Laurel Cottage Genealogy
Genealogy Services, Old Photos, Postcards, Trade Cards, Etc.

James Pyle’s Pearline Trade Card

Posted on March 28th, 2025 by

 

Trade card, New York. Circa 1880s – 1890s.

Price:  $7.00          Size:  3 x 5 and 1/8

Trade card for the washing powder, Pearline (James Pyle’s Pearline, later James Pyle & Sons).

Note:  I’ve said this kind of thing before, but for successful companies, it’s not possible to do total justice in a fairly short blog post. Once you start researching, you keep finding more and more, leading to more questions you’d like to get a pinpoint answer to. It becomes very time-consuming, and you have to cut yourself off at some point. Other bloggers crop up, too, who’ve put up great stuff on the subject. On this one, I went looking, last minute, for potential company records. Didn’t find those but did find a Pyle family descendant who did an excellent post. Lot of info there. But I’ll slog on and finish my humble offering here – kind of bits and pieces….

This one was supposed to go up the day after Halloween and here it is nearly April. (Ee gads!) Lots going on, including the addition of our beautiful new kitty and pup. (RV life with young animals – wild, wild.) I also changed the look of the website (just needed a change). In any case, getting back to it…..

Intelligent Housekeepers

A court jester, well away from “court,” stands out in the rain with parasol and sandwich board to advertise James Pyle’s Pearline – a soap powder for laundry, kitchen use and just about anything else – from the cleaning of oil paintings to commercial use in dairies to bathing in fresh or salt water. (Salt water bathing – a definite testament to a bygone era.) The company became hugely successful, with the soap product becoming a household name.

Early years

Founder, James Pyle, (1823 – 1900) was born in Manchester, Nova Scotia, Canada, coming to New York in the 1840s. On the 1860 Federal Census, he had given his occupation as “salaeratus manufacturer,” (sodium bicarbonate). An obituary for him states he first starting making a liquid cleaner, then “sodas and soaps.” By 1861, we see newspaper ads appearing for “Pyle’s O. K. Soap,” an earlier offering that, according to author, Allan Metcalf (OK – The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word) was later sold to Procter & Gamble. (I didn’t find whether there was any overlap of the two products being manufactured at the same time, by Pyle, or if the one just replaced the other.) Sons, James Tolman Pyle and William Scott Pyle came into the business with him when they became old enough. The 1880 Federal Census shows father and sons as soap manufacturers. Another son, Charles, had died before the 1880 census was taken.

A March 1877 ad for both Pyle’s O. K. Soap and Pyle’s O. K. Saleratus:

Pearline trademark from an 1885 ad – the “O.K.” references the company’s origins:

Pyle’s New York Times obit reported that he was the first to use the term, “o.k.” in advertising, and helped popularize it.

The Power of Advertising

Multiple obits for James Pyle state that he was a friend of Horace Greeley, the founder and editor of the New York Tribune, and that it was Greeley’s generous (quite canny, really) offer, along with, of course, the apparent results, that got Pyle on the road to becoming one of the biggest advertisers in the U. S. In 1904, their ad budget was reported at $500,000. (Greeley’s influence is also recounted in the notice of sale to P&G in 1914.)

1878 – an early Pearline ad 

The exact year for the start of the manufacture of Pearline was not located but in October of 1878 there was this ad for “Something New.” (The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA, October 11, 1878):

Below, two examples from 1888 that appeared in the magazine, Wide Awake:

Not being limited to paper and ink….

A Google search result for images of old Pearline ads on buildings:

We’d rather be called chumps and idiots….

In 1897, son, James T. Pyle gives his views to the publication, Printer’s Ink, on not wanting to give away all the company’s hard-earned strategies. The title of this article is one you have to try to think through:

Death of founder, James Pyle, 1900, reprinted from the New York News, in the ad journal Printer’s Ink:

Death of William S. Pyle, 1906. His obit and photo appear in the publication, Profitable Advertising’s March edition.

James T. Pyle’s obituary, 1912, from The Morris County Chronicle:

What happened to Pearline?

