Comic Bathing Belles by Wellman

I  have had this rather weird and wacky bathing beauty plate in my collection for many years.  It is part of a series showing funny beach side frolics.

 

Recently I came across this postcard by American artist Walter Wellman (1879-1949).  In the early 1900s, Wellman, a cartoonist for the Boston Globe, began publishing some of his cartoons as postcards.  Wellman created comic strips and drew illustrations for many of the newspapers and magazines of the day. It is interesting that even though the postcard clearly states that the image is copyrighted by Wellman, the plate does not include any reference to Wellman.

 

Another Wellman postcard.  His rather weird sense of humor does not appear to have passed the test of time.  Perhaps you had to be there (meaning the early 1900s) to appreciate it.

Another plate that was certainly inspired by the Wellman cartoon.  Again, there have been some subtle changes to the cartoon and the caption's American slang has been switched to more proper English.

The mark on the back of  each plate.  I have not been able to determine who the maker is, but I think, considering the plates appear to be plagiarising Wellman's postcards, the "Copyright Applied For" is a rather cheeky touch.