Real Photo Postcard, unused. Stamp box: DOPS. Circa 1925 – 1942.
Price: $8.00
Is this us? Finding a safe spot in a storm, surrounded by the chaos of life, just a breather for a minute, but drawing strength….Yeah, it feels like it, and I’m with ya.
The time frame on this one comes from the great Playle’s website re Real Photo Stamp Boxes.
Source: “Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes – D-E.” https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photod.php (accessed September 11, 2023).
Real Photo Postcard, 1919. Unused. ARTURA stamp box.
Price: $15.00
Such a cute baby and how excellent that the family member gave us the description on the reverse:
“Vinita Belle Lowry at the age of 13 months.”
Vinita Belle’s date of birth was February 22, 1918, so this photo then was taken in March of 1919. Her parents were Claud Lowry and Effie (Dickerson) Lowry. Find A Grave has a lot of information for the family including a long obit for Vinita. See link below:
Source: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38993488/vinita-kollmeyer: accessed 10 July 2023), memorial page for Vinita Lowry Kollmeyer (22 Feb 1918–25 Mar 2007), Find a Grave Memorial ID 38993488, citing Hazelwood Cemetery, Springfield, Greene County, Missouri, USA; Maintained by Judy Young (contributor 46792475).
Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1907 – 1915.
Price: $4.00
What confirms this structure’s status as a boat is the name at the stern – though very faint and indiscernible. And since the postcard’s image is so washed out, here’s a darker version:
So, unless someone is writing a book on old houseboats, I don’t see much monetary value here for this card. But we’ve had sales on items in the past – cover of a book on one, fashion example used inside another book, etc. – so, value is relative. Ha, it’s definitely true, sometimes I ask myself later, “Why did I buy this one?” 🙂 (No names, rather light…) Harkening back now to my mindset at the time, it was for the romantic notion of houseboats I’ve had since a child. (At least, I think this can be called a houseboat.) Woven in there somewhere is an antidote for a feeling – a lament, a long-running perception (that surfaces pointedly at times) that our present-day “expectation” is one of making everything ascetically acceptable (a nice lawn, nice-looking house, etc.) – an expectation that, in my opinion, often usurps the more important things in life – real friendship among neighbors, for instance….So it’s refreshing to travel back to the early 1900’s, to a time when a hand-built boat like this one would not automatically be viewed as an “eyesore” but rather, just simply for what it was.
The story from this captured moment….of course, we can speculate all day long, but my take….The houseboat belongs to the older gentlemen with the walking stick, having built it and lived on it for a time in his younger days. He’s got great anecdotes (that the rest of the family have heard a number of times – rolling eyes, 😉 ). He’s here to retrieve some items resting in storage, and he and the family have turned the trip into a nice outing and a photo op. (Note the three hats that have been removed and are laying on the ground in a pile.) Check out the expressions – the rather comical upwards glance of the lad toward the old man, the come-hither expression for the young lady (gorgeous lace collar), the straight-on pose for the woman (daughter or wife of the gentleman?), that air of history and ownership emanating from the old man, and never forgetting to mention, the family dog, happy to be out for the day with his “charges.”
Back to the boat – it’s quite long. I thought at first that the roofed portion on our left was from some building behind it, but no, that part is attached. Note the animal skins that lay draped over the top edge of the cabin (for keeping out the rain?). And the wooden or metal box attached to the cabin’s front wall, left of the doorway – the box meeting some type of practical purpose.
Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. Deckled edge. Circa 1910’s. Photographer: E. Hunter, Schlettstadt. Pt. 773/II.
Price: $15.00
An unusual photographic pose if we ever saw one! The whimsical Augustine, wife of Julien Duller, pauses at a “doorway,” her left hand is on the invisible door nob. She’s smiling (with sort of a “knowing” look) back at the camera.
