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Monthly Archives: May 2014

Scene On The Creek, Columbia MO

Posted on May 15th, 2014 by

Scene On The Creek Columbia MO pc1Scene On The Creek Columbia MO pc2

1906 postcard addressed to:  “Miss Allie Bryant, Brunswick Mo.”

The sender wrote,  “Be sure to make it a point to come see me some time. If there is an excursion come[?]. Give the girls at the store my love and tell Edith I’m awfully sorry I didn’t get to see her before I left. Write me some more letters please.  [?] C. Margaret F.[?]   314 Hitt St. Columbia Mo.”

The U. S. City Directories for Columbia in 1909 show a Miss Margaret Faller rooming at 314 Hitt St; a student at the University of Missouri. She is also listed in the U of M school yearbook Savitar in 1909, as of member of the Home Economics Club, estimated born 1889. (No photo, darn!) Impossible to say for sure, but it would be a good bet that this Margaret would be the same person that wrote this postcard to her friend, Allie. Allie Bryant was found in the Federal Census records for 1900 and 1910; two census records for 1910 actually, which is somewhat unusual, but not unheard of.

One of the 1910s shows Allie and her family living in Brunswick, Chariton County, Missouri:  parents Daniel A. (occupation farmer) and Bettie W. Bryant; children Allie B., (born Missouri about 1885, saleswoman for a general merchandise store), Edna A., Louis M., Harry C., and Earle F. The other 1910 census, taken in Triplett, Chariton County, shows Allie is boarding with head of household Nora B. Allega[?] and others, and working as a sales lady in a general store. Both census records were taken in April, about a week apart, so Allie may have just been visiting her family when she was listed on that census. But, her occupation coincides with friend Margaret’s request to be remembered to the girls at the store.

The creek in the photo is another matter entirely. Which local tributary was called “the creek”? Nothing was found to shed any light on this subject as of the date of this posting.

Non-divided back postcard, postmarked September 28, 1906, from Columbia, Missouri.

Price:  $10.00

Sources:  Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line].

Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Various school yearbooks from across the United States.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Brunswick, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: 847; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0029; FHL microfilm: 1240847. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Brunswick Ward 1, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: T624_776; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0030; FHL microfilm: 1374789. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Triplett, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: T624_776; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0045; FHL microfilm: 1374789.  (Ancestry.com)

 

 

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Categories: Postcards, Postcards Used

Greetings From Hamilton, Ontario

Posted on May 12th, 2014 by

Greetings From Hamilton Ontario pc1Greetings From Hamilton Ontario pc2

Divided back, linen, used postcard. Postmarked August 22, 1954 from Hamilton, Ontario. Published by Royalty Specialty Sales, 118 Queen E., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A Colourpicture Publication. Made in Canada.

Price:  $5.00

“Greetings From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada”

Beautiful Linen, Large Letter postcard from our Alice Ellison Collection, addressed to:  “Mr. & Mrs. G. Hume, 2100 Virginia St., Berkeley, Calif. USA” 

The sender wrote:  “Dear Mr. & Mrs. Hume. Here I am in Hamilton after a lovely trip. I hope you are both in the best of health. Will write you when I get settled   Love, Jean Leslie”

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Categories: Large Letter Postcards, Linens, Postcards, Postcards Used, The Alice Ellison Collection

Greetings From Los Angeles, Cal.

Posted on May 12th, 2014 by

Greetings From Los Angeles Cal pc1Greetings From Los Angeles Cal pc2

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Printed in Germany. Postmarked 1910 from Los Angeles, California. Series 506. Publisher unknown.

Price:  $5.00

Addressed to:  “Mrs. J. M. Ellison, 26th St. & Cheyenne Ave, Pueblo Colo.”

The sender wrote:  “I sent the eye medicine today by Wells Fargo express. I paid the full charges on it so don’t you pay any more.  Dossie”

Lovely German-printed postcard from 1910 from which the stamp had been removed. I’m thinking that the flowers are probably asters. The Wells Fargo reference is interesting. In 1910 the Wells Fargo Wagon (like in the song from The Music Man) would have been delivering goods all over the country. Their website states that in 1910 “the company’s network linked 6,000 locations.” And the Wells Fargo blog listed below indicates that in 1910 motorized trucks started being used in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Orange, New Jersey, so the delivery referenced on this postcard must of been of the horse-drawn wagon variety.

