Couple On Steps

Real Photo Postcard. Unused. VELOX stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1917.

Price:  $4.00

A moment in time, somewhere in rural America…..

According to the particular VELOX stamp box on the reverse, this would have been taken around 1907 to 1917. The building the steps lead up to is not a house, but maybe rather a grange hall, a train depot, a hotel. Note the metal screening on the windows, and the possibility of various small signs (enlarge the image twice – see the nails?) that had once been posted to our left of the doorway. But, I was drawn to this postcard from my impression of two people, caught in a great, candid moment of laughter – the woman seems to be, doubled over would be overstating it, but how do you describe, when someone says something unexpected, maybe ridiculous, and you have that reaction, turning off to the side in mirth, a little bent at the waist? The gentleman’s pose is in wonderful contrast, with arms folded, looking into the camera. In close up view, we can’t really tell if he’s laughing, but we’re taking in the working clothes, the heavy gloves, the dried mud on his boots (he’s probably listed as a farmer on the 1900 and 1910 census), and of course, the metal bucket to his right.

Zola I. Proudfit, April 1916

Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. April 1916. AZO stamp box.

Price:  $12.00

“Miss Zola Proudfit, 8 years 4 months, Taking in April 23, 1916.”

A cute moment:  Zola posing on her front porch step, (assuming she was at home) in a white lace dress with a scalloped hem, dark tights and black shoes (they look new). The home is wood-framed and sided, with a wooden sidewalk leading up to it. There may have been electrical wires nearby, note the pattern of the two parallel lines, which must be shadows, appearing on the eave.

Zola, an Oregon native, is the daughter of Fred Proudfit and Rose Fitzgerald. She married California native, Robert Blake Galbraith, on November 25, 1926 in Oakland, California. At the time of their marriage, Zola was a telephone operator, and Robert a locomotive fireman. His parents are Joseph Galbraith and Elizabeth Blake.

Source:  Marriage records, select counties and years. California State Archives, Sacramento, California. (Ancestry.com).

Grandpa McInnes

Real Photo Postcard, unused. AZO stamp box.

Price:  $5.00

A beautiful photo-turned-postcard of a handsome guy in profile, with white beard, in suspenders, one hand resting on hip, the other holding his straw hat and with what we might think of as the “old homestead” in the immediate background. The only identification is written on the back as,  “Grandpa McInnes.”  The stamp box is an AZO, two triangles up and two down, which is estimated anywhere between 1910 and 1930, per Playle’s. See https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoa.php.

Irene Francis Zink and Virgil Emerson Zink

Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. 1922.

Price:  $12.00

Continuing on with a kid theme before we get to some Christmas posts…..Here’s one very nicely identified as:

“Joel Cox’s grandchildren Irene Francis Zink age 3 1/2 yrs. and Virgil Emerson Zink age 11 wk.”

Per the Find A Grave entries Irene was born May 4, 1919 and Virgil March 31, 1922. Both are natives of Kansas. Parents are Virgil E. Zink and Lena M. Cox. The ages given on the back of the postcard appear to be a little off, according to their birth dates, but this photo must have been taken in 1922. And if you enlarge the image (I was admiring Irene’s dress and the crochet work for both dresses) you’ll notice that Virgil’s eyes were “enhanced” a little. This was done by the photographer at some point during the photo processing.

Sources:  Find A Grave. Virgil Emerson “Bud” Zink, Jr. Find A Grave i.d. number 106961463. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

Find A Grave. Irene Zink Pound. Find A Grave i.d. number 96094840. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

Boyd Roland Gibbs, 4th Field Artillery, Battery B

Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1916 – 1919. Arax Photo Studios. AZO stamp box.

Price:  $15.00

“Mr. Boyd Roland Gibbs. 4th Field Artillery. Battery B. Atlanta, Georgia.”

Hey, well I fibbed 😉 evidently in the last post. Thought I had no military, but found this one. And a great one it is. Full name, artillery and location on the back for this handsome guy in WWI army uniform. Someone’s current great or great-great uncle today. Boyd Gibbs was born in South Carolina in 1898, son of James Patrick Gibbs and Leila Ida (Prince) Gibbs. U.S. Army transport records 1918 – 1919 list Boyd’s rank as wagoner.

Sources:  Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 May 2019), memorial page for Boyd Roland Gibbs (May 1898–13 Nov 1940), Find A Grave Memorial no. 143151272, citing First Baptist Church of North Spartanburg Cemetery, Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Margaret (contributor 46516145).

The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 440. (Ancestry.com).

“The Duties of the U.S. Army Wagoner.” (http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~gregkrenzelok/genealogy/veterinary%20corp%20in%20ww1/wagonerduties.html) Accessed May 27, 2019.

Mrs. Alvidsen At 11,660 Feet

Real Photo Postcard, circa 1907 – 1915

Price:  $15.00         Size:  3 and 3/16 x 5 and 3/8″

“Mrs. Avildsen at Corona 11660 feet El.”

The location for this one was a mystery, until we (thankfully) received the comment from one of our readers. So, this has to be Rollins Pass which was sometimes called Corona Pass, and is located in the Southern Rocky Mountains.

