A Toast to Dwiggins

Dwiggins, 1905 Toast

I only recently discovered the illustrator Clare Victor Dwiggins, better know as "Dwig."  At the Friends of the Waco Library Book Sale, one of the largest such book sales in the South, my mother-in-law purchased a 1905 book of toasts by Dwiggins.  Being a collector of vintage barware and old cocktail books, books of toasts intrigue me. Quips, quotes, and trite toasts seem to be relics of the past... at least at the parties I attend.

"Here is to love, the only fire against which there is no insurance." 

 Great toast, but no longer true.  You and your love of your life can buy "marriage insurance." (try the divorce probability calculator)  

But better than the bons mots are the illustrations.  The postcards by Dwig capture an age of innocent romanticism, with decked out dames blowing kisses and riding bratwursts.  The illustrations often include timeless words of wisdom, for example, "Never do anybody unless you do 'em good."