Mr. James Brown lived near Drumore, an unincorporated community on the east side of the Susquehanna River in the southernmost portion of Lancaster County, PA.
Some sites in this rural area along Fishing Creek were important links in the Underground Railroad during the years leading up to the Civil War.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drumore,_Pennsylvania
In November of 1908, James received a comic postcard from an unknown correspondent.
The postcard was mailed from New Providence, a village south of the Big Beaver Creek and northwest of Quarryville in Lancaster County.
New Providence is a little more than 13 miles northeast of Drumore.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Providence,_Pennsylvania
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The face of the postcard is a cartoon drawing of a young man in a defiant pose and holding an oversize palette.
The artist is wearing a velvet jacket and enormous bow at his neck.
His long hair, reddish pants, and slippers – all suggest an independence from norms in men’s attire.
Behind the standing young man are a few unframed canvases – presumably, examples of his completed work.
The drawing is enclosed with a frame of elaborate design.
Beneath the scene is a satiric verse, entitled “An Artist”:
“That you think you can paint is very sure,
Yet your very best work is but caricature;
In fact, all your daubing, e’er hard you may try,
Is enough to make even a sign-painter cry.”
The postcard was copyright and published by the Rose Company in 1907.
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We have seen other comic postcards related to the pretensions or “airs” of others:
“An Affected Actress”, “Hen-Pecked Husband”, “The Has-Been”, and “The Waiter”
We don’t know if Mr. Brown was engaging in artistic pursuits or was contemplating a career as a painter.
I suspect that the postcard reflects simply a friend’s amusement at the light-hearted cartoon.
James preserved the postcard in good condition throughout his life.
