Ina's Blog

My life as it happens

Ina

Ina
Location
Terschelling West, The Netherlands
Birthday
January 04
Bio
Freelance Dutch writer. (fiction) Married, 3 sons and 1 cat. Living on an island in the North of the Netherlands.

Ina's Links

New list
OCTOBER 20, 2009 3:39PM

Justice for all! Bill Stickers is innocent!

Rate: 3 Flag

imageviewer  

This is probably old for English speaking readers, but it was new for me.  Someone put this pic on a Dutch blog. I googled and found this on "Bill Stickers is innocent":

"In the UK in the 1960s an attempt was made to reduce fly posting (the illegal pasting up of posters). Warning notices were put up with the legend 'Bill Stickers Will Be Prosecuted'. Waggish fly posters responded with 'Bill Stickers is Innocent' notices.

The joke wasn't new in the 1960s though. In a New York newspaper The Olean Herald, 1884, there's a piece reprinted from the London Graphic:

"A countryman named William Stickers, flying to London to escape from rural justice, was appalled at reading on a wall: 'Bill Stickers Beware!' He went a little further, but reading again, 'Bill Stickers will be punished with the utmost rigour of the law,' gave himself up for lost and surrendered."

This tale, which is just a joke of course and not a verbatim report, appeared in various forms in newspapers in the 1880s.

Copyright © Gary Martin, 1996 - 2009"
Bill Stickers humour.  It is more than just a funny sign.
original 
It is an art.

Your tags:

TIP:

Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Recipient's email address:
Personal message (optional):

Your email address:

Comments

Type your comment below:
This is the first time I've heard of this. Delightful!