Sources:  https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/history/adventure/since_1852

Riggs, C. (2014, March 28). The Road Ahead: Wells Fargo and Trucking. [Blog] Guided by History. Retrieved from: https://blogs.wellsfargo.com/guidedbyhistory/2014/03/trucking/ [Accessed 11 May. 2014]

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Categories: Flowers, Postcards Used, The Alice Ellison Collection

Pikes Peak Avenue

Posted on May 11th, 2014 by

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Divided back, unused postcard. Date:  1961 – 1963. Publisher:  Sanborn Souvenir Co., Inc., Denver, Colorado. Series or no. 3579. No. 47388-B, Printed by Dexter, West Nyack, New York. Color by Coil.

Availability status:  SOLD

“#3579 – Pikes Peak Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Showing Antlers Hotel and Pikes Peak (alt. 14,110 ft.) in background.”

This is a wonderful early 1960s postcard. There’s so much to look at here and it’s just a really nice shot. Of the four cars in the foreground, left to right, (without spending too much time researching) starting with the white vehicle in the left hand corner, we have:  a ’61 Ford, a ’58 Ford Wagon, a ’57 Buick Special 2-Door Hardtop and a ’61 Chevy Impala….At the Ute movie theater All Hands On Deck (1961) was playing, starring Pat Boone, and the marquis advertised that the movie was in color. On the left, it looks like there was another theater, as we can see under the E A K (The Peak?) the marquis is advertising (looks like) Elizabeth Taylor starring in something – can’t read it. There are maybe two other movie theaters in the photo:  the Chief on the left for sure and on the right we can see what looks like another marquis behind the orange and white bus. Some of the other businesses showing in the photo are Bob’s Books, Fabric’s Inc., Arrow Hotel, Security Savings, and the Exchange National Bank.

The photo for this postcard would have be taken from 1961 – 1963, since the car in the far left corner is a 1961 (would have come out the same year) and the writing on the back of the card that says “1963.”

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Categories: Automobiles Buses Trucks, Postcards, Postcards Unused With Writing, The Alice Ellison Collection

Mary’s Little Lamb

Posted on May 11th, 2014 by

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“It followed her to school one day, Which was against the rule;”

Cute postcard showing the above caption from the children’s nursery rhyme,  “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”  Funny on our end here to look at the writing on the sign above the schoolhouse door – to wonder if there was an actual school name there, or something discernible (as in I wonder what the artist was thinking…)  Anyway, this card appears to be addressed to:  “Mrs. N. Oldham, Santa Clara, Cal.”  The sender wrote,

“Dear Nellie, your sweet letter came. I am glad your [?] is well  Arline.”  The sender Arline, had an unusual way of writing the cursive small “s.” You can see that the “s” in sweet is the same as the “s” in the word that looks like “siz” and appears to be the same for the “s” in the word that appears to be “Mrs.” in the address line. Maybe it’s “siz” as is sister. There is also writing on the front in the border, but it’s very difficult to make out. The part that is legible is  “…I will write you a letter as soon as I…”  The unusual thing about this postcard is that it was stamped in three different cities. It must of went from Piedmont to Oakland to Santa Clara.

There is a Nellie Oldham in Santa Clara on the Federal Census in 1900, age 4, living with her father, William Riley Oldham and older brother William. The family is staying with Nellie’s grandparents, George and Isobel Oldham. In 1888, George and Isobel’s son, William Riley Oldham, married Nellie Grant Hite. William R. is listed as married on the 1900 census but his wife is not listed. This could have been incorrectly recorded, as the census taker mistakenly recorded the grandchildren as children. There are Ancestry family trees that show a death date for Nellie Grant (Hite) Oldham (Nellie’s mother) as 1897, so prior to the census, and in Santa Clara, but no sources are listed. William Riley Oldham is found on the 1920 census and listed there as widowed. If the Nellie on the 1900 census was the receiver of this card, she would have been about twelve in 1908, but it’s just speculation that this postcard has any connection to her. The difficulty is that the card seems to have been addressed to Mrs. N. Oldham, (Nellie’s mother.) ….The son William Oldham is William Riley Oldham, Jr. and his passport photo can be found online.

Divided back postcard. Three postmarks:  Sender’s location of Piedmont, California on January 20, 1908; stamped the same day in Oakland, California; and at the receiver’s location of Santa Clara, California on January 21, 1908. American Post Cards “Mary And Her Lamb” Series No. 67, No. 1761. Publisher:  The Ullman Manufacturing Co., New York.