Cautionary tales (don’t stop advertising!) reported in newspaper articles (some years later), blame either the owner or the trustees for stopping their ads – the idea was that Pearline was already a household name, and they didn’t need to keep spending all that money. Most reports state advertising was stopped in 1907. Was there more to the story? Likely. (It’s never simplistic.) There was a stock market crash in October of that year, which must have definitely had an effect. And really, I can’t imagine James T. Pyle dropping the strategy that had worked so well all of those years, without good cause. Then too, perhaps it was only meant to be a temporary measure. Below, possibly part of the puzzle, a clip from The Morning Call, January 1907 – when the company had taken out a loan on their new New Jersey plant:

October 1, 1914 – Procter & Gamble Buys Pearline

Sources:  Handler, E. (2011, July 4). “Occupations of my ancestors – James Pyle & Sons.” From Maine to Kentucky. (accessed March 28, 2025).

Gutek, Gerald & Patricia. America’s Early Montessorians:  Anne George, Margaret Naumburg, Helen Parkhurst and Adelia Pyle. Palgrave MacMillan, 2020.

The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: New York Ward 5 District 1, New York, New York; Roll: M653_790; Page: 385; Family History Library Film: 803790.

Metcalf, Allan. (2011). OK:  The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word. Oxford University Press. (books.google.com).

Year: 1880; Census Place: New York City, New York, New York; Roll: 884; Page: 234b; Enumeration District: 353.

“Pyle’s O. K. Soap – the Champion.” The Morning Democrat (Davenport, Iowa), March 10, 1877. Saturday, p. 3. (Newspapers.com).

“Death of James Pyle.” The New York Times, January 21, 1900. Sunday, p. 3. (Newspapers.com).

Pearline trademark. The Montreal Star, January 9, 1885. Friday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

Horace Greeley. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Greeley (March 18, 2025).

“Something New.” The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA). October 11, 1878. Friday, p. 4. (Newspapers.com).

Wide Awake, Vol. AA. D. Lothrop Company, Boston. 1888. (books.google.com).

“images of old pearline ads on buildings.” Google.com search, March 18, 2025.

“Not Ambitous To Be Thought Wise.” Printers’ Ink, Vol. XXI. October 6, 1897 – December 29, 1897. George P. Rowell & Co., Publishers. (books.google.com).

Death of founder, James Pyle. Printers’ Ink, Vol. XXX. January 31, 1900, p. 18. (books.google.com).

“Obituaries – William Scott Pyle.” Profitable Advertising, Vol. XV, No. 10.. March 1906. (books.google.com).

“Obituary. James T. Pyle.” The Morris County Chronicle (Morristown, New Jersey), February 13, 1912. Tuesday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Pyles’ Big Mortgage.” The Morning Call (Paterson, New Jersey). January 24, 1907. Thursday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

Sale of Pearline. The American Perfumer and Essential Oil Review, Vol. IX, no. 8. October 1914. New York. p. 221. (books.google.com).

“Pyle’s Pearline Changes Hands.” The Retail Grocers Advocate, Vol. 19. July 3, 1914. San Francisco, California. (books.google.com).

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Categories: Court Jesters, Trade Cards and Advertising, Umbrellas and Parasols

La Pilule Clérambourg

Posted on October 30th, 2024 by

French postcard, unused. Photographer? Carré. Publisher:  E.L.D. Series or number:  4274. Circa 1910s – 1920s.

Price:  $50.00

The first of two “Halloween-ish” offerings…..

This one is a French postcard that someone used as a trade card to advertise La Pilule Clérembourg (Véritable Grain de Vie), a product, in pill form, touted to help digestion, purify the blood, strengthen one’s overall countenance and increase the appetite. An ad back in 1859 indicates they’d been known, at that point, for over a century. The company also produced a cough syrup:

Our postcard front:  shows a person in a woman’s dress, stockings and shoes, wearing an over-sized papier mâché head – that of an older man with a mustache. I’m not sure whether there may be a specific French term that applies here, but this type of figure is similar to the Spanish Cabezudos.

Publisher logo for E. L. D. 

