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The Blog of Some National Press Club Members
The National Press Club was founded in 1908, and the original members adopted a mascot for the Club: the Billiken.
The Billiken is a little creature that - according to Billiken legend - represents happiness, fun and encouragement, a sort of good luck charm. The legend goes that if you have a Billiken, your life is good, and if you've been given a Billiken, your life will be even better.
Some old writings imply that Billiken is a variation of the phrase "Billy Can" - in other words, "you can do it!"
The Billiken was invented in the same year as the founding of the Press Club - 1908. The inventor was a woman in St. Loius, Missouri named Florence Pretz, who obtained a patent, and began making them. They became immensely popular, and "Billikenmania" took the country by storm, copy-cat manufacturers popped up worldwide, particulary in Alaska and Asia, but also throughout Europe and elsewhere.
Popular phrases often associated with the Billiken included:
"Grin and win"
"The god of things as they ought to be"
"If you look like Billycant
You will lose with every minute
But just look like Billycan
And think success and win it"
The Billiken is mentioned in the National Press Club's 20th and 50th anniverary yearbooks:
The Club had begun its career with the figure of a "Billiken", a small statue defined by the dictionary as "a squat, smiling, comic figure" as a sort of mascot. One legend has it that this one had been fashioned by Michael Jacobs, an artist who later was associated with Felix Mahoney. At any rate, the Billiken was borne in state on a sort of platform along the street, much as a saint's figure is borne in a Spanish or Italian fiesta. The procession was noisy, the members bursting into song as they marched, presenting an unusual spectacle to astonished and curious passers-bv. One of the next day's papers saw fit to headline the story of the removal with the words LITTLE FAT GOD MOVES which may have created the impression that the marchers were members of some recondite pagan sect. Ah well! Maybe they were! -- Chapter 2: Exodus. shrdlu, 1958, describing the 1909 parade of members that moved the Club from its original quarters into its building at F and 15th NW, Washington, DC. The Club moved to 14th and F NW in 1928.
A part of the architectural decoration of the fireplace in the main lounge were gargoyle-like figures, each with a different expression, which looked down on whoever was below. These gnomes had names. They were called Constant Reader, Old Subscriber, Vox Populi and Pro Bono Publico. And, on the mantel ledge stood the Billiken, as a mild sardonic presiding deity. Could some magician have induced these figures to tell of what they had beheld and heard, startling and precious volumes could have been produced. -- Chapter 3: Transition. shrdlu, 1958, describing the facilities at F and 15th, NW, Washington, DC.
Archives Chairman Homer Dodge receives replica of Billiken from President Horner at second annual President's Black Tie Ball. The 1958 Billiken was made by President Horner's cousin, Julia Mahood of Lynchburg, Va. -- Chapter 11: Jubilee. shrdlu, 1958
Do You Remember .... Billiken on the shelf in the old Flemish Room, and what became of him? -- Do You Remember, Twentieth Anniversary Yearbook, 1928
The Billiken mania that swept the nation introduced Billiken themes into all areas of pop culture. There were ...
.... pop songs:
... cigar bands:
... lucky coins:
... and much more.
Today, the Billiken is the mascot of St. Louis University.
The Billiken no longer holds the place of prominence it once did at the Press Club. Nevertheless, the "squat, smiling, comic figure" that was born in the same year as the founding of the National Press Club played a fun role in the early life of Club members, and lives on in the annals of NPC history.
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