A tail of woe

Heinrich Kley was a German illustrator active in the early 20th Century who was noted for darkly humorous pen-and-ink drawings. He sometimes focused on the conflicts of new technologies—such as motor vehicles competing for space on city streets with pedestrians. Architectural writer David Brussat recently sent me this drawing of an alligator with a parasol whose tail is cut off by a passing motor vehicle. The look of indignant shock on the face of the alligator while the motor vehicle speeds by, unaware, encapsulates an era.