`s / Philadelphia Dairy Products / Velvet - - "Billie" The Bison (front 2) - Breyer`s / Supplee
- - "Bobby" The Lynx (front 2) - Breyer`s / Derroit Creameries / Philadelphia Dairy Products / Supplee
- - "Alex" The Ibex (front 3) - Breyer`s / Purity / Supplee
- - "Hooks" The Water Buffalo (front 3) - Breyer`s / Reid`s / Southern Creameries
- - "Bill" The Elk (front 3) - Huber`s / Southern Creameries
- - "Whitey" The Polar Bear (front 3) - Horton`s / Supplee
- - "Toughy" The Wild Boar (front 3) - Purity
- - "Twister" The Rocky Mountain Sheep (front 3) - Castles
- - "Slinky" The Civet (front 3) - Schrauth`s
- - "Sambo" The Black Panther (front 3) - Huber`s / Supplee
- - "Teddy" The Moose (front 3) - Castles
- - "Gunner" The Gnu (front 3) - Breyer / Horton`s
- - "Andy" The Chamois (front 3) - Breyer``s / Castles
- - "Jocko" The Monkey (front 3) - Always Best / Purity
- - "Bucky" The Animal Trainer (front 4) - Supplee
- - "Myrna" The Snake Charmer (front 4) - Supplee
- - "Dick" The Ring Master (front 4) - Breyer`s / Huber`s
- - "Zanelly" The Acrobat (front 4) - Rieck`s / Southern Creameries
- - "Harriet" The Bearded Lady (front 4) - Breyer`s
- - "Freddy" The India Rubber Man (front 4) - Horton`s
- - "Jubilo" The Band Master (front 4) - Huber`s / Supplee
- - "Alf" The Clown (front 4) - Huber`s
- - "Tiny Tim" The Midget (front 4) - Bartholomay / Reid`s / Schrauth`s
- - "Maria" The Equestrienne - (front 4) - Breyer`s / Huber`s
- - "Jenny" The Fat Lady - (front 4) - Horton`s / Huber`s
- - "Solly" The Sword Swallower (front 4) - Schrauth`s