A white-bearded Father Time holds a scythe while wearing a pink laced corset, blue skirt, and sandals. Behind him, a man in a brown suit raises a whip. The printed caption reads "I'M WAISTING TIME," a pun on the corset's waist and the phrase wasting time.
Father Time was a familiar New Year's figure in early twentieth-century print, usually shown with a scythe and hourglass. Here the symbol becomes a sight gag, the kind of punning humor that sold inexpensive comic postcards in the 1900s.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pen
Friday —
Dear Sara, this
is we is up
very one.
Having a fine
time, will be
home tonight.
Such a crowd
on the train.
Wish you
was with us.
Dell
Comic/humor card; tiny artist/publisher credit line near the figure's feet is only partly legible; light edge wear, corner wear and a crease at the upper right; cream background with no white border.
Postmark: RUTLAND ILL. OCT 9 1909 3 PM. Divided-back card printed "This Space Can Be Used for a Written Message."; pencil message written sideways along the left edge; card creased, soiled and stained, 1c Franklin stamp with machine cancel.
Cite this card
Father Time in a corset, 'I'm Waisting Time,' Rutland, IL, 1909, postcard, c. 1909. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/father-time-in-a-corset-im-waisting-time-rutland-il-1909. Accessed November 2, 2026.