Ernest le Deley (1859 – 1917) 

From fr.wikipedia.org and translated via DeepL.com (free version):

Ernest Le Deley, born on July 12, 1859 in Mont-Saint-Aignan and died on August 6, 1917 in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, was one of the leading French postcard publishers and printers of the Belle Époque.

Ernest Le Deley was a phototypesetter living at 8 rue Berthollet, Paris, in 1886. He married Joséphine Petit on October 15, 1898 in Bugnicourt, while working as a printer-photographer in Châteaudun. A publisher of national renown, around 1900 he had a phototype printing shop at no. 73 rue Claude-Bernard in Paris, and a sales outlet at no. 127 boulevard de Sébastopol, at the corner of rue de Tracy. From 1906, he went into partnership with Achille Siron, a publisher in Barbizon. In 1911-1912, he opened a branch in Rouen, at no. 62 rue Saint-Nicolas. On December 20, 1913, a fire destroyed his postcard publishing plant at 11-13 rue des Arquebusiers in Paris.

He died at his home, no. 41 rue Censier in Paris, and was buried in the Parisian cemetery at Ivry-sur-Seine.

His son Maurice-Ernest, who succeeded him, went bankrupt in 1922.

Sources:  Didot-Bottin’s Annuaire-Almanach du Commerce de l’Industrie. January 1859 (google.com/books).

Processional giant. n.d. en.wikipedia.org (accessed October 30, 2024).

Ernest le Deley. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Le_Deley (accessed October 30, 2024).

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Categories: Postcards, Postcards Unused

Extrait de Viande de la Cie Liebig Trade Card

Posted on October 10th, 2024 by

Trade card in french, circa 1927.

Price:  $5.00             Size:  About 4 and 1/4 x 2 and 3/4″

Les Navires À Voiles À Travers Les Âges – Sailing Ships Through The Ages

This was one of a ship series for (and perhaps by) the Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company. Glorious colors in this one. The back is talking about Antoine Flettner having invented a more efficient way of propelling ships, using rotating metal cylinders.

Regarding the date for this trade card – we’re going with the circa 1927 date, as that year is showing up on at least two other websites for the same card, and of course, we know it would have to be after Flettner’s invention, stated on the reverse as 1924/25.

Sources:  Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebig%27s_Extract_of_Meat_Company (accessed October 10, 2024).

Anton Flettner, German Inventor. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anton-Flettner (accessed October 10, 2024).

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Categories: Boats and Ships, Trade Cards and Advertising

Passing Bell Buoy, Boston Harbor

Posted on September 24th, 2024 by

Trade card. Copyright, Bufford, Boston, Massachusetts. Circa 1890s.

Price:  $4.00

Nellie Lee’s Card

An illustration of a paddle wheel steamer passing a bell buoy in Boston Harbor:  This trade card was never printed with any particular company information. It’s just a sample card that had come into the possession, as we see from the reverse, of young Nellie Lee.

On the subject of buoys, there were a number of different types:  gas, whistling, can, nun, ice, spar and bell – this is info from a 4-column spread in The Boston Globe in 1889. The article’s author, John Collier, had gone out on Verbena, one of the steamers used for buoy supply and inspection, and had interviewed her captain, Charles I. Gibbs. Here are just a few excerpts, if you have time:

Buoys are like boys….

Below, Captain Gibbs, explaining some of the different buoys, the maintenance and some of the problems encountered:

Illustrations of an old bell buoy and an automatic whistler:

Sources:  Collier, John. “On the Verbena…Buoys and Beacons Visited by a Reporter….” The Boston Globe, June 9, 1889. Sunday, p. 17. (Newspapers.com).

Fog bell. n.d. wikipedia.org. (accessed September 22, 2024.)

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Categories: Bufford, Lithograph Companies, Trade Cards and Advertising

S.S. Vesterlide, 1917

Posted on September 6th, 2024 by

Old photo, white border. Circa March, 1917, Portland, Oregon.

Price:  $100.00           Size:  5 and 1/2 x 3 and 3/16″ 

A short-lived career….