The date is unknown for this card: The stamp box, one we’ve never come across, is blank except for a small six-pointed star in each of the bottom corners. But we’ll estimate the 1910’s due to the subject’s dress – fitted, column-style in dark wool or maybe linen or heavy cotton; displaying a shawl collar in silk or satin with matching material in a wide band below the bust line; and decorative bands on hip and sleeves. The dress falls below mid-calf to reveal high button-top boots. Her hair is dressed in a short side-part, (dig that one falling curl) up-swept and piled tightly on top for a little height. On her right hand, she wears a pocket watch that was converted into a wristwatch. In the insert below, you can see what’s referred to as “the bow,” which is the part that the chain would have been suspended from – a nice, surprising detail, and possibly an important clue to the postcard’s date, as it was WWI that ushered in the popularity of the wristwatch.
The photographer, E. Hunter, was not found online in any references, but his stamp tells us he was in Schlettstadt, (Sélestat in French and Schlettstàdt in Alsatian) a town in the Grand Est region of France, on the border of Germany.
As for those few words from Augustine, in her beautiful script: I’m not sure what the first word is but the next would be andenken, and the third looks like genidmet: translation from German appearing as “souvenir” and “dedicated.” So it’s probably something in the nature of “fond remembrances” but maybe a native German (or Alsation?) can help us out.
Sources: Pocket watch. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_watch#:~:text=In%20men’s%20fashions %2C%20pocket%20watches,one%20kept%20in%20a%20pocket. (accessed April 30, 2023).
Sélestat. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9lestat (accessed April 30, 2023).
Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. AZO stamp box. Photographer: Bicknell. Circa 1916 – 1918.
Price: $15.00
Embossed on the front lower right is the photographer info: “Bicknell. 326 1/2 Washington St. Portland Ore.”
Miss Lila, very smartly attired and posing rather somberly for the camera, was born in California, October 1894, the daughter of Benjamin F. Sears and Jennifer Wotton. She married Harry W. Kelley, May 7, 1921, in Portland. The date for this postcard has been narrowed down with the help of Playles.com (AZO stamp boxes all four triangles pointing upward are as late as 1918) and the photographer’s address.
The Bicknell Studio
The photography studio of Bicknell would have been Wilfred Bicknell and his wife, Pearl. They’re both listed as photographers on the 1910 Federal Census for Portland. He born in England about 1875, and she born in Oregon about 1881. The Portland city directories start online from 1906 for Wilfred; address 203 1/2 1st Street. By 1909 we’re seeing an additional address for the studio of 214 Merchants Trust Building, switching to 210 Merchants Trust by 1911. (No city directories were found for 1910.)
In 1919, Wilfred married Mayme H. Thuener, August 11, 1919 in Marin County, California. No records were found for a divorce or death for Pearl.
Curiously, no references were found for the 326 1/2 Washington Street, Portland address that’s embossed on the postcard.
When the WWI Draft Registration Card was recorded, Wilfred was in San Francisco, CA. This record shows his date of birth as December 28, 1874. He’s working as a photographer for employer, Charles Bossum at 25 Kearney St. Then 1920 census for Stockton, CA, shows Wilfred is as owner of a photography gallery.
By 1930, Wilfred has run into some tough times. At the time of this census, taken in Stockton, CA, he is a patient at the state mental hospital. (It makes one wonder how much exposure he may have had to chemicals and/or heavy metals from his occupation.)
Sources: “Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes, A – B.” https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoa.php. (access April 23, 2023).
Oregon Center For Health Statistics; Portland, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Marriages, 1911-1945 (Ancestry.com).
Oregon State Archives; Salem, Oregon; Oregon, Death Records, 1864-1967. (Ancestry.com).
Year: 1910; Census Place: Portland Ward 5, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: T624_1286; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0159; FHL microfilm: 1375299. (Ancestry.com).
R. L. Polk & Co.’s Portland, Oregon city directories, 1906 – 1916. (Ancestry.com).
Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941.
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.
Year: 1920; Census Place: Stockton Ward 4, San Joaquin, California; Roll: T625_144; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 177. (Ancestry.com).
Year: 1930; Census Place: Stockton, San Joaquin, California; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0050; FHL microfilm: 2339947. (Ancestry.com).
Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. KRUXO stamp box, circa 1908 – 1910.
Price: $15.00
Portrait of a beautiful young woman, in satin dress with tucks and a ruffled high lace collar…..
This particular KRUXO stamp box, with four-leaf clovers in each corner, is known to be from 1908 – 1910. Here’s the name written on the back:
As you can see, the ending of the surname is a little run together, however, we’re not finding any other potential matches under name variations.
