Two Swedish Women

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Annieoakley

Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, circa 1907 – 1910. Photographer: Fred A. Grinolds. CYKO stamp box.

Price: $15.00

“These two girls came 3 miles last Sunday to have me take their picture they are both Swedes and are engaged to be married soon they cant talk very good English yet write me if you are coming to Cal”

I think these ladies may be sisters, there seems to be a definite resemblance. Don’t you love the hats? In particular, I love the long cloak of the woman on our left, with that double row of decorative buttons. Too bad the photographer didn’t include their names in the above note. But still, we appreciate the fact that he did write a description, and we appreciate the sense of occasion it would have been for the women, Swedish immigrants, both engaged to be married.

As for the photographer, he was Fred Albert Grinolds, born in Oil City, Pennsylvania, March 2, 1879, mother’s maiden name Swartz. Fred must not have been in the photography business for very long: November 15, 1911, he married Elba Vera Lovelass in Marshfield, Coos County, Oregon, his occupation given as “ratchet setter” (at a sawmill). By the 1918 WWI Draft Registration, he was working as a millwright at the Old Dominion Company (a copper mining operation) in Globe, Arizona. Nothing was found for him online under the photographer heading, but it sounds like this would have been in California, before he got married. He and Edna had two daughters, Edna and Bertha. Below is Fred’s obit found in The Modesto Bee, August 22, 1960:

Sources: “California Death Index, 1940-1997,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPWR-WK9 : 26 November 2014), Fred A Grinolds, 21 Aug 1960; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Newport, Coos, Oregon; Roll: T624_1280; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0052; FHL microfilm: 1375293.

Registration State: Arizona; Registration County: Gila County. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

“Fred A. Grinolds.” The Modesto Bee, August 22, 1960. Monday, p. 10. (Newspapers.com).

Portal Morelos, Puebla, México

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Annieoakley

Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1931. EKKP stamp box. Publisher: La Compañía México Fotográfico (MF).

Price: $15.00

This is a great photo with lots to look at. The publisher could have “edited out” the dog in the picture and thankfully, chose not to. There’s our guy, (dog, not publisher!) with a happy expression, making his way down, what is almost the center of the road, traveling the opposite way, on what seems to be a one-way street. He looks a little on the skinny side, so we hope he had good life from here on, with lots of good meals.

The estimate for our postcard’s age comes from looking at the license plate on the car to our far right. This appears to be year 1931, but we’ll research the years and models of the cars to help with this question.

Destinos México has some info and a modern-day photo of one of the Portals (not sure which one) in Puebla. And I think the use of the word portal (entrance way) comes from the architecture – the archways all along the storefronts.

And, if you’re like me, you see faces seemingly everywhere. Here’s a fun one:

How about that “dish” type of thing on top of one of the far buildings? My best guess is that this was for some type of radio reception, unless it was showing advertising of some sort:

Lastly, of note, is the publisher logo, MF: You may have seen this on many Mexican postcards. It stands for La Compañía México Fotográfico, and was founded in 1925 by Demetrio Sánchez Ortega. From the Revistas Inah website, see Mayra N. Uribe Eguiluz’s beautiful article “La Compañía México Fotográfico en la política de turismo nacional de los años veint.” (The Mexico Photographic Company in the national tourism policy from the twenties.) The essay is in Spanish (I’m not bilingual so I Google translated some of it, but it shows a photo of the building the company was housed in, with the company’s very recognizable, stylized logo on the facade, as well as a couple of other interesting photos.) The “21” showing here was likely just a production or series number, as per the norm for postcards.

Sources: Portal (architecture). n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(architecture) (accessed April 4, 2022).

“The Portals of Puebla.”Destinos México. (programadestinosmexico-com.). Accessed April 4, 2022.

Uribe Eguiluz, Mayra N. “La Compañía México Fotográfico en la política de turismo nacional de los años veint.” https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/ (accessed April 4, 2022).

Understated Elegance

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Annieoakley

Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1930 – 1950. EKC stamp box.

Price: $3.00

A courtyard (maybe). We can’t see whether this fits the definition of an enclosed or semi-enclosed space. The card was found in California, and there’s a good chance that the photo was taken there. This view is beautiful in its simplicity. Spanish-style home, with tile roof. Note the beautiful wrought iron gate, the archway around the window on our right. Is that a magnolia tree? And the wooden or stone bench, if not marble. I love the pavers stones around the tree, how they are quite pitted and rustic. I didn’t see any of the same type online. In general, they go under a variety of terminology, found online as “stone tree ring planters” and “retaining walls around trees” and “stone planter beds and “tree mulch rings.” The home owners have planted some type of ground cover around the tree and some ferns by the side wall. No earth-shattering revelations here…..just a nice, restful photo that someone made into a postcard.

Calle de Montes de Oca, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Annieoakley

Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1941. EKC stamp box.

