Category Archives: Postcards Used

Close Hauled

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Divided back, artist-signed postcard. Postmarked August 8, 1910 from San Francisco, California. Artist: D. P. Crane. Publisher:  H. G. Zimmerman & Co., Chicago, IL.

Price:  $8.00

Addressed to:   “Mrs. A. Schweitzer, Napa, Calif. Box 253”

The sender wrote:   S. F.  8/8/1910   Dear Lena:- Again home with the folks again. [?] comes the 1st of Sept then we will come up for the day. All O.K. here. Love to all at home. [Dodie?]  1228 Octavia St.”

We didn’t find a match in online records for the sender of the card at the given address:  She is findable, most likely, but would require some heavy searching. So, moving on to the recipient: The 1910 Federal Census for San Francisco shows Lena Schweitzer, age 38 with husband Alvin, age 35, and their nine year old son, Seymour L. Both Albert and Lena were born in Germany, and Seymour was born in New York.

“Close-hauled” is a sailing term – one of many “point of sail” references. A quick definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is:  “having the sails set for sailing as nearly against the wind as the vessel will go.”  But see the Wiki link below for a more detailed explanation.

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Napa Ward 2, Napa, California; Roll: T624_90; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0080; FHL microfilm: 1374103. (Ancestry.com).

Close-hauled. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/close-hauled (accessed June 9, 2020).

Point of Sail. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_sail (accessed June 9, 2020).

I’m In With All The Swells!

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Divided back postcard. Postmarked December 18, 1913 from Wichita, Kansas. Publisher:  Williamson-Haffner Co., Denver, Colorado. Artist name unknown.

Price:  $12.00

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Ida McFrederick, Harper, Kans, Route 3.”

The sender wrote:  “Dec 18 – 1913. send my mail up here. Hello Ma, Guess I won’t be home Sat. so don’t look for me until you see me. am working now. by by   Florence.”

Per Walter E. Corson’s, Publishers’ Trademarks Identified, the publishing house is the Williamson-Haffner Company, of Denver. So, the initials appearing at the bottom left corner of the illustration must be those of the artist. (Name unknown at this point, but maybe we’ll find out later.)

Thanks, Florence (for passing along) the wonderful phrase on the card, “Don’t look for me until you see me.”  Might remind you of the conundrum we find ourselves in when we contemplate time travel…..and some of the great comedic vignettes we’re familiar with:  Two that come to mind are Joe talking to Frito at the Costco Shuttle in Idiocracy, and one of Big Bang’s segments, something along the lines of, “Okay, we agree that if one of us invents a time machine, we’ll meet right here at exactly (whatever o’clock.)” They look around the room, and then….damn, disappointment. (Not sure – President Not Sure? 😉 ) what episode this was from and this is only from memory, but you probably know the one I mean.)

From the 1905 Kansas State Census, the family is parents, William and Ida McFrederick, and their children, Carl, William, Roy, Earl, Florence and Fern. With the family is a young McDowell (possibly) couple (who may or may not be related) by marriage to the McFredericks. Florence would have been about eighteen when she sent this postcard to her mom.

Sources:  Corson, Walter E. Publishers’ Trademarks Identified. Ed. James Lewis Lowe. Norwood, PA:  1993. (print).

Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1905 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: ks1905_62; Line: 13. (Ancestry.com).

Wishing You Easter Grace

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Divided back, embossed postcard. Postmarked March 22, 1910 from Redwood City, California. Publisher:  International Art Publishing Co. Printed in Germany. Series 1140.

Price:  $4.00

Hmmm, I had thought I had posted all the cards in The Ethel Main Collection, and glad to find out not, in a way. Though that’s proof that some re-organizing needs to be done. (Mentally adding this thought to that long to-do list that’s floating somewhere out there in the ether. 😉 All things in good time, though.) And here’s a beautiful angel for Easter….. she’s here to comfort us, if needed, and maybe remind us of all the good things (no matter our beliefs) that exist that can’t always be seen. I think she has a serene look (then again she is an angel, so that’s a given, probably 🙂 ) Love those wings, too.

Addressed to:   “Miss Ethel Main, 299 Sunol St, San Jose Cal”

The sender wrote:   “Expect me down to see you Sat. night  EM”

Easter Greetings To Betty Dow

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Divided back, embossed postcard. Postmarked April 15, 1911 from Oakland, California. Number or series 626.

