Turbaned Young Woman And Moon

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. AZO stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1918.

Price: $15.00

In keeping with the prior theater topic of the last post here is a dandy! A Real Photo Postcard showing a photo of a gorgeous and happy young woman, dressed in long skirt and blouse and wearing a head turban. She is seated on a stage or perhaps photographers prop that is a crescent moon. The moon is wonderfully charming with upturned smiling eye, substantial nose, and thin-lipped smile which shows his teeth, if you look closely. The young woman leans into the moon, head turned (in that flattering angle that photographers like), one hand resting in her lap, and the other draped around her buddy. The background props are some stars and a pennant with the lettering “Spokane.” One imagines that this was might have been taken after a college play production somewhere in Spokane, Washington. Since it’s a Divided Back card and the stamp box shows AZO with all four triangles pointing up, the date of the postcard would be from about 1907 – 1918. The card shows some pin marks, so it was probably pinned to someone’s bulletin board for a time, before it made its way to a photo album. This one was found in an antique store in Soquel, California.

A Theater Troupe

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Annieoakley

A Real Photo Postcard showing a wonderful, very clear photo of what appears to be a group of probably amateur theater actors, posing outside in a field. There are some houses in the background and we see part of a wooden building directly to their right. Perhaps this was taken after the production of a town play or commemorative event. The costumes appear to be from around the Civil War Era. In picking out some of the clothing and accessory details, of course the four top hats are a standout; there’s a newsboy hat on the young man fourth from the left; we have a gentleman in slightly dramatic fashion lighting or smoking a pipe on the right in the back row; the ladies bonnets with flowers and ribbons stand out, especially the higher-billed ones; there’s a beautiful velvet brocade? parasol; a drawstring purse; velvet-collared jackets on six of the men; a very distinctive (I’m no fashion expert but I’ve never seen this) cut-out design on the long sleeves of the young woman fifth from the left (if you look closely you’ll notice that this dramatic effect was obtained from buttons fastening at intervals down the sleeves.)

Real Photo Postcard, unused. AZO stamp box, circa 1910 – 1930.

Price: $25.00

Forget Me Not Annie Baxter

Quote

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Annieoakley

Two pages from autograph/souvenir type books from 1886. Artist and publisher unknown. Size: About 4 x 6 and 3/4″ each.

Availability status: SOLD

“Forget me not Miss Annie Baxter….”

“Dear Annie:

May friendship and

Truth be with you in

Youth and catnip and

Sage cheer up your

Old age.

– Harry L. Wiley, Beckville, Tex., May 10th /86″

“I now a secret will unfold

Long has it smothered been

Oh never yet has it been told

Valued by fears with in

Eternal life demand

You must my secret keep

Oh in your bosom let it swell

Unconcious let it sleep.

– Your Little Sister, E. L. B.” (middle initial L?)

A departure from our numerous postcards and photos, here are a couple of antique pages from a souvenir/autograph type book that would have been popular with students, from 1886. (Thank you Harry Wiley for recording the date and place.) Aren’t they beautiful, just look at those details! In the first one, two children, a little boy and an older girl are perched on a garden wall, watching some snails. Note the girl’s fingerless grey gloves, the lovely collars for both of them, and the hats (always hats!) There is writing on the back of this first card which is, “Dear Annie, May your honest endeavors be a ….” The writer did not finish this thought. The back wasn’t scanned – just to save having to fold the paper too much, and the poem recorded here by Annie’s sister was not found online, so is a mystery as far as name and author. Perhaps the sister was the poet? I must admit I don’t quite understand the poem; perhaps the subject of the verse is Love. The first poem is cute, and was one of a number of sayings written down by many a school chum, maybe at the end of the school year. The second card shows a drawing of pretty young mother, from inside the house, handing her daughter a rose through the open window. The little girl is out in the yard with the flowers and a rather large butterfly.

Harry Wiley is on the 1880 Federal Census for “Beat No. 2”, Panola County, Texas. He was born in Louisiana, about 1868. The census is: Sarah Baxter, widowed head of household; her daughter Ella, son Harry, stepson John Baxter, nephew Thomas Davis, and niece Ellen Riband[?] It would appear that Wiley would have possibly been Sarah Baxter’s first married name (but evidence was not found). Ancestry has a family tree that shows Annie Baxter born in Texas 1871, showing John Baxter as brother.

Sources: Year: Year: 1870; Census Place: Beat 2, Panola, Texas; Roll: M593_1601; Page: 265B; Image: 76; Family History Library Film: 553100. (Ancestry.com)

1880; Census Place: Precinct 2, Panola, Texas; Roll: 1322; Family History Film: 1255322; Page: 216C; Enumeration District: 061. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1900; Census Place: Cleburne, Johnson, Texas; Roll: 1649; Page: 21B; Enumeration District: 0057; FHL microfilm: 1241649. (Ancestry.com)

Little Silesians By Oldřich Cihelka

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, artist signed, unused postcard. Publisher or printer: Zora. Series or number G. Z. 0174. Date circa early to mid 1900s.

