Czech Postcard By M. Aleš

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Annieoakley

Poesie.

“…Kvetouci strom lhal lásky žel, svou lásku slavik růži pěl…”

The line above is from the lyrical, epic poem “Máj” (May) by Czech romantic poet Karel Hynek Mácha (1810 – 1836). The English translation found online is “…blossoming tree lied love, his love rose nightingale sang.” “Máj” was published at the poet’s expense in 1836, and not well received by critics and contemporaries, who judged it to be too confusing and chaotic. Mácha died at the age of 25, having contracted pneumonia after over-exerting himself in helping to put out a fire. Recognition of his literary contributions did not come until later: In the 1850s he was glorified by other writers; in the late 1930’s his body was exhumed and given a state burial; a statue honors him in Petřín Park, Prague; he’s been commemorated on several postage stamps; a lake was named after him in 1961; and the work “Máj” is now considered a classic of Czech Romanticism.

The artist, M. Aleš

Mikoláš Aleš (1852 – 1913) is regarded as one of the Czech Republic’s greatest artists, and unlike the poet recognized on this postcard, Aleš did enjoy fame during his lifetime, at least for his architectural paintings; after his death his paintings and drawings became more widely acclaimed. It’s estimated that he had over 5,000 works published, appearing in a wide variety of media, including magazines, textbooks and even playing cards.

This postcard is estimated to be from the 1910s – 1921 due to the publisher information found at the ever-helpful Metropostcard.com site. The publishing company Minerva (1890 – 1921) was founded by Bohemian poet, Eliska Krasnohorska. By at least 1912, they were publishing Art reproductions.

Divided back, unused, artist-signed, Czech postcard. Publisher: Minerva. Circa 1910s – 1921.

Price: $20.00

Sources: Máj. Karel Hynek Mácha. English translation. [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=cs&u=http://www.lupomesky.cz/maj/&prev=search] Web accessed September 17, 2015.

Karel Hynek Mácha. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Hynek_M%C3%A1cha. (accessed September 17, 2015).

Minerva (1890-1921) M-Publishers, p. 2. [http://www.metropostcard.com/publishersm2.html] Web accessed September 17, 2015.

The Tree Spirit

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Annieoakley

This postcard is signed by artist E. Weaver. Biographical information was not found online but Sherry Arent Cawley, in Berrien County, author of one of the Postcard History Series put out by Arcadia Publishing, describes the artist as “…a very prolific American postcard artist at the turn of the century through the 1930s. His designs, in sets of 8 to 32 are whimsical and humorous with many drawn in a simplified Art Nouveau style.”

Indeed, prolific is the word, as numerous cards can be found currently for sale, and in browsing through, it appears the artist used a different color scheme for each series; this above was one of a set in green and black, and shows the lovely poem,

“True Friendship

True friendship is a golden link

Which none should seek to sever

And mine will last, I truly think,

Forever and forever.”

The back is signed, “From Your Most Humble Friend, O.S.” and at the top, “x x x”. Another in the series was found currently on eBay dated by the sender in 1922.

Divided back, unused with writing. Publisher unknown, series or number 2328, 32 designs. “Art Birthday Message.” Circa 1922.

Price: $5.00

Source: Cawley, Sherry A. Berrien County (Postcard History Series). Charleston: Arcadia. Author copyright year 2000. p. 30. (Google eBook).

“The Raggedy Man”

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Annieoakley

Poetry at Our House

I like to tie one post in with the next, and the tie-in on this one is maybe a stretch, but the Coney Island post reminds me of the Dog Days of summer, as does this postcard. The partial poem seen here is a childhood memory: we had a book on the shelf at home, was it The Children’s Book of Poetry? No, maybe Poetry at Our House? But it had this poem, “The Raggedy Man”, as well as James Whitcomb Riley’s other very well-known poem, “Little Orphant Annie.” My sisters (and brothers?) used to read out loud from the poetry book, and the lines I remember best, are, “…The Raggedy Man! He works fer Pa….” and then from Little Orphant Annie, “…an the Gobble-uns ‘ll git you ef you Don’t Watch Out!” Which at four years old scared me a little (I’d find myself later glancing up at the ceiling, pondering) but that I loved to hear. If these poems were a part of your childhood, too, no doubt all will come back in a rush, when you read them in their entirety. (There are a couple of typos in the poems; don’t mind them.) Notice the similarity between the illustration on this postcard and the one for “The Raggedy Man” (in the link) which was done by artist Will Vawter. It would not be a surprise if the postcard artist, Cob Shinn, had been inspired by Vawter’s image, as we’ve previously noticed evidence of this kind of thing within the world of old postcards.

Cob Shinn or Cobb X. Shinn?

