Here's another example of a D. Constance Ltd. card which had been redrawn. As this is numbered 138 it would have been first published in 1937 or 1938. It's possible that the original drawing for this was one of those destroyed when the Constance warehouse was bombed in 1940 and presumably the card was thought funny enough or successful enough to be redrawn and republished.
Having come across two other similar cards by a different artist has made me speculate about the source of the captions on McGill's cards. I think it was a question that was raised with him and his answer was that he picked them up from cartoons, jokes (he was a fan of the music hall), and observation of everyday life.
It's obvious that there are many postcards from different artists that are the same joke that has been reworked within that artist's style. In this case, where did the original come from, and who 'borrowed' from whom are not questions that can be easily answered. In the case of this card it is possible to see two versions of Constance No. 138 by another artist - 'C.G.' - published much earlier than McGill's version. The versions I have seen bear postmarks of 1908 and possibly 1919, well before McGill published his card.
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| Published by C & H. Postmark 1908 |
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| Unknown publisher. Postmark 1919 |
So, did McGill see this card and keep it at the back of his mine for over 20 years before creating his own version or were there other versions by other artists between C.G.'s and McGill's which provided the inspiration?
If McGill did 'borrow 'C.G.'s idea he has almost copied the, I think, later card - he has kept the same elements, the maid peering over the fence and saying 'How long's your furlough?' and the soldier replying 'Mind your own business'. It is interesting that although McGill drew countless cards with Scotsmen and Scottish soldiers as the subject he, on this occasion, decides to change the original and have the soldier wearing trousers!
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