"Mad Men," the Annotated Edition

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While watching Sunday’s Mad Men premiere, a very dirty Japanese print hanging on an executive's office wall caught my eye; I knew I’d seen it before, but couldn’t quite place it. But now, thanks to the “The Footnotes of Mad Men”—and to kottke.org for pointing me thataways—I know that it’s The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, by Hokusai.

I have yet to hop on the Mad Men bandwagon, but if this blog keeps up—it only launched a few weeks ago—the annotation-loving nerd in me could very well get hooked. Check out the most recent post, pegged to Sunday's episode: a vintage American Airlines ad with a stewardess curled up in a Saarinen chair, the text exhorting passengers to “Think of her as your mother. She only wants what’s best for you.” Kind of puts a queasy spin on Don’s hotel romp, doesn’t it?

Image of The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife by Hokusai, in the public doman.