Precursors

Here's a precursor to Roxy Music's "Love is the Drug," from A Fluttered Dovecote by George Manville Fenn, 1890.

This reminds us of Edward Gorey, in that the ominous action is implied, plus note how her dress itself seems to disallow her to flee.  From 1887.

Here's a precursor to the song "I Only Have Eyes For You."  From Caricature; Wit and Humor of a Nation in Picture, Song and Story, 1911.

"The Asian concept of face refers to how others think of you.  It is a concern that others think well of you.  The western idea of a thick skin is a lack of concern with criticism and what others think of you.  Merging both ideas approximates the idea of thick face: 'a shield to protect our self-esteem from the bad opinions of others' (Chu, 1992, p. 10).  Those with thick face eliminate self-doubt and do not accept external or self-imposed limitations.  Thick face is a shield from the debilitating opinions of others." —David J. Tipton, Professionalism, Work, and Clinical Responsibility in Pharmacy

Here's a precursor to the "thick face" shield, from Collectanea Antiqvitatvm in Vrbe Atqve Agro Mogvntino Repertarvm by Johann Huttich, 1525.

Here's the answer first — a precursor to Jeopardy.  From The Bab Ballads, written and illustrated by William Schwenck Gilbert, 1898.  The text reads, "When it's a-jar!"

Here's a precursor to the "dancing pigs" of computer security: "Given a choice between dancing pigs and security, users will pick dancing pigs every time" (Gary McGraw and Edward Felten, Securing Java, 1999).  From North Adams Normal School's Normalogue yearbook, 1914.  (For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.)

Here's a precursor to Moby's song "We are All Made of Stars," from Là-Bas et Ailleurs, 1890.

Here's a precursor to Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) from Polk's Indianapolis City Directory, 1890.

Here's a precursor to billboard pollution, from The Chsite yearbook of Carey High School, 1920.  The text reads, "Stop – Look – Listen.  This road will take you thru the ads."  (For some unbelievably weird yearbook imagery, see our How to Hoodoo Hack a Yearbook.)

Here's a precursor to W. C. Fields' character of the tramp juggler (see inset), from Bluebeard, or Fickle Fatima and the Fatal Key by Edmund Arthur Ponsonby Hobday, 1888.  See our previous W. C. Fields precursor here.

This sort of objectification is going on to this very day.  The caption reads, "My horse started from an object upon the ground."  From Pelham by Baron Lytton, 1883.