And there’s no guarantee, but still we feel pretty confident that we have the right person in the details below:
Martha is the daughter of George Reifschneider and Katrina Redder, both German emigrants. (The Redder surname is from Ancestry.com family trees.) Martha was born in Iowa about May of 1890. She married Carl Sietmann March 9, 1910 at the home of her parents in Blairstown, Missouri.
Sources: “K-L. Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes.” Playle.com. Accessed April 11, 2023.
Year: 1900; Census Place: Jefferson, Marshall, Iowa; Roll: 447; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0109. (Ancestry.com).
“Laurel Couple Weds.” Evening Times-Republican (Marshalltown, Iowa). March 16, 1910. Wednesday, p. 9. (Newspapers.com).
Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. CYKO stamp box. Circa 1915 – 1925.
Price: $15.00
There are two names on the back of this card: Ethel Lewis Kelly and Bertha Tufford. Presumably they are cousins, or Bertha could be a cousin-in-law, though records were not found as proof, either way.
A description…..
Ethel, with a thoughtful, agreeable expression, wearing wire-rimmed eyeglasses, head tilted slightly, dark hair parted on the side and pulled back. Rings on both hands, one a possible wedding ring, and an interesting dress style: light material with small diamonds, dark satiny fabric for the upside of the collar, the same fabric around the waist and for the diagonal accent under the bodice buttons. Lace running up one side from buttons to collar, and then lace around the cuffs, continuing up to the elbows. The carved wooden chair is also gorgeous – one of the nicest we’ve seen. The “ears” of the chair resemble something between a fish and a seahorse.
Ethel Lewis, born August 1890 in Oregon, is the daughter of Timothy Ambrose Lewis and Louise Serrell Crawford. Ethel married Thomas Leo Kelly in about 1923. He was born in Maine 1887. He was first married to Frances Jane Chisholm.
Researching this postcard threw me for a loop for awhile, because there’s a town called Bridge in Oregon. But, there’s another town called McKenzie Bridge, which is an unincorporated community in Lane County, OR, and shows up on Thomas Kelly’s death certificate. So, there’s no “Cousin McKenzie” at all. Thank goodness, as it wasn’t making too much sense that way.
As to the “addressee,” there’s a Bertha Mae Tufford, born January 19, 1892 in Portland, Oregon, who marries Frederick Sylvester Huit on March 10, 1917. If she’s the correct person then we’re led to believe that this postcard photo was taken before this marriage date, when Bertha was still single, still a Tufford, and that would mean that Ethel wasn’t married yet, and the ring on her left hand was not a wedding ring. Or, it could just be that the person who wrote in pencil on the reverse wasn’t aware of Bertha’s marriage or didn’t know the name. But as previously stated, no records were found to verify a “cousinship.” 😉
Sources: Year: 1900; Census Place: Cottage Grove, Lane, Oregon; Roll: 1349; Page: 15; Enumeration District: 0120; FHL microfilm: 1241348. (Ancestry.com).
Year: 1920; Census Place: Elmira, Lane, Oregon; Roll: T625_1496; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 229. (Ancestry.com).
The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147. (Ancestry.com).
Oregon State Archives; Salem, Oregon; Oregon, Death Records, 1864-1967. (Ancestry.com).
Ancestry Family Trees for Thomas Leo Kelly and Frances Jane Chisolm. (Ancestry.com). Accessed February 18, 2023.
McKenzie Bridge, Oregon. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_Bridge,_Oregon (accessed February 18, 2023).
Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, wide border. Unused. Circa 1910 – 1920s.
Price: $6.00
A dark-haired young woman with bangs and hair pulled up in a top bun, wears a loose-fitting white blouse and…..are those trousers? Possibly, but more likely the question’s come up just due to the way the skirt is hanging. Not that trousers would have been unheard of, especially with and after WWI (the vacated jobs being filled by women, the practicality of pants, etc.) But to continue – around her hips is a wide, striped cloth accessory, pinned in place, giving the outfit a nice bohemian look. (The “belt” in the limelight reminds me of the Ceinture fléchée, the cloth, arrow sash that the French-Canadian voyageurs used, though there is no arrow design in this one.) And she’s posed at the foot of a flight of wooden stairs – the setting is rustic, working-class, we see an opening to maybe a store or warehouse on the ground level behind her. Maybe the building housed a flat above a shop or was a two-story business. Also of note, the young lady’s jewelry – earrings, a bracelet of (presumably) gold or gold-tone, and two rings, one a possible wedding ring.
