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 the price. What advertisers did not realise was that Oscar would soon take the slogan literally.
When he returned to America in 1883, he reversed the trend. Instead of long hair and short pants, Oscar confounded observers by wearing his hair short and his pants long. His Neronian coiffure was certainly a radical change; but while the hair was now up, it would seem the pants were down once again.
Oscar Wilde In America :: Blog 