Vintage Folk Art Game Board Two-Sided

Vintage Folk Art Game Board Two-Sided c. 1950 Collection Jim Linderman

Doodle Bug Antique Folk Art Drawing Collection Jim Linderman

Doodle Bug early 20th Century Folk Art Drawing Collection Jim Linderman

Antique American Folk Art Sculpture Woman with Necklace 19th Century

Antique American Folk Art Sculpture Woman with Necklace Life sized. Three views. Collection Jim Linderman

Ed Bortz

I am proud to present the 4th installment of the worst comic artists in the world series. The horrendous two-tone fetishistic images of one Ed Bortz! Even with his unusual last name, I was unable to find anything about him. A shame. Imagine the duo-tone nightmares he must have suffered as cross-hatched beards and brick-hard bosoms danced in his head, forcing him to jot down his most recent hilarious ideas at 3:00 am. Grisaille? NO, these miniature marvels demand a full palette of TWO colors! I turned these up in Michigan, likely sent home to the spouse by hunters and fishermen up north to drink. As Milwaukee publisher L. L. Cook (shame on you) is across the lake, maybe the cards snuck over on the ferry and multiplied like weeds in bait and ammo shops of Northern Michigan.

To see previous entries of the most putrid postcards in history, click subject heading below.

Four red and black postcards by Bortz. 1954, 1955 Collection Jim Linderman

Topiary Bicycle

Topiary Bicycle snapshot collection Jim Linderman
THANKS TO BOXLOT

World's Smallest Mother rppc

Real photo postcard of Dolletta and her two cesarean babies.
Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Folk Art Drawing Nerves of the Telephone System c. 1955 High Schoolgirl Artist

Folk Art Drawing Nerves of the Telephone System c. 1955 by High School Artist Jackie Davis  Watercolor paint on writing paper from her "Health Emotions" scrapbook.  

Collection Dull Tool Dim Bulb

Antique American Folk Art Sculpture Carving of the Spirit of Communication Golden Boy AT&T Statue

Antique American Folk Art Sculpture Carving of the Spirit of Communication Golden Boy AT&T Statue.  An early 20th Century folk art rendering of "Spirit of Communication" also know as Golden Boy.  The wood carving is 23 inches tall and mounted (with two screws from behind) on old plywood.  Golden Boy was one of the largest sculptures in New York City, second only to the Statue of Liberty in size.  Golden Boy was created as the corporate logo for AT&T in 1914.  The design was by Evelyn Beatrice Longman.  The 24 foot tall gold leaf statue was mounted atop 195 Broadway.  For decades, the image became familiar through use on AT&T telephone directories.  The statue remained in place until 1984, when it was moved to Madison Avenue, then to Basking Ridge, New Jersey.  It is now  standing in the lobby of SBC in Dallas, a company which adopted the AT&T name.

This piece could date anywhere from the original 1914 date to the 1930s.  At some time (originally?) mounted on a large piece of plywood with screws.  This protected the piece for decades.  Plywood came into common use around 1930.  Interestingly, the sculpture has been criticized for showing the AT&T Titan of Industry tangled in his own wires.

The piece could have been created by a talented hobbyist, maybe commissioned for the organization?  Used as a display for outlying branches?  It could even be a model involved somehow in production of the actual statue. 


Golden Boy Spirit of Communication folk art wood carving sculpture.  23" tall with original paint.  Circa 1930.  Collection Jim Linderman / Dull Tool Dim Bulb.
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