Source:  Year: 1900; Census Place: Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California; Roll: 111; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0078; FHL microfilm: 1240111. (Ancestry.com)

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Categories: Animals, Postcards, Postcards Used

Benedetto Busetto Bieletto, Artist

Posted on May 10th, 2014 by

Pansies pc1

At this time, postcards for this artist are often showing up on other sites under “T. Bioletto” so if you are looking for other examples, be sure to try searching with the incorrect first initial or just under the last name. (Updated May 2, 2015.)

The above image with reverse side was recently posted under “Pansies.”  The artist’s signature can be seen on the bottom right of the postcard. The first initial or initials are hard to read but appear to be “B” or perhaps “B.B.”  After some extensive online searching under different possibilities for the initials (and even under a last name variation of Bieletta) I believe that the artist for this card (and quite a few others for sale or view online with this signature) is Benedetto Busetto Bieletto, born in Venice, Italy, November 4, 1869. The index card for his naturalization in the U.S. shows his date and country of birth; arrival in the United States as February 1, 1909; address at time of naturalization as 147 Oak St., Chicago, IL; and witnesses as Charles Reinach of 3726 Herndon St., and Michael Keber of 2135 N. Clark St.

There are a couple of references in the American Art Annual, one of which shows Bieletto’s city of birth as Venice.  The 1915 journal (under the heading of Who’s Who In Art), shows “Bieletto, Benedetto B.,  147 Oak St., Chicago, Ill. (P.)”  The “P” is for painter. And the 1918 shows,  “Bieletto, Benedetto Busetto, 3245 Broadway, Chicago, Ill. P.- Born in Venice, Italy, Nov. 4, 1869. Pupil of Pompeo.”  As to Pompeo, I was not able to find someone who would have been a contemporary of Bieletto under this name, so I believe this to be a reference to Pompeo Batoni (1708 – 1787), and that Bieletto studied the painting style of Pompeo:  being “a student of” rather than “a student under” him.

The 1920 Federal Census taken in Chicago, shows B. B. Bieletto, born in Italy of Italian-born parents; married (wife not on this census); address 2220 Calumet Ave; immigration to the United States about 1909; and the key piece of information:  artist for a photoengraving company.

So, where else should we look for more information? Perhaps the witnesses on the naturalization card will provide some help, as we might assume that one or both of these gentlemen may have worked with Bieletto, and from this maybe we can find Bieletto’s employer name, and verify that Bieletto had something to do with postcards.

Thankfully, Charles Reinach, born IL about 1869, shows up on the 1920 census in Chicago at the address of 3742 Herndon (close enough – he may have moved or the street number changed) and under the occupation of engraver, working at Chicago Eng. Co. (Chicago Engraving Company.) From this we’d assume this was either the name of the company or just the description set down by the census taker….With further research we learn that this is the actual company name, as it is found in various online references for photoengraving, and in a 1913 publication for railroad telegraphers, which lists photoengraving companies and shows the address of 533 Wabash Ave., Chicago. To add a little more weight to the photoengraver/postcard connection, the well-known postcard printer Curt, Teich & Co. is also listed there. So anyway, it’s likely that Bieletto also worked for the Chicago Engraving Company, at this time. A good description for photoengraving can be found in the excellent cycleback.com website, see last source below. Interestingly, Charles Reinach’s occupation on the 1930 census shows as illustrator for a label maker, so it looks like both Bieletto and Reinach were artists.

Michael Keber, the other witness to Bieletto’s naturalization, was found online but nothing showing relating to the photoengraving or postcard business. Keber, born Austria 1857,  became a naturalized citizen in 1913. The address on that record is the same as he records for himself on Bieletto’s record.

Looking further, we discover a Benedetto Bieletto mentioned along with two other Italian artists, Beppe Ciardi and Leonardo Bazzaro, in a German art journal, (thank goodness for online translation) in reference to their work showing Venice and the surrounding area. This publication is dated 1907, before Bieletto emigrated, and since he was born in Venice, it’s an excellent possibility that the artist mentioned there, and ours in question here, are one in the same.

Sources:   Levy, Florence N. (ed.) 1915. American Art Annual, Vol. 12. p. 324.  (Google eBook) 

Levy, Florence N. (ed.) 1917. American Art Annual, Vol. 14. p. 427. (Google eBook) 

Year: 1920; Census Place: Chicago Ward 1, Cook (Chicago), Illinois; Roll: T625_306; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 42; Image: 273. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Chicago Ward 25, Cook (Chicago), Illinois; Roll: T625_343; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 1500; Image: 491. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1930; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 488; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 1695; Image: 4.0; FHL microfilm: 2340223. (Ancestry.com)

