"Typist's License" comic novelty certificate, circa 1911

Subjects: Comics & Humor Workers & Occupations
Card type: Lithograph

Back of "Typist's License" comic novelty certificate, circa 1911, Chicago, IL, USA, lithograph postcard — Back

About this postcard

The picture is a spoof diploma, headed "Typist's License," printed in ornate green and red on a certificate-style sheet with a blank line for the holder's name. Its mock text claims the bearer passed the "Illiterate Society and Gum Chewers Association" exams and is licensed to pet the boss, sass customers, and make typographical errors galore, signed by "Tom Foolery" and "Prof. Hunt N. Pick" of the fictitious No-Nothing Correspondence School. Comic "licenses" of this kind were a popular genre of American novelty postcard in the years around 1910, gently mocking the new army of female office typists and stenographers.

Postcard Details

Message

No message detected

PublisherEx. Sup. Co.

Typist's License This Certifies that.................................................................... having passed the required examinations of the Illiterate Society and Gum Chewers Association is hereby permitted to accept high salaried positions (position being everything in life). Office hours 12 to 2—every other Tuesday. She is permitted to pet the boss and sass the customers, make typographical errors galore, to operate any kind of machine (Packard pre- ferred) and get out the routine correspondence semi-monthly, never to file copies where they can be found, to ball up records and snub employes. In Witness Whereof, a charter to operate on the fi- nances of all unsuspecting employers is hereby given. NO-NOTHING CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL SEAL Tom Foolery RECORDER Prof. Hunt N. Pick COPYR. 1911 EX. SUP. CO. CHICAGO. W. MADE IN U.S.A.

Addressed to

No address detected

Postcard record

Publisher	Ex. Sup. Co.
Condition	Good
Place mentioned	Chicago, IL
Notes	Ornate engraved-style green border with red halftone background; red starburst printed with "SEAL"; light edge wear and toning; no handwriting on front. No postmark, stamp, address, or message — the back is entirely blank, aged tan cardboard with a few creases and stains. The front is a novelty "Typist's License" gag certificate (Copr. 1911 Ex. Sup. Co., Chicago, Made in U.S.A.), not a postcard view; no postal markings anywhere.

Cite this card

"Typist's License" comic novelty certificate, circa 1911, postcard, n.d.. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/typists-license-comic-novelty-certificate-circa-1911. Accessed October 24, 2026.