punch

Jack Johnson was born in Galveston TX

This is one of 4 Bain Collection photos of Jack Johnson taken in the same place and apparently at the same time, one of which is dated May 3, 1912

Social commentary from the English "Punch" magazine. The 'faux French' caption reads: "Mais un monsieur qui pense lui meme tres beaucoups plus bon regardons que vraiment il est!" (Rough translation: Just a man who thinks he's better looking than he really is!"). The character in question may be a famous figure of the time, but more likely this is Punch identifying social 'stereotypical' characters seen around town, such as this business trader, perhaps seen as vulgar in his efforts to flaunt his wealth by dressing showily unlike the smartly dressed soldiers around him, something of a 'flash harry' type, with a phonetic knowledge of a foreign language passing for education. Or it may be a comment on how the French (the soldiers observing) see the English as uncouth of dress and speech? The lower picture now seems embarrassingly ill-informed, but was perhaps typical of the time.

The date in the top right corner looks like March 1912. If that's the case this photo could be part of the build up for the Fireman Jim Flynn fight that took place in Las Vegas that summer. Johnson won that fight and again defended his hard won heavy weight title. However, it was the last time he defended the title in the USA, fighting (and winning) twice in France before losing the crown to Jess Willard in Cuba in 1915. This photo could also be considered a mark of the end of Johnson's glory years. After the Flynn fight he would be forced to move abroad to aviod arrest for various claimed crimes and wouldn't return to the US for 7 years. His next fight in the US was in prison.

This is one of 4 Bain Collection photos of Jack Johnson taken in the same place and apparently at the same time. This one is dated May 3, 1912