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Soundex Index to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District and Circuit Courts, Northern District of Illinois and Immigration and Naturalization Service District 9, 1840-1950 (M1285); Microfilm Serial: M1285; Microfilm Rolls: 15 and 92. (Ancestry.com)

The Railroad Telegrapher, Vol. 13. 1913. St. Louis, Missouri. The Order of Railroad Telegraphers. p. 1665. (Google eBook)

Die Kunst. Monatshefte Für Freie und Angewandte Kunst. Fünfzehnter Band. München. 1907   Verlagsanstalt F. Bruckmann A. -G.  (editor?)  p. 469. (Google eBook)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeo_Batoni

http://www.cycleback.com/photoguide/digi.htm

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Categories: Postcard Artists

Old Biloxi Light

Posted on May 10th, 2014 by

Old Biloxi Light pc1Old Biloxi Light pc2

Divided back, linen postcard. Unused. Publisher:  Emrich News Agency. Gulfport, Mississippi. A “Colourpicture” publication. No. 16121. Boston 15. Mass. U.S.A. Date circa 1940s -1950s.

Price:  $6.00

“Old Biloxi Light is one of the oldest lighthouses in America and is the city’s most treasured historical object. It is located on West Beach Boulevard and has been in use for nearly a century and still is in use today.”

The colors are beautiful in this linen postcard. It’s in very good condition except for the small mark on the right. This lighthouse stands today in the median of highway 90 and it’s history is quite interesting. Constructed in 1848, of brick wrapped around with cast iron metal, the iron construction has helped it withstand many a storm and hurricane. The bricks received extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In the wake of the terrible devastation wrought by Katrina, the American flag could be seen draped at the top of the lighthouse, as a symbol of the resilience of the residents of Biloxi and the surrounding community. The lighthouse was honored to be featured on the 2007 – 2012 state license plate, and in 2009 to be the subject of a set of U.S. postal stamps. In 2010, after a massive make-over had taken place, the lighthouse was re-dedicated, and if taking the tour today one will see the blue lines painted on the interior wall to show the high water levels that were reached during different hurricanes, Katrina’s being the highest. This lighthouse is unique in that it was operated by women keepers for 74 years; longer than any other lighthouse in the United States. The light became automated in 1940.

Sources:  http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=543

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biloxi_Light

http://www.biloxilighthouse.com/

http://www.wlox.com/story/10071170/biloxi-lighthouse-still-standing-strong

 

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Categories: Lighthouses, Linens, Postcards, Postcards Unused

Norman Cutler, Five Years Old

Posted on May 10th, 2014 by

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Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked July 12, 1909 from Belleville, Michigan.

Price:  $15.00

“Here is one of my birthday Postals – Five Years old the 9th of July, Norman.”

Real Photo Postcard addressed to  “Mrs. Rose Heistand, City”
from Belleville, Michigan on July 12, 1909. Cute, though blurry, photo of five-year old Norman in his sailor suit and showing a casual pose.

The city is not specified for the addressee but perhaps it was assumed by all to be Detroit. Belleville, established in 1905, is a small town about 29 miles southwest of Detroit. Though Norman’s last name is not given on the postcard, I believe it is Cutler. Norman Cutler, age 5, appears on the 1910 Federal Census for Van Buren Township, Wayne County, Michigan. The village of Belleville was included as part of Van Buren Township on this census. This is the only Norman on this census, and the age fits, and the SSDI online record shows Norman Cutler with the same date of birth given on the postcard of July 9, 1904. The 1910 census was enumerated on May 4, 1910, so age 5 at last birthday, fits exactly:  since he was born in 1904, he would have been turning 6 in 1910. From the census, his parents are Charles and Dora Cutler, both born in Michigan. Charles’ occupation is farmer, and living with them is housekeeper, Pearl Thompson. By 1920 the Cutler family has moved to Detroit; Charles’ occupation appears to be paperhanger at a store; living with them are several boarders; and most importantly, they have added another member:  daughter, Selma, (and of course younger sister to Norman.)

As for Rose Heistand, it turns out she would be harder to try to locate; she is not showing up in some quick searches for Detroit and environs and there are too many possibilities under this name in various states.

Sources:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belleville,_Michigan

Year: 1910; Census Place: Van Buren, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T624_679; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0308; FHL microfilm: 1374692. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Detroit Ward 21, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_818; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 626; Image: 833. (Ancestry.com)

Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current [database on-line].

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Categories: Children, Photos With Names, Postcards, Postcards Used, Real Photo Postcards

Pansies

Posted on May 9th, 2014 by

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Divided back, artist-signed postcard. Postmarked from Nebraska (probably Holbrook) September 7, 1910. Publisher:  Arthur Capper. Copyright 1909. Artist:  B. Bieletto.

