Down in Texas comic poem postcard, El Paso, TX, 1954

Subjects: Comics & Humor Horses
Card type: Linen
Date: c. 1954 (Chrome)

Back of Down in Texas comic poem postcard, El Paso, TX, 1954, Miss Elaine Steele, WI, USA, c. 1954 linen postcard — Back

About this postcard

A blue-ground comic "bunk" card titled "DOWN IN TEXAS," with a tall-tale poem in three columns around a red Texas star entwined with bluebonnets, a cowboy on a bucking yellow bronco, a desert scene with saguaro cacti, a red sun with a rider silhouetted in it, and a red mission-style building with palms. Exaggerated "Texas" humor cards of this kind were a staple of mid-century roadside souvenir publishing, poking fun at heat, gunplay, and boastful local pride. The card was copyrighted by the E. C. Kropp Co. of Milwaukee, a prolific lithographic postcard firm.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

back with the pictures we took of all of you and of Bobby. We didn't see them on a screen yet but they look mighty nice. So We want to leave for Cal. Monday if possible, all depends on news they wanted to fly here and go to Cal. with us, we didn't hear yet. We were to the museum yesterday and saw Aunt Clara's piano. Love to all Grandma and Grandpa.

PublisherE. C. Kropp Co.

DOWN IN TEXAS We're down here in old Texas, Where you never have the blues, Where the bandits steal the jitneys And the Marshals steal the booze; Where the buildings horn the sky- line, Where the populace is boost, Where they shoot men just for pastime, Where the chickens never roost, Where the stickup men are wary And the bullets fall like hail; Where each pocket has a pistol And each pistol's good for jail; Where they always hang the jury, Where they never hang a man If you call a man a liar, you Get home the best you can; Where you get up in the morning In a world of snow and sleet And you come home in the evening Suffocating in the heat; Where the jitneys whiz about you And the street cars barely creep; Where the burglars pick your pockets While you "lay me down to sleep;" Where the bulldogs all have rabies, And the rabbits they have fleas; Where the big girls, like the wee ones, Wear their dresses to their knees; Where you whisk out in the morn- ing Just to give your health a chance; Say "Howdy" to some fellow who Shoots big holes in your pants; Where wise owls are afraid to hoot And birds don't dare to sing, For it's hell down here in Texas, Where they all shoot on the wing.

PostmarkedEl Paso, TX, January 7, 1954, 17:30

Addressed to

Miss Elaine Steele

217 Walnut St Oconomowoc, WI

Postcard record

Postmarked	January 7, 1954, 17:30, El Paso, TX
Publisher	E. C. Kropp Co.
Series	T42 12582
Condition	Fair
Place addressed	Miss Elaine Steele, 217 Walnut St, Oconomowoc, WI
Place mentioned	Texas, TX
Publisher	E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, WI
Stamp	2c John Adams, red, perforated on all sides
Stamp	2c Theodore Roosevelt, perforated on all sides
Notes	Linen-textured stock; paper loss and a small chunk missing along the top edge, light corner wear; copyright and number T42 printed at lower left. Postmark: EL PASO TEXAS JAN 7 1954 5:30 PM. Divided back; blue-ink message written sideways along left edge; E.C. Kropp comic card; light edge wear.

Cite this card

Down in Texas comic poem postcard, El Paso, TX, 1954, postcard, c. 1954. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/down-in-texas-comic-poem-postcard-el-paso-tx-1954. Accessed November 2, 2026.