Basket of Forget-Me-Nots

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“Holbrook, Nebr Aug 15, 1912. Dear cousen I received your card today[?] and was glad to here from you. I ame well and all right. I seen ted and minie and harry and sarah to day. They went grape down on the river and seen them just a minite or to. it has rain all day on and off and to night it is rain stedy. you never said what you want to do about go to the fair. I was just redy to cut some more hay this morning but was to rain. from your cousen J. W. C.”

The line with the word grape is hard to figure out. Maybe the word is a misspelling of something else. Or could Ted, Minnie, Harry and Sarah have been picking grapes by the river? (Maybe someone else will have a better guess at this than me.)

The front of the card shows a lovely design of a draped pink ribbon with bows. Suspended from the center ribbon is a gold-tone basket that is overflowing with forget-me-nots. Center background is yellow with gold-tone framing, and a couple of clovers are thrown in for good luck on each side. The little flower drawings in the bottom corners just add to the charm, as does the caption:

“A BASKET

of for-get-me-nots

To you alone I send;

Expressing my

most kindly thoughts

For one I call my friend.”

Divided back, embossed, unused postcard with writing. Copyright E. Nash. G-19. Circa 1912.

Price:  $5.00

Greetings From Holbrook

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“Holbrook Nebr, Sept 29, 1912. Dear cousen. I got your card last night and was glad to here from you glad your horse are get better. mine are all right yet. The cab[?] is buck yet some. I ame go to try and get it in time this week some time if I can and if i get it to working all right i ame come down sunday so i think can get there and less some happen so i cant leave. your cousen  J W C”

Addressed to:  “Miss Lena Davis, Almena, Kansas”

What was it that was bucking yet some? It sounds like it’s a vehicle that’s not running right, and if so, how do you like that for a horse type expression for a car? As, here we are in 1912, in that transitional period in rural America when the car was still in the process of becoming the established mode of transportation. Also, the distance between Holbrook, Nebraska and Almena, Kansas is about fifty miles, so it would seem like it would be too long of a trip to take by horse, for someone that is very busy making a living farming.

The front side of the card shows a red rose, framed in gold tone, surrounded by an embossed pink and white roses design, white border and lettering at the bottom that says “Greetings From ____” where J. W. has written “Holbrook.” The overall framing (because of the diagonal lines in the corners) resembles a carved wooden frame where the frame juts out and the center part with the rose is flat against the wall. Not that this is anything earth shattering, but I just think that the glimpses into the artists’ ideas for the postcards are interesting.

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked in Omaha, date not appearing, approx. September 30, 1912. Publisher:  KLC or KL Company? Series 153.