Price:  $12.00

“If I dared to think you cared,

The thought would be divine;

And so I pray that you will say:

‘You will be mine!'”

A beautiful postcard with the nice verse above, on a country scene, showing pansies in the foreground, a river on the left, and a field with mountains in the background. The border and sky are done in gold-tone, and the artist’s signature appears at the bottom right. The artist’s last name is Bieletto. There is an Italian artist, Benedetto Busetto Bieletto, in Chicago. This is possibly the artist for this postcard. This possibility will be explored and put up in a near future post. The card is addressed to:  “Miss Lena Davis. Pomona Kanasa [Kansas]”  and J. W. has written,

“Sept 7 1910 Dear cousin. I rced your card sever day ago was kind surprise to here you had sold out what was the mater   did your folks like it there we are thursh [threshing] this week here i am up home this week i am well and hope yous get throw [through?] all right  J.W.C.”

One of ten (unless we come across more) postcards from J. W. Carter of Holbrook, Nebraska, that he sent to his cousin, Lena Davis. (There will be another category put up under Lena Davis later.) As we can see by the spelling, J. W., like many of his day, must not have had a terribly long formal education. It seems that he must have made his living as a farmer or stock hand. This is the first of a great set from J. W. In reading all ten postcards to cousin Lena, you get a sense that J. W. was a caring person. I like how he fills up the cards, and how their content shows a small slice of rural Nebraska life in the early 1900s.

This card was likely postmarked from Holbrook, Nebraska. Holbrook today is a small town in the southern area of the state; their website indicating the population at about 225. The town is about 250 miles west of Omaha, and about 300 miles east of Denver, Colorado. Holbrook was first known as “Burton’s Bend,” after Isaac Burton who opened up a log cabin trading post there in 1870. A post office was established in August of 1872, and the railroad came through in the late 1870s. The town’s name was changed in 1881, in honor of an official for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. These postcard dates range from 1910 -1914, and it is interesting to think that when J. W. Carter was writing these cards, the settlement was only just over 40 years old.

There is a James W. Carter listed in the 1910 Federal Census for Burton Bend, NE. This person was born in Illinois, about 1875; both parents were born in England; his marital status is divorced; his occupation is “Stock, Farm” and he is boarding with John A. Hudson and John’s wife Loeye[?] Also boarding with the Hudsons is a young woman, age about 16, Urlia[?] Fanholc[?] It’s interesting to note that we can see from this census, that although the name of the town may have been officially changed, it was still referred to by some as Burton’s Bend. It’s likely that this James W. Carter is the same person who has written these postcards.

Sources:  http://www.holbrook-ne.com/

Year: 1910; Census Place: Burton Bend, Furnas, Nebraska; Roll: T624_846; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0078; FHL microfilm: 1374859. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006

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Categories: Flowers, Postcards, Postcards Artist Signed, Postcards Used, The J. W. Carter Postcard Collection

I’ll Stick To You

Posted on May 8th, 2014 by

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Divided back, used postcard. Publisher:  S. Bergman, New York. Copyrighted 1913. No. 6508. Postmarked May 18, 1914 from Pueblo, Colorado.

Price:  $5.00

“I’ll stick to you thru thick and thin.”

Cute image of a little boy and girl on an early motorcycle, or perhaps a motorized bicycle, with the above caption. The girl wears a red outfit and hat with black tassels, and is looking back over her shoulder, smiling. The boy is outfitted for the road in his green motorcycle suit, brown boots, cap and gloves.

Sent to,  “Mr. J. M. Ellison. Gen. Del. Sacramento, Calif.”

The sender wrote,  “Dear Mike. I am sending this card to you to let you no we are all well. We had a letter from Lizzie this morning. Tell Dossie we got her letter and many thanks for the 5.00 spot. Good By.   Wiflie[?]”     The sender (hard to read his or her signature – Wilfie as a nickname for Wilfred?) added,  “Mr. Henson The baptist preacher was out to see me and said for me to give you his best reguard.”

On the postmarked year, the 1 in 1914 didn’t get imprinted, but presuming it’s a 1 rather than 2, due to the copyright date of the card. The publisher logo is also visible underneath the postmark, and shows a capital “B” inside an artist’s palette with the words “Bergman Quality” underneath.

This card is another from our Alice Ellison Collection.

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Categories: Children, Hats, Motorcycles, People, Postcards, Postcards Used, The Alice Ellison Collection