Price: $15.00

Z kraje Bezručova which is the first line on the back of the postcard at the top left, appears to translate from Czech to English as “From Region of Bezrucova.” So, this postcard is regarding little or young Salesians of the Bezrucova Region of Salesia. Salesia is located in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. Oldřich Cihelka (1881-1948?) was a painter, graphic artist and illustrator, born in Prague. Most online sources list his year of death as 1948, however some give the year as 1958.

Sources: Moravia and Salesia. n.d. Hello Czech Republic. Web accessed 1 Aug 2014 [http://www.czech.cz/en/88015-moravia-and-silesia]

Oldřich Cihelka. n.d. Art Consulting. Web accessed 31 Jul 2014. [http://www.artconsulting.sk/?act=dielo&id=19036]

Harve Marsing And Alma Thayn

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. AZO stamp box. Circa 1912 – 1915.

Availability status: SOLD

Here’s a Real Photo Postcard that was found recently at The Vintage Paper Fair in San Francisco and shows a great sepia-toned photo (even though faded or light) of two men on horseback, with their likely location being Utah, estimated dated about 1912 – 1915.

As it turns out Harve Marsing, a.k.a Harva or Harvey (on the left) is the nephew of Alma Thayn, also spelled Thayne (on the right.) Harve Marsing’s parents are Alma Marsing and Annabelle Thayne. Alma Thayne and Annabelle Thayne are brother and sister. Their parents are John L. Thayne and Annabelle (sometimes spelled Annabellia or Annabella) Reid. Harve looks to be maybe about 16 – 18 years of age, making Alma about 27 – 30 years of age in the photo. Harve Marsing was born July 11, 1897 (some records show 1896 but his WWI Draft Registration shows he recorded 1897.) Alma Thayne was born December 30, 1885. Both men were born in Utah.

Sources: Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection – Individual Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: “Marriage of John Lehi Thayne to Annabell Reid.” (Ancestry.com)

“Utah, County Marriages, 1887-1937,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VRLC-MV8 : accessed 29 Jul 2014), Alma Marsing and Annie Thayne, 27 Jul 1895; citing , Wasatch, Utah, United States; FHL microfilm 0482527.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Desert Lake, Emery, Utah; Roll: 1683; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 0197; FHL microfilm: 1241683. (Ancestry.com)

“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/29N1-Q8N : accessed 29 Jul 2014), Harvey Marsing, 1917-1918.

Find A Grave Memorial# 38316496 for Alma Thayne. (findagrave.com)

Bon Voyage

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Annieoakley

Photo, circa early 1900s. Size: About 3 and 1/8 x 2 and 1/8″

Price: $10.00

Sepia-toned old photograph from approximately the early 1900s, showing a group photo of six persons who appear to be about ready to board a steamer. There is an older couple in the center, a younger couple on the right, a young gentleman second from the left who looks to be in uniform (perhaps he is a crew member) and a young gentleman on the far left in knickers. In the photo we also see a couple of umbrellas, some different style ties for the men (one is a small bow tie), two different style hats for the ladies, a broad brimmed hat for the younger woman and a more compact style for the older woman. All in the group are smiling. What is the guy on the left holding? And what is the older woman holding? (An apple?) And it looks like the pavement the people are standing on is of brick or stone.

We can see part of the lettering for the name of the boat. It looks like L-E-R? And we can see two smoke stacks, and notice the portholes. There’s a couple in the background who appear to be about to board the ship, and this is why my guess is that this is a photo taken before the voyage. Maybe the guy on the left was the driver for the two couples, and to his left a member of the crew.

If anyone can provide any details about this photo, please let me know.

John Arquero, Tourguide, Hilo, Hawaii

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. Circa early 1950’s.

Price: $10.00

Real Photo Postcard in black and white, signed by Hawaii tour guide, John Arquero. He is shown wearing an example of a traditional costume worn by Hawaiian male royalty. He wrote, “Your Guide, King Aloha John Arquero Tour, Hilo Hawaii” and is majestically posed holding an upright spear, wearing a long cape, and the type of headgear called mahiole.

According to The British Museum website, “Helmets, known as mahiole, were constructed of the aerial roots of the ‘ie’ie vine, woven into a basketry frame. They were perfectly fitted to an individual, and protected the most sacred part of the body, the head. All of a chief’s garments were considered tapu, having a divine or sacred power, and would not be worn by anyone else.”

