| Brief Description |
This card is an invitation to the Fourth Annual Swank, an event run by the Wanganui Swankers' Club. This event was fundamentally an annual general meeting, but, as with all Swankers' events, dressed up to be fun and slightly silly while getting through the work needed.
The card has a double opening page on either side and is printed in green ink with red highlights. The front cover has a cut out section that shows the head of a Swanker in his top hat; it opens out so the whole figure can be seen in his Swanker’s outfit.
The Swankers' Club was formed in Wanganui in 1915 for the purpose of raising funds for Red Cross nurses and hospitals during World War I. It ran until 1929. Swankers, as members were called, had a light-hearted approach to a serious purpose.
After the war, they were very active during the Influenza epidemic of 1918-19. Members continued to raise money for the Red Cross and to establish and maintain the Wanganui-Waitotara Patriotic Society and support a range of other charities. Like the Savage Clubs, Swankers held concerts, Mardi Gras and gala days and were very successful. In June 1925, for example, the Swankers' Club assisted the annual YMCA street appeal, raising £121 2s 6d, which was equally divided between the Swankers' Club and the YMCA.
The word swanker means a dashing, smartly-dressed, or stylish man. Swankers wore a distinctive, stylish garb of top hat and tails, usually teamed with formal striped trousers and spats.
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