According to an online compilation of the Jay Small Postcard Collection, Ca. 1907 – Ca. 1940s, Conrad “Cobb” Shinn (1887 – 1951) began doing art for postcards around 1907, which is the date the Scofield-Pierson Co. copyrighted the card, so it would seem that “Cob Shinn” was the earlier signature the artist used. The same shorter signature appears under another postcard by Shinn of an illustration of James Whitcomb Riley himself, with the same Scofield-Pierson copyright, which can be found for sale online at the moment. The Scofield-Pierson Co. shows up under the heading of “stationers” rather than publisher, though they could have been both. The publisher name on our postcard here appears on the back as Import Postcard Co. (And see our other Cobb Shinn postcard, This Tin Lizzy Makes Some Feed!)

To Mamie from Elsie

On to the particulars on the back…the addressee is: “Miss Mamie Coulson, Newberg, Oregon.” The sender wrote:

“Am at Norcatur attending a Teacher’s Association and have heard some very good talks. How are you and Eva now? Elsie Conklin.”

The 1910 Federal Census taken in Scotts Mills, Oregon, shows: Jesse E. and Harriet B. Coulson, born Iowa, 1856 and 1855 respectively, Jesse’s occupation is Orchardist; daughters Mamie A. Coulson, born 1892, and Ethel A. Cox, born 1880, and their cousin, Eva B. Frazier, born 1890, the latter three all born in Kansas. A few quick searches for Elsie show too many possibilities, and would require a more detailed look.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked January 9, 1909[?] from Norcatur, Kansas. Design copyrighted 1907 by the Scofield-Pierson Co. Publisher: Import Post Card Co., Indianapolis, Indiana. From Riley’s “Rhymes of Childhood.”

Price: $15.00

Sources: James Whitcomb Riley. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Whitcomb_Riley. (accessed August 27, 2015).

Riley’s Children’s Poetry. James Whitcomb Riley.com. (accessed August 29, 2015).

Jay Small Postcard Collection, Ca. 1907 – Ca. 1940s. Indianapolis Historical Society. http://www.indianahistory.org/ (accessed August 29, 2015).

The Youngest Stationer? The American Stationer, Vol. 74, July 1913. p. 21. Accessed August 29, 2015. (Google eBook.)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Scotts Mills, Marion, Oregon; Roll: T624_1284; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0228; FHL microfilm: 1375297. (Ancestry.com)

Soaring

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Annieoakley

I wonder what Gwen would have named this one. This is, like the back says, from an original block print by Gwen Frostic. Michigan-born Sarah Gwendolyn Frostic (1906 – 2001) was “…one of America’s foremost nature inspired artists.” I hadn’t heard of Gwen before finding this postcard, but the seagull reminded me of heavenly times spent in Northern Michigan, so I was tickled to discover that the correlation (specifically Northwestern Michigan – Benzie County, south of Crystal Lake) happened to be correct.

Divided back, unused postcard. Artist and publisher: Gwen Frostic, Presscraft Papers.

Three Cheers For The Red White And Blue

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Annieoakley

Divided back, embossed postcard. Postmarked June 22, 1909 from DeBeque, Colorado. Artist: Cyrus Durand Chapman. Publisher info: “Painting only copyrighted by S. Garre” [Garre or Garret?] Printed in Germany. No. 51668.

Price: $2.00

Happy 4th!

Who was artist C. Chapman for this 1909 postcard? We found multiple references and many examples of patriotic views identifying this person as New Jersey native, Cyrus Durand Chapman (1856 – 1918). This card, rather the worse for wear and tear, is another from the Alice Ellison Collection, and was sent to, “Miss Henryetta Ellison, 268 Cheyenne Ave., Pueblo, Colo.” The sender wrote:

“Dear Sister. I thought I wood drop you a card to let you know I still on the road & well so good By to all. xxxxxxx.”

Another View Of The Agua Caliente

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Annieoakley

“A quaint escalera leads to the cool, shaded galleria from which one may view the Avenida de las Palmas, Agua Caliente.”

See prior post for more information.

Price: $12.00

Entrada of the Agua Caliente Hotel

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Annieoakley

“Entrada of the Agua Caliente Hotel where scenes of Old World loveliness have been reproduced.”

This, and the following post, are two more artist-signed postcards by John Paul Burnham that we’ve recently come across. See our first post for this artist for more regarding the hotel.

Price: $12.00

This Tin Lizzy Makes Some Feed!

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Annieoakley

“When a Ford gets sick,

Hit her with a brick,

And she’ll ramble right along just the same.”

Here’s a humorous artist-signed postcard of a drawing of a man tossing a brick at the radiator of a Model T, while the lady in her stylish hat waits unconcernedly in the passenger seat. A billy goat is tugging on the back fender, thinking, “This Tin Lizzy makes some feed.”

This is one from a comical series by Indiana native Conrad “Cobb” X. Shinn (1887 – 1951) who produced many illustrations, also including those of the comic “Dutch accent” type that were so popular in the day, and others of profiles of beautiful women. His works can be easily found online.