This is a rare photo of the S.S. Vesterlide. At the time of this post, we’re not finding any others online. And, as it turned out, there was a very small window of time for photo ops, though, to be fair, her construction was pretty high-profile, so we wonder if more photos might have survived. Launched March 31, 1917, Vesterlide’s name was changed to War Baron shortly afterward. Then on May 1st, 1918, War Baron was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.

Many articles appear in newspaper accounts, along with photos. We’ll let them tell most of the story…..

The ship’s name, Vesterlide, translates as Westerner in Norwegian. Originally commissioned by a Norwegian firm, she was the first steel steamer to be built in Portland, Oregon – a momentous event for the city’s steel industry, and a source of pride for Portland. Throngs were on hand. Mayor Albee had declared it a “half-holiday,” people were up on rooftops and boys had climbed telephone poles. The launching took place at the Northwest Steel Company’s yards, and the spectators yelled their appreciation as the ship was sent gracefully into the Willamette River.

Below, March 31, 1917, Miss Marian Virginia Bowles, daughter of J. R. Bowles, president of Northwest Steel Co., gets ready to break the champagne bottle over Vesterling’s prow:

A photo montage from The Sunday Oregonian:

Looking down the ship launch path. Vesterlide entering the water:

But shockingly, a couple of the hawsers, the thick ropes helping to keep the 8,800 ton ship in check, failed – and Vesterlide was sent diagonally across the river, striking the sternwheeler, Ruth, in her mid-section. The collision:

More details…..From The Sunday Oregonian:

Surprisingly, the riverboat Ruth was raised and able to be completely restored. An official investigation found her officers not at fault. 

Vesterlide renamed War Baron – Spring of 1917

SS War Baron 

The exact date of rechristening, from Vesterlide to War Baron, is unclear. An article in The Oregonian, dated April 10th, mentions the new name, and by another report, in the same paper, dated May 12th, the steamer was getting her finishing work completed at the Willamette Iron & Steel Works.

Below, a nice photo with text that appeared in The Sunday Oregonian, July 8, 1917:

A good showing…..and what seems like a foretelling of fate:

War Baron was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U55 on May 1, 1918; Atlantic Ocean, eight miles northeast from Godrevy Lighthouse, St. Ives Bay, Cornwall, UK. Two lives were lost.

Sources:  “Steel Ship To Dip.” The Morning Oregonian. March 28, 1917. Wednesday, p. 18. (Newspapers.com).

“First Steel Craft Built In Portland Yards Is Launched.” The Oregon Daily Journal. April 1, 1917. Sunday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

“Big Cunarder Is Launched In City.” The Sunday Oregonian. April 1, 1917. Sunday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“Lines Fail to Check Big Vessel; Steamer Ruth Sinks Quickly.” The Oregon Daily Journal. March 31, 1917. Saturday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Versterlide Sinks Ruth; 3 Injured.” The Sunday Oregonian. April 1, 1917. Sunday, p. 40. (Newspapers.com).

“First Steel Craft Is Launched. Vesterlide Hits River Boat.” The Oregon Daily Journal. April 1, 1917. Sunday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Raising Of Sunken Steamer Ruth Will Be Started At Once.”  The Oregon Daily Journal. April 2, 1917. Monday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

“War Baron Is Title.” The Oregonian. April 10, 1917. Tuesday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“Cunard Crew Here.” The Oregonian. May 12, 1917. Saturday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“British Steamer War Baron.” The Sunday Oregonian. July 8, 1917. Sunday, p. 24. (Newspapers.com).

“Cunarder Exceeds Rating At Trial.” The Tacoma Daily Ledger. July 17, 1917. Tuesday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Torpedoing of War Baron Is Told In Letter.” The Oregon Daily Journal. April 2, 1917. Monday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

SS War Baron. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_War_Baron (accessed August 19, 2024).

Tennent, A. J. British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-Boats in World War I. (1990) Periscope Publishing, Ltd. Google.com books.

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Categories: Boats and Ships, Old Photos

RPPC of Pier 7, Alakea Wharf, Honolulu, Hawaii

Posted on August 19th, 2024 by

Real Photo Postcard, unused. AKO stamp box. Circa 1924 – 1930. Photo image circa late 1910s.