Postcard publisher unknown, so far

The postcard publisher or printer is another mystery. I’m not seeing this particular style of Real Photo Postcard back on any other site or in Walter Corson’s Publisher’s Trademarks Identified. Also, the size is a little smaller that the average RPPC (and the bottom doesn’t seem to have been cropped). If the card was produced in the U.S. the postal regulations didn’t allow for the divided back until December 1907.

Source:  Rollins Pass. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollins_Pass#Summer_and_early_autumn (accessed February 15, 2021).

For Nora From Jessie

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Unused, circa 1910s.

Price:  $6.00

“Dear Nora. This was taken when I was at home. They aren’t very good but will send them any way, what did you do with you Kodack, don’t you take any more. Jessie”

Sounds like Jessie had more postcards or photos that she had sent to Nora, and funny, but oftentimes we see the sender leaving off question marks in their message. In this case, Nora was asking what Jessie had done with her Kodak camera, isn’t she taking any more photos? No last name or location for this image, but it’s so charming. Wintertime or maybe early spring on the farm:  Posing for the shot, three beautiful children, and a handsome young man, (who looks to be about sixteen, I thought, but click to enlarge, and you’ll notice it looks like he wears a wedding ring.)  I love it when everyone in a photo is looking in different directions.

Feat Of The 20th Century

Divided back, used Real Photo Postcard. Velox stamp box. 1909.

Price:  $12.00

A young gentleman in a suit jacket, button down sweater and derby hat displays his sense of humor. The letters “L” and “S” on the soles of his shoes are maybe his initials, and the 09 is likely for the year 1909. And it’s the way the shot was taken that makes his shoes appear so large. This would be a great card to include in a book on humor in postcards or something similar, especially because it was “homemade” so to speak. That is, an original idea, produced with instructions for the printing company. The blacked-out part was probably to cover the rest of the photo, which whatever it showed, must have detracted from the overall effect; if you click to enlarge you can see a little bit of the brown background at the bottom of the heavy black stripe in a couple of places.

Merry Xmas From 2305 Oahu Ave

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked December 15, 1937, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Price:  $15.00

“Dear Mrs. Fisher: Our recent visit is still like a dream – it doesn’t seem possible that we were over there & had such a grand time. We’re going to miss the snow again this Xmas. All we have is a good rain. Merry Xmas & a very Happy New Year to you, Kirk & Rea. We still hope some day you can visit us here. Do try. Much love, from Nita, Nils and Shirley Ann.”

Addressed to: “Mrs. Mae E. Fisher, 803 Kingsley St., Ann Arbor, Michigan.”This postcard is the perfect segue from our last post, set in Honolulu, to welcome our Christmas offerings for this year. And from an internet search, it appears this home, sadly, no longer exists. But it was a beauty, cozily nestled between two grand, I’m thinking oaks, but no idea really, and a beautiful big evergreen. Don’t you love the striped effect on the curb, and is there a sidewalk in there somewhere? Anyway, the family living here at this time is attorney Cyrus Nils Tavares, born in Hawaii about 1904, his wife Unita (Gillet) Tavares, born in Michigan about 1908, and their daughter Shirley Ann, born in Hawaii about 1928. The recipient of the postcard is Mae E. Fisher, widow on the 1940 Federal Census, born in Michigan, about 1873, her son Kirkland, born in Ohio, about 1905, and Kirk’s wife Rhea, born in Michigan, about 1908.

Sources:  Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and HealthStatistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 223; Film Description: Washtenaw (1927 – 1933).
Year: 1940; Census Place: Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: m-t0627-01823; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 81-25.
Year: 1940; Census Place: Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii; Roll: m-t0627-04585; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 2-43.

St. Mary’s Church, Hogsthorpe

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Circa 1930s – 1950s. Publisher:  A. E. Wrate, Lumley Rd., P. O. Skegness.

Price:  $10.00

A commercial-type Real Photo Postcard, that would have been a good one to use for Halloween, but just to continue with a couple more from England before moving on to Veteran’s Day….and we’re guessing on the date, maybe from the 1930s through 1950s. Note the blurriness around the outer edges of the photo (for some reason). We’re guessing that A. E. Wrate is Alfred Ernest Wrate, born in 1916, son of Alfred Wrate and Amelia Elizabeth (Moody) Wrate, but all three family members are listed in census records as being in the photography business. Wrate’s was also known for its “walking pictures.” See Go Home on a Postcard‘s entry “Wrates – Skegness.”

St. Mary’s Church, located in Hogsthorpe, a small village of the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire county, dates originally from the 12th century.

Sources:  Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA), 1911. (Ancestry.com).

The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/6452F.(Ancestry.com).

Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007.

FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915. (Ancestry.com).

“Wrates – Skegness.”  Go Home on a Postcard. https://gohomeonapostcard.wordpress.com/companies/wrates-skegness/ (accessed November 11, 2018).

Hogsthorpe. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogsthorpe (accessed November 11, 2018).