“The Little Ford Rambled Right Along” seems to have been the inspiration for Shinn’s Tin Lizzy illustrations. This song came out in 1915 and was advertised as the “Greatest Comedy Song Sensation.” The music was by Byron Gay, and lyrics by C.R. Foster and Byron Gay, and was performed by Bill Murray. It starts out about a guy named Jones who is out with his girlfriend in his limo. When the limo breaks down, a guy by the name of Nord (to rhyme) comes along “…in his little old Ford.” And as you can guess, the first guy is quickly out of the picture as Nord and his Ford steal the girl away, whereby guy, girl and car proceed to have a day’s worth of adventures (including meeting up with a mule and a donkey) and bumping into a preacher, who jumps in for a ride resulting in the newly-met couple becoming man and wife. (Heehee) It’s really a clever song; the long and short of it being that the Ford is indestructible no matter what she encounters. The last line of the song is, “When the power gets sick just hit it with a brick and the little Ford will ramble right along!” (From Mitch Taylor’s Ford Model T website.)

As to the term Tin Lizzy or Lizzie, it seems to have been around from at least February of 1915 (the earliest date I found online.) The short clip below is dated a little later, June 4, 1915. Wow, it looks like the report indicates Ford’s capital stock had increased from two million to one hundred million dollars, due to the popularity of the affordable car for the masses!

Modesto Evening News, June 4, 1915, Friday, page 1.

But still, the exact origin of the nickname “Tin Lizzy” seems to be unknown. A couple of good guesses found online are that Lizzie was a common name for a horse, or that Lizzie was a slang phrase used for a domestic servant, with the idea being that “Lizzie” ran all the errands for the household which could now be run with the help of the automobile. But the above article does happen to disprove another theory which was that the term was coined at a race in 1922 at Pike’s Peak in Colorado.

Divided back, unused, artist-signed postcard. Artist: Cobb X. Shinn. Publisher: Commercial Colortype Company. Circa 1915.

Price: $25.00

Sources: “Model T Music & Lyrics.” www.fordmodelt.net. Web accessed March 6, 2015.

1915, June 4. “Tin Lizzies” Prove to be Profitable to the Ford Auto Company. Modesto Evening News, p. 1. Web accessed March 6, 2015. (Newspapers.com)

For Lousia From Lucreta And Edia

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Annieoakley

It’s funny that this postcard with the trademark below, comes right after the prior post. Same theme – a child standing on a flat-surfaced rock reaching to put a postcard in the mailbox. Different mailbox style, and this one shows a little girl, and she is facing the opposite way as the little boy, but still!

Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis publisher trademark.

This card was found in Salinas, California, so it’s possible that the Lousia, Lucreta and Edia were from this area (but I didn’t see any matches from a quick online search.) At first glance, I must admit, I thought the names were misspelled, as in written hastily and wouldn’t it be Louisa and Lucretia?, but no, there are plenty of entries under these spellings. The postcard appears to be an artist-signed work, with initials “M.G.” and shows a countryside scene of a graceful young woman, holding a basket, standing in front of some blue hydrangeas, on a little path next to a river that is reflecting green and gold. A red heart bearing the inscription “To my Valentine” appears at the top right. A very similarly styled valentine postcard by this publisher, dated 1909, shows up online right now (on Vintagepostals.com) but for me, the artist’s name remains a mystery. I don’t see anything specific to tie these initials in with Manni Grosze, who is known for his silhouettes and whose full signature appears on his work or for another with initals MG (also silhouettes) attributed to Marte Graf.

Divided back, embossed, unused with writing. Artist signed with initials M.G. Publisher: Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis. Number or series 2019. Printed in Germany. Circa 1909.

Price: $8.00

All A-Tiptoe

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Annieoakley

Price: $15.00

“All a-tiptoe I will be

Until my Valentine I see.”

Here’s a beautiful E. Curtis, (Elizabeth Curtis) artist-signed postcard published by Raphael Tuck & Sons. The artwork is actually a little cut off at the bottom, but it shows a little boy in red-striped winter hat and blue scarf, with a mailbag on his shoulder, on tip-toe reaching to the mailbox. The composition is lovely with another mailbag illustrated at the top right, open and with letters falling. The card is addressed to:

“Miss Helen Huggins, 2313 Channing Way, Berkeley, Cal.”

Helen Huggins would have been about five or six years old when she received this postcard. She can be found on the 1920 Federal Census for Berkeley, at the address on the postcard, born in California, about 1899. She is with her parents, Charles W. Huggins, born Minnesota, about 1861, working as a civil engineer for the city, and Pearl O. Huggins, born Missouri, about 1871; and younger sister, Bernice Huggins, born California, about 1903. Boarding with the family is Euphemia A. Black, born California, about 1881, occupation Housekeeper.

Source: Year: 1920; Census Place: Berkeley, Alameda, California; Roll: T625_93; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 184; Image: 113. (Ancestry.com.)

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