The helmet and cape were traditionally covered in feathers: red-orange from the ‘i’iwi bird, a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, and black and yellow from the oo’s and the kioea. The two latter being the common Hawaiian names for two (sadly now distinct) species, that were once previously misclassified as honeyeaters.

Sources: The British Museum. “Hawaiian feather helmut.” Web accessed 17 Jul 2014. [http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/f/hawaiian_feathered_helmet.aspx]

Wikipedia. ʻIʻiwi. Web accessed Jul 17 2014. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CA%BBI%CA%BBiwi]

Smithsonian. “Hawaii’s Bird Family Tree Rearranged.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 December 2008. Web accessed 18 Jul 2014 [www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081211121827.htm]

Mother And Son RPPC

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. PMC stamp box showing diamonds in all four corners. Circa 1907.

Price: $15.00

Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) showing a studio portrait of a beautiful young mother and her adorable, approximately three year old son. They are both fashionably attired. The little boy, who has blond curls, wears a sailor suit, belted romper-type outfit with a large bow. The mother wears a dress, or it may be a matching skirt and blouse, in a dark material with a squarish neckline, trimmed in matching braid, and a white insert with a double row of dark braid on the high-necked collar. The bodice shows a double row of buttons which continue onto the skirt and flare out to the sides. The woman wears a chain with a round pendant, and a bracelet over the right sleeve of her long sleeved blouse, but one of the most striking things about her ensemble is the Breton style hat. The description found on the excellent Shappos blog under types of hats for the Breton or Bretone is a “women’s hat with ample round crown and brim turned up all around.”

This postcard’s date is estimated at 1907. The stamp box shows PMC with diamonds at each corner, which is a design that is at least from 1907, according to the stamp box examples on the excellent playle.com website. There does not seem to be much known about the company that produced this type of “printing out” paper for Real Photo Postcards. Playle.com shows six different PMC designs ranging from approximately pre-1907 to 1915, and shows a known year for the design we have here of 1907. You may have to take a closer look at the letters in the stamp box, as at first glance they may look like PMO.

Lastly, when viewing photos we sometimes have strong impressions about a person’s nationality (and wonder a little about the political correctness of saying someone “looks” like they are from a certain country) but for me I’m thinking immediately of Ireland when looking at this woman’s photo.

Sources: http://www.shappos.com/blogs/how-to/9021445-hat-terminology

http://www.playle.com/realphoto/photop.php

Stein 4th Of July Float

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Annieoakley

Undivided back, Real Photo Postcard. Circa 1902 – 1906.

Price: $20.00

“Dear Uncle Walter, Your postals I received. Many thanks for same but sorry to say I lost the postal card Saturday of you. send me one again. be so kind and send Saturday again. This is our float for the 4 of July. I am the one with the head …?… turned …you[?] …with love to you …?…I [?] …?…I will go to stay with Grandpa next month. Myrtle Stein”

Card addressed to: “Mr. Walter Stein, New York City, N. Y., #104 West 100th Str.”

RPPC gem

This is a gem of a postcard from probably 1902 – 1906: A Real Photo Postcard, from the undivided back era, showing a photo, taken during a Fourth of July parade, of the Stein family’s horse or mule-drawn float. There are lots of details to try to pick out here. We can see the Stein name on the side of the float, though the word after Stein is hard to read. You’ll notice what appear to be street signs just behind the tropical looking plant. The signs seem off-kilter so maybe they were put up for the parade. And is the plant part of the float? It’s hard to tell. One of the signs looks like it says “First National.” Here is a cropped but not resized photo. You should be able to click twice on the image to get the best view.

Man or bear?

Continuing on with some of the other details, there’s a lady wearing a large hat, and a gentleman with a white goatee. There are several different hat styles the men are wearing. And that looks like part of a windmill behind the wooden utility pole. There’s the star-spangled banner and oh that beautiful iron railing that the banner hangs from! On the float the man in the front wears a funny hat, and there are three girls at the back, one of whom is Myrtle, probably the one on our right, based upon what she says in her note. And what are we looking at just to the right of the man? To me it looks like a fake bear standing up, with his head looking upward and his left arm reaching up or holding onto the vertical support, and a chain or rope around his waist. My husband thinks it’s a guy in a fur coat with a belt and wearing a hat. (This is always so amusing, to wonder if what you think you see is really what you see, and if not how far off were you? You can picture yourself doing that quick heel of the hand to the forehead gesture, saying, “Ahhhh, of course, I see it now, it’s….” as you are cracking up laughing.) Come to think of it, this would be hot weather so it seems doubtful someone would be wearing a fur coat…

Railway Mail Service

Although the card is postally used, the postmark did not get fully stamped, unfortunately. What we can read of the postmark is “.& El Paso. R” and just below that “Tr. 9.” (Train 9? Trolley 9?) To the right of that is a mark that should have read “RMS” which stands for Railway Mail Service and means that this postcard was processed in a mobile post office, such as a railway, or streetcar. The postal workers would have worked in a separate mail car attached to the train or on a trolley where half of the car would be for passengers and half for mail. The railway postal clerk job was dangerous, involving the possibility of train wrecks, falls, fires, robberies and derailments.

