Monthly Archives: September 2014

The Lake, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan

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Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked July 1, 1908 from Detroit, Michigan, Station F. Publisher:  The Rotograph Co., N.Y., City. Printed in Germany. Series D3827a.

Availability Status:  SOLD

Here’s another Belle Isle postcard – the second of two on this site, so far. The sender wrote:

“Detroit, July 1 ’08. Mother & I are visiting at Aunt Agnes’ for a week or two. Stopped at Montreal & Ottawa on the way. Will stop a day at Toronto on our way back. Haven’t seen much of Detroit yet. Are going to Belle Isle to-day. Tina.” 

The card is addressed to:   “Mrs. O. F. Henning, c/o Dr. Henning, U.S.A., B. 92, Fort Sheridan, Ill.”

I’m guessing B92 stands for Barracks 92 at the Fort. Doctor Henning was Oswald F. Henning, who is listed in a military record for Fort Sheridan in July 1908, the same month and year of the postmark, (something out of the ordinary in our searches.) His rank is given as 1st Lieutenant, and Regiment or Corps shown as M.R.C. – Medical Residency Corps. The rest of this entry for him is difficult to read, but appears to indicate he may have also served at Fort McDowell, California…. As it turns out there are many similar entries for Dr. Henning online. In piecing together his military service, we find he also served in the Philippines Feb. 1910 – Jul. 1911; Fort Columbia, Washington from Aug. 1912 – Oct. 1913; the Presidio of Monterey, California Nov. 1913 – Oct. 1914; Camp Fort Bliss, Texas Aug. 1916.

June 30, 1906, Chicago, Illinois, Oswald F. Henning married Helen C. Muirhead. Oswald was age 27 and Helen age 25.

And the 1900 Federal Census for Chicago shows Oswald F. Henning, bookkeeper, born July 1878, living with his parents Fred F. and Emila Henning and siblings Walter G., Meta[?] M., Laura E. and two servants, Mimi Schmidt and Robert H. Swanson.

Sources:  National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916; Microfilm Serial: M617; Microfilm Rolls: 120, 231, 737, 738, 892, 909, 966,1161. (Ancestry.com)

Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com

Year: 1900; Census Place: Chicago Ward 25, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 275; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0763; FHL microfilm: 1240275. (Ancestry.com)

Our Water Line

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A Real Photo Postcard with  “Our water line”  written on the front underneath the photo. What is a water line? It would have to do with a water easement, which is a property owner’s right to have access to a water line that would be owned by somebody else – as in a water source like a creek, running next to the property, or to a water drainage system. In the photo three women and three children (a girl and two boys?) pose at what looks like the back porch of their house. They are looking across the water line to the photographer who was on the other side. You can see that the child on our left is a girl seated on the wooden fence on the quilt or rug that is draped over it. This could have been a home that had a creek in the back, which had overflowed after a heavy rain. Or would the water have always been this high?

Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box, circa 1907 – 1918.

Price:  $4.00

Source:  What Is a Water Easement. wiseGEEK. Accessed 13 Sep 2014 (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-water-easement.htm)

Regal Young Woman

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What if this is the little girl of the prior post all grown up? But no, they really don’t look that much alike, and the time frames are backwards anyway; it was just fun to entertain the idea, fleetingly, and left me with the hope that I find a set like that some day. This one was a little hard to give a title to, but the word regal keeps coming to mind for the pose and demeanor of this beautiful dark-haired young woman. She wears a white or very light-colored high-necked blouse, the sleeves of which go past the elbow and are wide-cuffed to match the collar; a long skirt of a dark color; and a fabric belt with a metal buckle. Her hair is swept up in a Gibson Girl style crowned with a wreath of small flowers, which we can’t see too much of, due to the wreath setting back somewhat and the angle of the shot. At first glance that might appear to be a large corsage fastened to the blouse but after a closer look seems to be something that happened afterward to the postcard. The horizontal lines running almost all the way across the card are part of the story, too. So, this postcard must have had something laying on top of it that created some impressions. The lines are a fascinating effect, really. The photo backdrop depicts a stone archway with some plants next to the base of the arch (of which we only see one side) and this gives the impression that the woman has made an entrance, and then paused to gaze off into the distance.

