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.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.
Cartographer
Charles Fenstermacher Clark (March 30, 1915 - September 30, 1988) was an American author, jeweler, inventor, and publisher. His firm, Tip'n Twinkle, entered business in order to market Clark's device for the easy cleaning of diamond rings (essentially a plastic bottle of detergent with a plastic rod to support a ring in the solution - hence, 'Tip'n Twinkle'). He went on to use the business to sell an array of novelty products, including matchbooks, placemats and humorous decorative placards in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Most notably these included the 1961 'Colonel Horsepasture's Guide Book and Dixie Dictionary', written in stereotypically illiterate 'southern' dialect. 'The Southerners get a kick out of it... and The Northerners DO believe we talk that way.' He also published a satire on the medical profession, 'Friend or Enema'. In a more tasteful vein, the firm also sold blank picture albums for collecting childrens' photographs throughout their school years. Other novelties of his included a belly button lint brush, a 'Balloon Wine Making Kit,' and a rubber stamp for cancelling mail with the text, 'Republica de Cuba, Sensura, Officia Inspecto, Hi-Jak Par Aeroplano.' More by this mapmaker...
Excellent.