Price: $6.00

These types of cards are always intriguing at purchase (and beyond). You’re dying to enlarge the image so you can see more detail…..but just in general, any photo or painting, drawing, etc. that leads you down a path….well, it’s always an invitation to explore. And for me, after soaking in the pastels of the previous card, I want to fill this one in with color, too. So, here’s our quick “fix” below:

Calle de Montes de Oca can be translated from Spanish as “Goose Mountains Street.” It’s located in the city of San Miguel de Allende, in the Central Mexican state of Guanajuato. And the church in the distance, La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, is said to be one of the most photographed in Mexico.

Sources: “paintings of calle montes de oca san miguel de allende” Google.com search (accessed March 6, 2022).

San Miguel de Allende. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Miguel_de_Allende (accessed March 6, 2022).

Ruth Brown, Ida Corbett and Nellie Bond Bagley

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Annieoakley

Real Photo Postcard, cropped. July, 1913, Santa Paula, California

Price: $12.00 Size: About 2 and 1/8 x 3″

“Ruth Brown, Ida Corbett and Nellie Bond Bagley – on her wedding day. Santa Paula, Calif.”

Three beautiful ladies decked in lace, in that gorgeous style from the 1910s. It was Nellie Bond’s wedding day, Santa Paula, CA, July 1913. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the names read left to right, which places the bride to our right, wearing the white shoes, long white gloves, and holding a bouquet of flowers that trails into a long spray. And, if you look closely, you can see that there are some black marks on the photo, obscuring the full bouquet. At first glance, you might mistake the marks as part of the flower arrangement (it works ascetically speaking, but no.) This Real Photo Postcard was found cropped down quite a bit to it’s approximate 2 x 3 inch size.

Nellie Bond was born February 1893 in Missouri, daughter of William and Susie Bond (from the 1900 Federal Census, Benton, Polk County, Missouri). In July, 1913, she married James Elijah “Ail” Bagley, also a Missouri native. His full name and date of birth, October 26, 1893 are found in Ancestry.com family trees.

The clipping below appeared in the Oxnard Courier, July 11, 1913:

Ida Corbett (maiden name Hardison) born about August 1870 in Pennsylvania, was married to Leonard W. Corbett, February 11, 1892. Their marriage announcement was found in the Los Angeles Evening Express, dated February 13th:

Ruth Brown proves to be a little harder to find in records – a common name and we don’t know whether Brown is her maiden or married name. Nothing definitive shows up in quick searches online.

Sources: Year: 1900; Census Place: Benton, Polk, Missouri; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 0122; FHL microfilm: 1240883. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1900; Census Place: Santa Paula, Ventura, California; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0166; FHL microfilm: 1240116. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Santa Paula, Ventura, California; Roll: T624_111; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0215; FHL microfilm: 1374124. (Ancestry.com).

“Wedding in Santa Paula.” Oxnard Courier, July 11, 1913, Friday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“In Social Circles.” Los Angeles Evening Express, February 13, 1892, Saturday, p. 8. (Newspapers.com).

Three Gents

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Annieoakley

Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1908 – 1918. AZO stamp box.

Price: $5.00

I believe these guys, or at least the two on our left, may be brothers, due to their resemblance to each other, though admittedly, there is a tendency to see family links where there may be none. Human nature, I think. Or, you might just imagine them as buddies or business partners. We wonder where the photo was taken. That looks like an American flag flying from that second story window on the left, crossed with another flag, which we can’t make out. Those could be decorations for some type of celebration draped over the iron balcony, like trimmings in support of an upcoming or just past Independence Day parade. The only wording that’s easily readable on the buildings behind the gents is “Free Reading Room.” Though, some historian might be able to recognize the design on the window to the left of the door to the reading room, which would be a possible clue for location. Oh, then there is some other wording showing – that last line looks like a name that starts with “McShe…” something Irish or Scottish. Easy to miss, but it’s on the building showing between the two guys on our left.

Last but not least, the stories from the background….a guy walking, and two older guys seated, passing the time of day, inside a business probably, some place that needed a large doorway, maybe for deliveries.

A Folk Victorian Home, About 1910

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Annieoakley

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Unused. KRUXO stamp box. Circa 1908 – 1910.

Price: $10.00

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this house style is Folk Victorian. Two such features are the lace-like decorative spandrels (side-brackets) that help form the archways on the front porch and porch posts that are either turned spindles, or in this case, square with chamfered (beveled) corners. Enlarge the image twice to see the detailing. The thing that seemed weird at first, to me anyway, is that each porch support appears to rest on a short and very narrow piece. Seems like that would be the opposite of what any builder would want to do. However, I’ve been informed that those narrow pieces are likely steel secured from below and going up into each post. The advantage is that rain won’t collect as in a wood-on-wood situation, won’t pool underneath and rot the deck and won’t wick up to create rot in the wooden posts . Smart builder and/or designer!

Other details: We see part of a barn on our right, behind the house, and part of maybe an outbuilding on our left. And….not really noticeable at first, there’s a little boy in one of the windows! Too bad there is no identifying information on the back of the card, but it’s such a nice house, looking brand new, and so charming, almost like a doll house that was just set down on someone’s farmland.

The estimate of the postcard date was determined from scrutiny of the KRUXO stamp box examples online at Playle.com. (Two examples are really similar but I think ours is like the one Playle’s has dated 1908 to 1910.)

