Editorial Journal of John Cooper on Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was 27 years of age when left England for America on board the S.S. Arizona. By the time he reached New York eight days later he was 26—this being the age he insisted upon in press interviews.1
A simple mistake for anyone to make who was awful at arithmetic or a victim to vanity; but it takes a declared genius to incorporate the error years later into his works, as we shall see.
Continue reading “Twenty-seven”
Further to my recent post featuring advertisements that used Oscar Wilde’s name and image during his lecture tour, here is another notable example.
It shows Oscar in a quite demure pose as if he had something to hide. But fear not, he is exposed only below the knee.
Wilde’s long hair and knee-breeches excited many a soirée in 1882, prompting one commentator to note that Oscar “pants after” a certain celebrity, but that he should make it two because a pair of pants is something he obviously needs.
Advertisers, too, had Wilde’s trousers in mind. This example uses an image of a long-haired Oscar and the slogan Pants Down Again—presumably referring to the price. What advertisers did not realise was that Oscar would soon take the slogan literally.
When he returned to America in 1883, he had abandoned the signature long tresses and knee breeches, thus reversing the trend. Oscar confounded observers by wearing his hair up and his pants down once again.
© John Cooper, 2015.