Dating the card: The reverse of this Real Photo Postcard – no stamp box, with its simple lettering style and “Correspondence Here,” “Name and Address Here” and its very short Divided Back line doesn’t, as far as I’ve seen, and according to Playle’s, have any verified to-and-from dates, (that’d be a time-consuming project, for sure) so we’re just estimating by general experience with clothing style and RPPCs.
Sources: Ceinture fléchée. n.d. See link for URL. Accessed February 16, 2023.
Real Photo Postcard Stamp Backs: Unknown Manufacturers. Playle.com. (Accessed February 16, 2023).
Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa 1922.
Price: $15.00 Size: 5 and 1/8 x 3 and 1/8″
This one was slightly cropped it seems, but it’s almost full size for an RPPC. And a very cute portrait of one Jorgen Vind, age about five. Let’s see how many Jorgen Vinds there might be in records:
After a little searching, we can confidently say this is Jorgen aka Jergen Paulson Vind, born September 19, 1917 in Crockett, Contra Costa County, California. Crockett is located about 28 miles northeast of San Francisco. The 1920 Federal Census for Contra Costa shows parents, Jerry Vind, born about 1868 in North Schleswig, Germany, (now part of Denmark) native language Danish, and Elizabeth, born about 1885 in Ireland, and children, nine-year-old Anna and two-year-old Jorgen. From the CA birth records we learn that Elizabeth’s maiden name was Kerr.
Jergen P. Vind married Pat A. Peters, November 6, 1954 in San Francisco, California.
Jergen died in Reno, Nevada, January 21, 1998.
Sources: State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.(Ancestry.com).
Year: 1920; Census Place: Township 12, Contra Costa, California; Roll: T625_95; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 26. (Ancestry.com).
Schleswig-Holstein. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein (accessed February 15, 2023).
National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 1872. (Ancestry.com).
Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1949-1959.
Nevada State Health Division, Office of Vital Statistics. State Death Index. Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Carson City, Nevada. (Ancestry.com).
Real Photo Postcard. Unused. Circa 1907 – 1909. AZO stamp box.
Price: $5.00
No writing on the back, so no way to offer up a great find for any potential descendant on this one. But, sometimes you’re just drawn to a photo or postcard image, and I think this one is beauty in its simplicity: Girl and horse, part of a barn, a couple of trees, wooden fence, rolling hills – a nice blast back to our rural American past.
Looking off to her left, the young woman in skirt and blouse, hair pulled back in a bow, holding the rope halter of her horse, the animal’s expression faces the camera. (The nuances are lovely – who is looking where.) And first impressions are always interesting. To me, the girl’s skin coloring appears to be a trifle dark; she strikes me as being part Native American or having gypsy background. Of course, that’s only an impression on my part, and not meant to be taken as anything, really – only to share the thought. Do you think she wears wire-rimmed eyeglasses or is that a trick of the light? The horse (no horse expertise here on my part) looks young, and I like the square “star” appearing on his forehead. (Apparently the white markings, other than the vertical blaze, are called stars, no matter their shape.)
Per Playles, this particular AZO stamp box (on reverse) with diamonds in corners is dated from 1905 – 1909. We presume Real Photo Postcards followed the same U. S. postal regulations regarding “Divided Back,” the ruling for which started March 1, 1907. So, the date, at least, can be happily narrowed down to 1907 – 1909.
Sources: Sanderson, David. “Naming Head Markings on a Horse.” Dallas Equestrian Center, May 13, 2015, http://www.dallasequestriancenter.com/naming-head-markings-on-a-horse/#:~:text=Star,of%20whether%20it%20resembles%20one. Accessed February 11, 2023.
Playle’s: “Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes, A – B.: https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoa.php. (accessed February 11, 2023).
