Precursors

48 years before the debut of the Pillsbury Doughboy mascot, there was this doughboy.  From A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron and illustrated by Elizabeth Colbourne, 1917.

48 years before the debut of the Pillsbury Doughboy mascot, there was this doughboy.  From A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron and illustrated by Elizabeth Colbourne, 1917.

From Illinois Woman's College's 1915 yearbook.

48 years before the debut of the Pillsbury Doughboy mascot, there were these doughboys.  From A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron and illustrated by Elizabeth Colbourne, 1917.

48 years before the debut of the Pillsbury Doughboy mascot, there was this doughboy.  From A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron and illustrated by Elizabeth Colbourne, 1917.

Before it started "Raining Men," it was erupting women.  From Southern Methodist University's 1928 yearbook.

48 years before the debut of the Pillsbury Doughboy mascot, there were these doughboys.  From A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron and illustrated by Elizabeth Colbourne, 1917.

48 years before the debut of the Pillsbury Doughboy mascot, there was this doughboy.  From A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron and illustrated by Elizabeth Colbourne, 1917.

Cell phones in 1919.  From the Daily Mirror, 1919.

Before Eat, Pray, Love, there was Hop, Ride, Look, Eat.  From The Companion Book for Day In and Day Out by O'Donnell, Scharschug & Carey, 1941.

"This man is both pugilist and preacher."  And a precursor to David Lynch!  From the Duluth Evening Herald, 1898.

While researching the "infrared body" mentioned in a lyric by Psychotronic Squirt Gun, we encountered a modern diagram of a camera that recalled a cosmograph from 1567.  In both, overlapping Venn circles enclose another circle surrounded by several figures, with sun-like rays at the top. Additional star-like orbs are in the lower portions of each diagram.  Immediately upon encountering the camera diagram, we saw the classic "cosmic egg" of historical representations of the universe.

50 was in the new 40 back in 1918.  From the Daily Mirror, 1918.

Here's a precursor to the cut-off sleeves, necktie, shorts, and socks look.  (Granted, the inclusion of fingerless gloves and sandals didn't seem to catch on.)  From the Daily Mirror, 1918.  

Here's a precursor to Mr. Potato Head.  From the Daily Mirror, 1917.

Today, there's a war on plastic bags, but back in 1917, doing without paper bags was the issue.  From the Daily Mirror, 1917.

Before Soupy Sales appeared on The Gong Show, Gong Soups were apparently shown on sale.  (You see what I did there.)  From Daily Mirror, 1917.  

Before the Sharknado there was the eelnado.  From Cartwheels by Thorn & Irwin, 1977.

Before Eat, Pray, Love, there was Eat, Walk, Jump, Fly.  From The Companion Book for Day In and Day Out by O'Donnell, Scharschug & Carey, 1941.