Texian Stomping Grounds Page: 120
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THE FORD EPIGRAM
By Newton Gaines
A unique form of American folk-lore is the Ford epigram.
It may be defined as a short saying, witticism, epithet, or slogan
written on the side, fender, cowl, hood-indeed anywhere on
the "Model T" Ford.* Although truly folk-lore, its first notable
characteristic is that it is written, a characteristic which it
shares, I believe, only with the disreputable writing on walls
and fences. Another characteristic is that it is a by-product of
a mechanical triumph. This distinction it shares with the rail-
road song. It happened that one Henry Ford and his engineers
developed a gasoline engine that lasted longer than the body
of the car it propelled. When the sad appearance of the family
Ford caused Dad to buy a new machine, perhaps graduating
to a Chevrolet or Buick, the son of the family fell natural heir
to the old "Model T" to do with as he liked.
He could do but little with it, though, for his purse was flat.
A coat of enamel or Duco was out of the question. A sufficient
quantity of either would cost too much at one time. As it stood,
the old Ford was impossible, even for a young fellow. It didn't
look good, and it didn't look entirely disreputable. The latter
state, provided that the demoralization was complete, was greatly
to be preferred to obscure mediocrity. To accomplish utter dis-
reputableness then, the young fellow began to devise all manner
of witty epigrams and to embellish every conceivable portion of
his Ford with them.
Never did any form of lore spread more rapidly than Ford
slogans. They outran the cars on which they were painted. A
young Texan, for instance, drove his emblazoned "flivver" up
*This paper, in substantially the present form, was read on April 19, 1929, at
Fort Worth, before the annual meeting of the Texas Folk-Lore Society. A few
sentences have been added here and there. Vivian Richardson had a full-page
article on flivverr" labels in the Dallas Moring News for April 26, 1926.
Since then other folk-lorists have been at work in the same field, notably B. A.
Botkin, of the University of Oklahoma, whose excellent articles "The Lore of
the Lizzie Label" and "Anthology of Lissie Labels" appeared in Ameriomn Speech
for December, 1930, and October, 1931, respectively. Various newspaper car-
toons and comic strips have also focused attention on the subject, especially in
the late '20's and early '80's. Certain repetitions in all of these items (including
this paper) were inevitable, since Ford epigrams rapidly became standardized
throughout the country. It is hoped, however, that my approach will be found
somewhat different from those of other writers.
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Texian Stomping Grounds (Book)
Collection containing sketches of post-war life in East Texas, including descriptions of early recreations and games, stories about Southern food and cooking, religious anecdotes, Negro folk tales, a first-hand account of a Negro folk play about the life of Christ, and other miscellaneous folklore. The index begins on page 159.
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Dobie, J. Frank (James Frank), 1888-1964. Texian Stomping Grounds, book, 1941; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67663/m1/128/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.