The stamp box here is an Aristo with bird logo, the word “Trademark” and the phrase “Place One-Cent Stamp Here.” This particular Aristo style is estimated to be from about 1905 – 1907, according to the excellent Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City website.

Undivided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. Aristo stamp box. Circa 1905 – 1907.

Price:  $10.00

Source:  Guide to Real Photo Postcards. Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City. Accessed 12 Sep 2014 (http://www.metropostcard.com/guiderealphoto.html)

Emma Beinhup

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Divided back, unused Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1918.

Price:  $6.00

Real Photo Postcard of an oval photo of an adorable little girl. She looks to be about three or four years old, is seated at a table or desk with a reflective surface (a nice effect.) She has dark hair, wears a white or light colored short sleeved dress with a frilly lace collar, and also wears a pendant of some type. What a face and expression! The pose is cheek resting on hand, with an “I’m unimpressed” look. Her name appears handwritten on the back of the postcard, but surprisingly, is not showing up in Ancestry.com or Find A Grave or online in general. It appears to be Emma Beinhup, but Bienhup, Beirhup, Bierhup were tried. Beinhoff is a possibility if the name was changed at some point or the person that wrote it had an incorrect spelling.

Mississippi Map

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“The needlepoint map was made by Mississippi Extension Homemakers Club members and is displayed in the Extension Center at Mississippi State University.”

A vintage postcard, maybe from the 1960s. According to the back caption, the original map was done in needlepoint. And it shows the map broken down by county, with a different design in each, and the Mississippi River, of course on the western border.

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher:  Marketing Professionals, Inc., P. O. Box 16549, Jackson, MS 39206. Series or number 155,641. Circa 1960s.

Price:  $6.00

Happy Birthday Rosalia Jaycox

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Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked November 20, 1911 from Worcester, New York. Publisher unknown. Printed in Germany, series 1460A.

Price:  $15.00

Here’s another lilies of the valley postcard – this time the lilies are the main subject, and this is one of those vibrantly colored, printed in Germany cards. The composition is great, as is the detail in the basket and flowers, and the colors, typical to this type, showing a deep violet, a blue, a red, a rose, and the standout here (maybe less often used) of chartreuse. (Love the wild mix of colors.) The lilies of the valley, also called May lillies are spilling out of the basket which is tipped on it’s side.

The sender wrote:  “Wish you a happy birthday. Come down and see us. From Luther Albert.”  This card didn’t have far to travel, since it was postmarked in Worcester and mailed to East Worcester, New York. Today’s map shows East Worcester about 4.8 miles northeast of Worcester. Both towns are in Otsego County, and located in the northwestern foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The card is addressed as:

“Mrs. Rosalia Jaycox, East Worcester, New York.” 

The sender, Luther H. Albert, born about 1860, appears on the New York State Census (and multiple census records) in Worcester with his wife Elva, born about 1862. They are farming.

Multiple census records also show for Rosalia Jaycox, who is Rosalia Ostrom according to the Find A Grave website, born in 1842. She was married to Samuel Jaycox, born 1834 and died in 1907, both born in New York. There is also another Jaycox family (on the NY 1905 Census in Worcester) John, Melinda and daughter Edna, who would likely be related.

Sources:  New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 01; Assembly District: 01; City: Worcester; County: Otsego; Page: 03. (Ancestry.com)

New York State Education Department, Office of Cultural Education. 1892 New York State Census. Albany, NY: New York State Library. (Ancestry.com)

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1905; Election District: E.D. 02; City: Worcester; County: Otsego; Page: 2. (Ancestry.com)

Rosalia Ostrom Jaycox. Find A Grave Memorial #117167470. (Findagrave.com)

Samuel Jaycox. Find A Grave Memorial #117167409. (Findagrave.com)

Here’s A Handshake

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Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked October 22, 1913 from Long Island, Kansas. Publisher:  E. Nash, series G40.