Price:  $15.00   (As is – note the pieces of the postcard missing from the left corner and bottom border.)

Two steamers (names unknown) flank Honolulu’s Pier 7 and a portion of a third is visible on our left.

A few thoughts…..

I keep thinking someone should write a book about the history of this particular wharf, or maybe better yet, about all of the Honolulu wharves. (Alas, that can’t be me.) It’s just that in researching old newspaper accounts and searching Google books, etc., I’m hit with that poignant feeling of something having been forgotten. So much to re-learn so-to-speak….thinking of how Hawaii was such a crossroads, a stopover for ships from all over the world…..Mention of the wharf shows up in thousands of articles, too many to delve into, but we’ll include some of them here that will tell part of the story. (And I don’t know how you’ll feel, but I’d like to time-travel back to that masquerade ball in 1910).

About our postcard:

The photo used for this card was definitely taken earlier than 1924:  Another RPPC was found online of the same view that was postmarked 1921. That particular postcard had been mislabeled as the subject of a New York City pier. (Correction submitted August 2024.) It really goes to show how crucial it is to always look at the details, because when you click to enlarge the image, you’ll see the wording “Alakea Wharf” spelled out just a little below “Pier 7″……and Alakea Wharf was located in Honolulu, Hawaii:

Our postcard date estimate comes from the excellent Playle’s website, which identifies this particular AZO stamp box, (on the reverse) with its squares in each corner, as being from 1924 – 1949, however it’s probable that the card was produced in the 1920s. But, getting back to when the actual photo for the card was taken – I’d say mid-to-late 1910s, due to the look of the clothing styles. The car in the photo would be the best reference but it’s proving difficult to get a model and year for it since a crop of the vehicle is not very clear.

A little history from newspapers and books. Backtracking to 1893 – Alakea Street and the Pacific Mail Wharf:

Summer of 1907, Alakea Street Wharf completed

Alakea Wharf was named after its location, Alakea Street, which runs perpendicular to the waterfront. (It’s unclear whether it actually intersected.) From what we surmise from the article above, the Alakea Wharf appears to have replaced the Pacific Mail Wharf. Bidding for the new pier’s construction started in April 1906 and the work was completed around June or July of 1907:

Exterior and interior photo of the newly constructed wharf building, 1907 – from Governor Carter’s report for the fiscal year ending June 1907 (printed 1907). Note the lack of  “Pier 7” signage:

Below, February 1910, when the Elks Club put on their carnival and masquerade ball:

September 1910, Prince Tsai Hsun arrives in Honolulu: 

Heavy security at Alakea Wharf. Below, a couple of clips from a long account. The “knothole” referred to the press’ restrictions in attending a meeting that took place on board ship with officials and dignitaries.  

August, 1912. Friction starts a fire:

November 1912, discharged cargo holding up ships:

Name change – Alakea Street Wharf becomes Pier 7 in 1914:

On January 6, 1914, the Board of Harbor Commissioners unanimously voted that each of the nineteen Honolulu wharves should be called by a number. (There were twenty if you count Piers 5 and 5a as two separate entities.) See Maritime Hawai’i’s web post in sources.

Opium tins and an elusive diamond ring in, “Placer Mining in Honolulu.” Below, a portion of the January 1921 write-up:

March, 1922. During Prohibition, drinkers on board ship were toasting those below stuck in “dry-dock.”

Pier 7 today, 1988 – 2024

Today, the structure that was the Alakea Wharf/Pier 7 as it appeared in our postcard is no longer there. Pier 7 exists, but certainly, (as one would expect over a century later) not in the same capacity. When was the original building renovated or replaced? The answer would be in newspaper accounts, but the more recent decades in Newspapers.com are restricted due to copyright legalities. (Access to those years costs extra per month and are out of my price range.)

From 1988 – 2009, Pier 7 housed the Hawaii Maritime Center.

Falls of Clyde docked at Pier 7:

For some decades (start date not found) Pier 7 has been home to the historic vessel, Falls of Clyde. Built in 1878, she’s iron-hulled, four-masted full-rigged and is the last of her kind. She was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1989, but unfortunately had to be unregistered in 2024, due to condition issues. See the prior link (Wikipedia) and this 2023 KITV news article for her proposed fate.