Sources: McAlester, Virginia, and Lee McAlester. A Field Guide to American Houses. 1984. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Print.

Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes. K-L. Playle.com. (accessed December 12, 2020).

Fannie and Walter’s House

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Annieoakley

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked August 4th from Seattle Washington. Year not readable. Circa 1910s – 1926.

Price: $7.00

Addressed to: “Leo H. Ouellette. 113 North Norah St. Fort William Ont. Canada.”

“Leo – This is the little house where Fannie and Walter lived when she taught at Manchester. Harold and I often went over and stayed with them for weeks at at time. It was a nice little house. She liked it too. [signature not readable] ”

A very nice little house, indeed, and with a wrap-around porch! No luck in finding out the surname of Fannie (or Frances) and Walter, though. And we’re not sure if Manchester was the name of a school or a town, but either way, no definite results were found. If a town, then likely it’s the Manchester that’s west of Seattle, across Puget Sound. And though this photo was postmarked in August, it must have been taken in winter – note the bare deciduous trees.

The address of Leo Ouellette, 113 Norah St. N., appears to be an empty lot today, in what was formerly Fort William, now the city of Thunder Bay. Leo’s obit appears below. He was born April 16, 1893 in Duluth, Minnesota, father’s name Henry, and died January 23, 1927 in Seattle. His WWI Draft Registration Card, dated Jun 5, 1917, shows he was, at that time, single, living in Evanston, Wyoming and employed as a brakeman for the Union Pacific Railroad. His prior service was two months in the National Guard in Colorado. (B. P. O. E. in the notice below, stands for Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.)

Sources: Fort William, Ontario. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_William,_Ontario (accessed December 12, 2020).

Microfilm. Washington State Archives, Olympia, Washington. Ancestry.com. Washington, U.S., Death Records, 1883-1960.

Registration State: Wyoming; Registration County: Sweetwater County. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

Seattle Daily Times, January 25, 1927. Tuesday, p. 21. (genealogybank.com).

Near Hornbrook, California, 1910

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Annieoakley

Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked February 17, 1910 from Hornbrook, CA.

Price: $8.00

Addressed to: “Mrs. May Wells. Dorris, California”

The sender wrote: “Dear May card red thank you. this is a view just below the barn & I made it. I am not very well hope you and family are well. Ella”

Gosh, we hope Ella felt better very soon after she wrote the above! She did a good job with the photo. And it’s nice to have the approximate location of this scene, (from the postmark) but I would have picked this card up regardless. Something about the silhouette of a tree always grabs me, and I’m forever taking similar shots only to look at them afterward and think that the photo didn’t do them justice, but still. And how can it when we live in 3-D but our photography is not? Anyway, both Hornbrook and Dorris are located up by the Oregon border in Siskiyou County, map below. If you’re like me, you’ve done a double-take on the county shape, it looks a little like Montana with a much larger “Idaho” on the left in lighter green.

May Wells was Julia May (maiden name Osborn according to family trees), born about 1879 in Corning, CA. She married David Wells and they had a son, Ernest David Wells, born in 1908. May’s obit was found online and appears below. (That should say Butte Valley, not Calley.)

Sources: Year: 1910; Census Place: Lake, Siskiyou, California; Roll: T624_108; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0111; FHL microfilm: 1374121. (Ancestry.com).

Siskiyou County, California. Map from Google.com search. Accessed December 12, 2020.

“Julia May Wells” The Sacramento Bee, October 14, 1971. Thursday, p. 25. (Newspapers.com).

Rev. Anthony C. Stuhlmann and Friends, 1918

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Annieoakley

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked May 21, 1918 from Arkansaw, Wisconsin. AZO stamp box.

Price: $6.00

Addressed to: “Rev. Father A. C. Stuhlmann, Catasauqua (Pa.) St. Mary’s Rectory”

The handwriting is hard to decipher without knowing German, but it starts off, “Arkansaw May 12 1918….”

We’re presuming the gentleman in the priest’s raiment (dark suit, white collar, to our right of the tree) to be the addressee. The card may have been sent by William (nearest relative, maybe a brother) from the record below. (Wilhelm from the sender’s signature?) And we’re presuming this photo was taken in either Catasaqua, PA or Arkansaw, WI, when one had gone to visit the other. In either case, it’s a pretty happy group, and the Reverend has raised his glass (are those beer mugs in the shot?) so, it seems like they were all celebrating something, or maybe just the happy event of getting together. But what was the ladder for?

Anthony Christian Stuhlmann, from the WWI draft registration, was born September 17, 1879 in Germany. His occupation was Catholic priest, and home address 122 Union St., Catasaugua, Pennsylvania. Nearest relative, William Stuhlmann of Arkansaw, Pepin County, Wisconsin.

Sources: Roth & Weaber’s Directory of the City of Allentown, Comprising Allentown, Rittersville, South Allentown. Also Directory of Catasauqua and Lehigh County, 1916. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Lehigh; Roll: 1893745; Draft Board: 1. September 12, 1918. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

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