Edwardian Thanksgiving Greeting Card with Cherub & Turkey

Pure unsettling energy radiates from this image: a magnificently plumed turkey stands next to a tree stump with an axe lodged in it — a visual threat so obvious it borders on performance art — while a partially clothed child with distinctly adult facial features lounges on the grass holding a red fringed 'Thanksgiving Greetings' pennant like he's tailgating at the world's most disturbing football game. The child is wearing what appears to be a loosely draped pink garment and a red suspender strap, which raises more questions than it answers. The turkey, resplendent in full tail-fan display, is either oblivious to the axe inches from its feet or has accepted its fate with a dignity none of us will ever achieve, while the child gazes outward with the hollow expression of someone who has seen things.