Sources:  “Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes. A-B. https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoa.php (accessed July 19, 2024).

“Honolulu’ New Dock.” Hawaii Herald. April 6, 1906. Thursday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Carter to Return In July.” Hawaii Herald. May 23, 1907. Thursday, p. 3. (Newspapers.com).

“Late Wireless News.” Hawaii Herald. February 23, 1910. Wednesday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Alakea Wharf” and “Interior of Alakea Wharf Shed.” Report of the Governor of Hawaii to the Secretary of the Interior for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30 1907. Washington:  Government Printing Office. (1907). Google.com/books. 

“Prince Tsai Hsun Reaches America.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. September 14, 1910. Wednesday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Sulphurous Fumes Start A Stampede.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. August 28, 1912. Wednesday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

“Discharged Cargoes Choke All Honolulu Wharves And Make Proper Berthing Of Ships A Problem.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. November 15, 1912. Friday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“From Names to Numbers.” December 23, 2020. maritimehawaii.com. (Accessed August 1, 2024.)

“Captain Berger Will Have A Busy Week.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. January 10, 1914. Saturday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Placer Mining in Honolulu.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. January 28, 1921. Friday, p. 7. (Newspapers.com).

“Nothing to Brag About.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. March 12, 1922. Sunday, p. 48. (Newspapers.com).

Hawaii Maritime Center. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii_Maritime_Center (accessed August 19, 2024).

Falls of Clyde (ship). n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_Clyde_(ship) (accessed August 17, 2024).

Drewes, Paul. (2023, June 28). “State wants Falls of Clyde to go, to revitalize Honolulu Harbor pier.” Island News, kitv.com.

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Categories: Animals, Automobiles Buses Trucks, Boats and Ships, Buggies Carts Carriages Wagons and Stagecoaches, Horses, Mules, People, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards

Old Photo of S.S. Northwestern

Posted on July 18th, 2024 by

Old photo, circa 1920s.

Price:  $25.00             Size:  About 5 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/4″

The S.S. Northwestern – a cargo and passenger ship running the Alaskan Coast

This one was found in a bin of loose photographs at a paper fair or antique store. No writing on the back and, at the time of looking through said bin, no potential relations stood out; none that would noticeably link themselves to this item, though they well could have been there. Knowing this, when singling out one photo to take home, there’s always that feeling of – possibly separating the poor individual from its home group. An integral portion of some family’s story is now being orphaned (sob!). Well no, not orphaned really, but adopted out. And then there’s always the flip side with its mysterious forces at play:  “One is better than none and if I don’t get this one, who will?”  In these situations, you can almost feel your purchase automatically opening a door (somewhere in the universe) with someone in the future finding the item (in delighted discovery), and relaying info to us such as, “My great-grandfather worked on that ship,” or “I have relatives that traveled up to [such-and-such] on this ship.” …..Back to the blank reverse, probably most of us have that tendency – to not take the time to put anything on the back. No judgement – it can definitely be tedious, and with all good intentions, often gets put off till “later.” And dealers (thousands of pieces passing through their hands) cannot realistically be expected to document where their acquisitions have come from. (Though once in great while you get lucky.) Fortunately, with this photo, we at least have the ship’s name which clearly shows. Here’s a crop, and I believe that’s a woman standing there – appearing for us just below the name and above the cargo in the netting. (Click to enlarge.) We’ll estimate the time-frame to be the 1920s, just due to the look of the clothing styles.

Source:  SS Northwestern. n.d.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Northwestern#/media/ File:S.S._Northwestern_moored_in_Seward,_Alaska.jpg (accessed July 16, 2024).

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Categories: Boats and Ships, Old Photos, People

Firenze – Cattedrale e Panorama

Posted on July 13th, 2024 by

Italian postcard, unused. Circa 1950s. Publisher:  Gino Giusti, Florence, Italy. Artist-signed.