A Mystery

The addressee, Walter Stein, was not found at this address on the 1905 New York State Census or the 1900 and 1910 Federal Census for Manhattan. There are multiple entries for Myrtle Stein in various locations but no confirmation was found for this postcard. As for railway companies or lines there are at least seven that end in “& El Paso” that I’m finding in a quick search so this avenue of research is also proving to be difficult…Okay, so we have another for the Mystery category, but still, this is a great postcard. And one more note: At first glance the photo for this postcard looks like it was glued on to the card, as there’s sort of an optical illusion effect happening on the right. But it would have been cropped and taken somewhere to have it made into a postcard, so it’s actually all one flat surface.

Source: Smithsonian, National Postal Museum. Web. 4 Jul 2014. [http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/2c1_railwaymail.html]

Trimmed Garbage Pail

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked Chicago, Illinois, June 15, 1910. Publisher unknown.

Price: $15.00

This is such a great one. Love it! The caption is: “The Latest Style – Trimmed Garbage Pail.” This postcard shows what appears to be a tinted photo of a young woman with a garbage pail for a hat, complete with large red bow and a large amount of yellow flowers. I don’t know how they did this one. Would the subject have posed like this, or would the image have been “doctored up” afterward? The face of the material for the front of the card is vertically ribbed, and is of the type that when you view it from an angle, you see the sort of “watered silk effect.” It’s very neat.

The sender wrote, “Don’t come early tomorrow because we are all going for[?] some excercises.” As you can see, most of the outer part of the back paper facing is gone, but it looks like maybe they were going “for” some exercise. And we don’t know if there was a signature, originally.

The card is addressed to “Miss E. L. Brownell. 2514 Washington Blvd. Chicago, Ill.”

The address of 2514 Washington Blvd in 1910 is in Ward 13, district 0629. The Federal Census does not show the addressee living there or anyone with the name of Brownell. The street number in the census record has a blot over the number 1, (hilarious – what are the odds?!) but the address appears to be 2514. The surrounding districts were checked and cross-streets double checked, etc. so I don’t see any other possibility for this address. The family living there at this time shows James Kirby, his wife Anna, and daughter Edna, who was born about 1894 in Chicago. The census was taken on April 21st of 1910, while this postcard was sent June 15th. The Kirby family shows up living at a different address in the neighborhood on the next census. So it looks like they must of moved shortly before this postcard was sent…..There is an extremely helpful website called A Look At Cook (listed below) for ward maps in Cook County, Illinois. This made pretty short work of finding the address.

An entry shows up for a Mrs. E. L. Brownell in the 1887 Chicago city directory at 326 S. Paulina, which is about a mile and a half away. But this is Mrs. and the addressee appears to be Miss. But there is an Edna L. Brownell on the 1940 Federal Census for Chicago, born Missouri about 1878, living at 2018 W. Van Buren St. This address on today’s map is just down the street from the 326 S. Paulina address. Then the other thing is that the daughter’s name is Edna on the 1910 census at Washington Blvd. But, this appears to be just a coincidence. Edna was a pretty common name at that time, plus the dates of birth would be way off.

On the 1900 Federal Census for Chicago, there is an Edna L. Brownell, born August 1878 in Kentucky. Single, living with widowed mother Carrie Brownell. Edna’s occupation is music teacher. The address is 948 Washington Blvd, which is about 2 miles east of the address on the postcard. I think this person is the most likely candidate for the addressee.

Sources and related information: Year: 1900; Census Place: Chicago Ward 12, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 258; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0335; FHL microfilm: 1240258. Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Chicago Ward 18, Cook (Chicago), Illinois; Roll: T625_329; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 1035; Image: 17. (Ancestry.com)

“United States Census, 1940,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KWB5-C99 : accessed 27 Jun 2014), Edna L Brownell, Ward 25, Chicago, Chicago City, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 103-1574, sheet 12A, family 276, NARA digital publication of T627, roll 971.

The Chicago Directory Co., Donnelley, Ruben H., compiler for The Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago. p. 273. Database online. (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989)

http://alookatcook.com/

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Category Archives: Hats

Turbaned Young Woman And Moon

A Theater Troupe

Forget Me Not Annie Baxter

Quote

Little Silesians By Oldřich Cihelka

Harve Marsing And Alma Thayn

Bon Voyage

John Arquero, Tourguide, Hilo, Hawaii

Mother And Son RPPC

Stein 4th Of July Float

Trimmed Garbage Pail