Price:  $6.00

“Here’s A Handshake – And May You Live A Long Time”

A lovely thought on a postcard of the same, showing an artist’s image in oval of a red-roof house and outbuildings set behind a marshy wetland, with trees and sunset in the background. The oval is nicely framed by lilies of the valley and stylish gold lines.

This is another addressed to  “Lena Davis, Almena, Kan”  and the sender wrote:

“Long Island, Oct. 20. Dear Cousin. I got your card O.K. We have the wheat in the hay stacked after so – a time [?]  I think you might bring the buggy down, that would be a nice ride I think it’s about time. You was coming down anyway – K.”

Probably the sender meant “the wheat and the hay” but directly after this part, I am not sure. It looks like the embossing was making it a little difficult.

Under The Arbor

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Sepia-toned, faded photo dated December 27, 1919. Size:  About 2 and 1/2 x 4″

Price:  $5.00

Here’s a lovely, though light (I seem to say this a lot) old photo, dated December 27, 1919. It shows a beautiful young woman with her young son of about four years old (They must be mother and son, I think. You can see a resemblance.) They are standing underneath a wooden arbor that has some type of vine growing on it. If this was taken in December it may have been taken somewhere temperate in winter, unless it was unseasonably comfortable that day. We certainly don’t see any snow, and since the photo was found in a California antique store, it may be that it’s from the West Coast. But it’s some type of waterside scene, at river or lake or next to a peaceful ocean inlet, as we notice the reflection of some trees under the piece of land jutting out on our left. Is that a small boat there on the water? And there are some houses or cottages, some utility poles and in the bottom left corner what looks like a wooden plank walkway. But getting back to the subject of the mother and child – the woman is holding and admiring what may be a cutting from the vine, while the happy boy looks at the camera. It’s just a beautiful image from another century.

Fenton, Michigan View of Long Lake And Case’s Island

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Case Island is located in Genesee County, Michigan, south of Flint. At the time that this postcard was printed, the island was located in Long Lake, but the lake was later renamed Lake Fenton. Per authors Donna and Kenneth Seger, the name change was the result of a petition started by one of the long-time island residents. At this time there were over a hundred other Michigan lakes called Long Lake. A Wiki entry indicates that the name change officially took place in 1932 – a decision made by the United States Board on Geographic Names. (The BGN is a federal agency of the Department of the Interior.)

Since this is a divided back card printed in Germany, the estimated date would be from about 1907 – 1914. Easy to miss but on the front “in the lake” at the bottom right, is printed what appears to read as “A67977.” Since the postcard number is already identified with the publisher info, then one assumes the number on the front may be the series number (unless vice versa.)

Divided back, unused postcard. Printed in Germany. Publisher:  Backenstose Bookstore, Pontiac, Michigan. No. 31436. Series? A67977.

Price:  $10.00

Sources:  Seger, Donna, & Seger, Kenneth. (2009) Fenton. Charleston, SC:  Acadia Publishing. (Google eBook snippet accessed September 9, 2014.)

Lake Fenton, Michigan. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Fenton,_Michigan (accessed September 9, 2014.)

Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan

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“Opened in 1887, Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan, is the world’s largest summer hotel and one of the few surviving examples of a classic and gracious American resort. It has the world’s longest porch offering a sweeping view of the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes. The accommodations are deluxe. The service impeccable. The food renowned.”

“B  62433. Non-Transferable, No-Readmittance. Admission ticket is good for a $2.00 reduction in the price for luncheon (served daily from 12:00 until 2:00 pm) in the hotel’s Main Dining Room. On occasion the Main Dining Room is closed to the public and therefore Grand Hotel reserves the right to withdraw this offer.”

This one looks like it was put out by the Grand Hotel, per the above info. No publisher information is given. But it’s a beauty: unusual in a green and white pointillism, a.k.a “dot” style. If you look closely at the hairstyles for the men, the style suggests this card may have been done in the 1960’s or early ’70s.

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher and artist unknown. Circa 1950s – 1970s.

Price:  $15.00