Price:  $5.00          Size:  5 and 7/8 x 4 and 1/16″

Florence, Italy – Panoramic view of Florence (Firenze) including the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (aka Florence Duomo). The unknown artist’s signature appears at the bottom right. I’m basing the 1950s estimated date for this card on a couple of postmarked cards that are currently appearing on eBay by the same publisher.

Note:  It’s unfortunate – the foxing marks that show on the reverse of this one, so if you’re a buyer, just be advised. Best storage is in an acid-free container away from other items. And, we do get buyers that only want digital copies – just let me know, if so.

Sources:  Florence Cathedral. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral (accessed July 13, 2024).

Foxing. n.d. Wikipedia.com. (accessed July 13, 2024).

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Categories: Churches, Mosques and Temples, Postcards, Postcards Artist Signed, Postcards Unused, Town Views

Bronze Lion’s Head

Posted on July 12th, 2024 by

Divided back, unused postcard. Photographer:  Guido Bernardi, Genzano di Roma, Italy. Circa 1920s – 1930s. 

Price:  $15.00

A nice lion! Look at those eyes, they look human.

Genzano di Roma is a town and commune in the city of Rome, Italy – and the apparent home base for the photographer. We don’t know if he had a formal studio or may have worked out of a residence. Nothing, of note, was found for him, bearing in mind, we’re looking only from our limited vantage point here in the United States, without access to much in the way of Italian records. The wording on the reverse, “Proprieta artistica riservata”, translates to “Reserved artistic property.”

The card bears the description,  “Lago Di Nemi – Bronze di nave roma a.”  Lago di Nemi is Lake Nemi, located south of Rome.

And we found a better source for our postcard image on Wikipedia, showing a different view of the lion:

Decorazione bronzo navi di Nemi with the description:  “Navi di Nemi. Elemento decorativo in bronzo per testa di trave, rappresentante una testa di leone che stringe fra i denti un anello.”

Google translation: “Ships of Nemi. Bronze decorative element for beam head, representing a lion’s head clutching a ring between its teeth.”

Sources:  Genzano di Roma. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genzano_di_Roma (accessed July 12, 2024).

Lake Nemi. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nemi (accessed July 12, 2024).

Decorazione bronzo navi di Nemi – Museo scienza e tecnologia Milano Nemi. n.d. https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Decorazione_bronzo_navi_di_Nemi_-_Museo_scienza_e_tecnologia_Milano_Nemi_156.jpg (accessed July 12, 2024).

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Categories: Animals, Lions, Postcards, Postcards Unused

Link Extinguisher, York, North Yorkshire, England

Posted on July 10th, 2024 by

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. Signed. Copyright. Series or number:  6956. Photographer and publisher:  Walter Scott, Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. Circa 1910 – 1930s.

Price:  $15.00

Link Extinguisher at York

Nice publisher logo on this one (the publisher’s initials). Walter Scott was a Bradford, Yorkshire, UK photographer. We found a listing for him in that city’s directory in 1912 at 2 Barkerend Road; an ad for him in a London newspaper in 1924; and another Real Photo card by him on eBay, with a postmark of 1932. So, estimating 1910 – 1930s for the date manufactured for ours.

The subject of our postcard, the link extinguisher, would have been notable as something rather uncommon – a remnant of an earlier age, before gas street lamps lit the way. The metal cone-shaped object was used to put out the torch carried by link-boys working the streets and servants of households of the more well-to-do.

Below, a clipping from the Manchester Evening News in 1908, regarding a different residence, also noteworthy because of its link extinguisher:

Sources:  Wm Byles & Sons, Ltd. Post Office Directory, Bradford and District Business Guide, 1912. p. 454.(Ancestry.com UK, City and County Directories, 1766 – 1946).

Link-boy. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link-boy (accessed July 10, 2024).

“A Link with the Past.”  Manchester Evening News (Manchester, England). December 4, 1908. Friday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

Walter Scott photographer ad. Daily Herald (London, England). January 30, 1924. Wednesday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Yorkshire Bradford BAILDON c1930s RP Postcard Walter Scott.” https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174238687742. Accessed July 10, 2024.

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Categories: Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards