I like words as much as the next writer/reader but, hey, sometimes I just want to look at pictures. Today, I have some Monsters from History!

Monster with crossed honrs by Thomas Rowlandson
Study of monsters, by Thomas Rowlandson, 1756-1827

According to the catalog entry on this one, Rowlandson was “sometimes accused of being coarse and indelicate.” The other figures in the same study do show acrobats or gymnasts oddly placed on top of lizards.

Monster by Oliver Herford
“A horrible monster glared at them.” Illus. by Oliver Herford, 1863-1935. From “The Woog and the Weez,” 1895.

This guy is from a children’s book. He’s also carrying a large book. Is he trying to scare them with reading? I hope not!

Monster on a raft collecting Buddhist worshippers, by Kobayashi Kiyochika
Harvesting in an enemy river, by Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1847-1915

Now we’re getting serious. Our man on the raft has some demon teeth, and he’s scooping up the bodies. Interestingly, the catalog calls this “a humorous picture.”

Monster holding knife and bomb
Bomb-throwing monster on German anti-Bolshevist poster. Illus. by Julius Engelhard, 1883-1964.

In some ways, the most disturbing. This is a propaganda poster from 1918, dehumanizing a political opponent with visual scare tactics. The [translated] original text reads: “Bolshevism brings war, unemployment and starvation.”

That’s all for today. Stay tuned for more monsters: beast-monsters, monsters of the machine age, and humorous monsters.

[All photos from The Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs]

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