1966 Placemat Map of the United States in the Eyes of a Southerner w/letter

This is a 1966 novelty Tip'n Twinkle placemat map of the United States, good naturedly lampooning southern language, attitudes, and culture.

Tip'n Twinkle

Tip'n Twinkle was a Roanoke, Virginia novelty company owned by Charles Fenstermacher Clark (1915 - 1988). He is perhaps remembered for his Nom de Plume, Colonel Beauregard Horsepasture, late of the Confederate Air Force, and his 1961 Colonel Horsepasture's Guide Book and Dixie Dictionary, written in stereotypically illiterate 'southern' dialect. When pressed on the schtick in a 1970 interview by the Roanoke Times, Clark said, 'The Southerners get a kick out of it... and The Northerners DO believe we talk that way'.

A Closer Look

The map presents 'The United States of Dixie', purportedly a distorted view of the United States through the eyes (and dialect) of a Southerner. Prominent place is given to the states of Flawda, Jawja, North and South Calinah, Virginny, Caintucky, Tin-a-See, Alabam, and Ole Mis-sip-i. Texas dominates the southwest from Louisiana to what might be construed as Arizona. The northeast is reduced to a tiny corner of land beyond the note 'Gettysburg - Avoid this place natives unfriendly'. The north and west parts of the country are labeled 'Dave Crockett Territory', 'Nawth', and 'Assorted Small States'. West Virginia is marked 'West by gawd stole from VA.' At the center of the country - that is to say, Caintucky and Tin-a-See - are two massive whiskey stills. From these, pipelines span the country -albeit interrupted in the northeast and southwest by 'Whiskey Waterin' Down stations' catering to the presumably stunted drinking abilities of Yankees and Westerners.

The left side of the map consists of an excerpt from the 'Dixie Dictionary' explaining that the word 'Abode' refers to a piece of wood, and that 'thud' follows in sequence after 'second.' The map is further decorated with a mermaid, a steamboat, a railroad steam engine, and the face of Colonel Beauregard Horsepasture himself.

A Letter

The verso bears a handwritten letter, dated December 26, 1975, from a Californian, John Bankey, to a Mancunian English friend and fellow philatelist Ernest Kay Ism (Possibly Isam?). In the letter, Bankey updates his friend on family affairs, advises him of a package of medjool dates that he has sent, and describes the content of a very odd dream involving the two of them. He also explains the map on which his letter was written: 'so funny to us, we must share our Southerners' lingo with accent… when I lived in Oklahoma I was exposed to this accent for first time. The south U.S. is a NATION of their own culture - very distinct'. The remainder of the letter mainly concerns the two friends' shared interest in stamp collecting, recording previously received letters, the prized stamps upon them, and lamenting the indignities visited on the stamps by the post office. 'If I'd had the postmaster general there he would have had a black eye!!'

Publication History and Census

This placemat map was published in 1966 by Charles F. Clark's Tip'n Twinkle company. It is neglected by institutional collections.