Price:  $10.00

Heehee, what an expression on this guy! Easter bun on his way (with a handkerchief full of painted eggs and artist’s palette over his shoulder) to your house in 2020 and that of Betty Dow back in 1911.

Betty’s address was found in city directories under Wallace H. Dow, 82 Mesa Ave, Piedmont, CA. The 1910 Federal Census for Piedmont shows Wallace as head of household and vice president of the Dow Pump Co., wife Helen, children Elizabeth age 7, Wallace A., age 5, all native to California, and their Portuguese maid Marama de Azavedo, age 20. So, this postcard, signed from Lloyd and Herbert, was sent to Betty when she was about 7 years old. Betty went on to marry Frederick Cooper Green in 1924 in Alameda, CA. Their marriage certificate show’s Betty’s mother’s maiden name was Crocker.

Sources:  Polk-Husted Directory Co.’s Husted Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda Directory 1910, p. 318. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: T624_72; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0151; FHL microfilm: 1374085. (Ancestry.com).

Ancestry.com. California, Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941.

Happy New Year To Chillon Carter

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Divided back postcard. Postmarked December 31, 1914 from Joplin, Missouri. Publisher unknown. Printed in Germany. Series or number 1154/1.

Price:  $8.00

Here’s another card, like the previous one we posted, that’s tinted (or colored, if either is the right term) and also so cute. On this one a little girl is surrounded by good luck/prosperity symbols – piggies (two), a four leaf clover, a horseshoe, and what looks like bags of money. (Well, that last is not so much “a sign of” but more prosperity itself, it seems.) And one interesting rendition of why pigs are good luck, specifically on New Year’s Day, comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch, and it’s because pigs root forward, and we want to go forward in the new year. See the link in the sources listed below for the online article.

This card is addressed to a gentleman with an unusual first name. It reads:   “Chillon Carter, R F D # 1 – Galena Kansas.”

And the sender wrote:   “Your xmas gifts rec’d ok. Many thanks. Have some for you. Will come over soon. Probably Sunday. I was in Columbus between trains one day last week at Carthage yesterday. Hope you had a nice time xmas, we were sorry that we could not come over there I had a severe cold & Johnnie thought the weather to cold to make the drive. am all ok, now. Mabel[?]    Rec’d New Year box all O.K. this a.m.”

From the 1920 census and Find A Grave, we find that Chillon E. Carter, born 1902 in Kansas, was the son of Chilon Carter and Sadie (Stanley) Carter.

Sources:  Stoneback, Diane. “Why eat pork and sauerkraut for New Year’s day?”January 1. 2018. 12 a.m. (accessed January 1, 2020).

Year: 1920; Census Place: Spring Valley, Cherokee, Kansas; Roll: T625_526; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 40. (Ancestry.com).

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 01 January 2020), memorial page for Chillon E. Carter (28 Oct 1902–29 Mar 1939), Find A Grave Memorial no. 27017873, citing Oak Hill Cemetery, Galena, Cherokee County, Kansas, USA ; Maintained by JFI (contributor 47211966) .

Nutty Fellow

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Divided back postcard. Postmarked November 29, 1915 from San Jose, California. Publisher:  Samson Brothers, New York, NY. Number or series 94.

Price:  $12.00

While we’re still in autumn……a squirrel dressed in overalls. This card is 104 years old to the day.

“Beauty is only skin deep but it makes many a fellow go nutty over a girl!”

Addressed to:   “Miss Angelita Berryessa, 4027 Broadway, Oakland, Calif.”

The sender wrote:   “November 29, 1915.     Dear Honey, I am very glad that you are having a good time as I think you need it, after so many months of college work. Be always a good little girl and remember some time your friend. G. D.[?] Allasia.”

Angelita was born October 2, 1893 in San Jose, CA, daughter of Ysidro Berryessa and Jessie Sepulveda.

Source:  Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

Thanksgiving Day From Anna Budd

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Divided back, embossed postcard. Postmarked November 25, 1907 from Pensacola, Florida. Publisher:  Raphael Tuck & Sons. “Thanksgiving Day Post Cards” Series Number 123.

Price:  $12.00

Happy Thanksgiving!  Here’s a charmer from publisher Raphael Tuck & Sons, a turkey couple out for a drive in 1907.

Mailed to:   “Miss Grace Snyder. Stevensville, Sull. Co., N. Y.”  That’s Sullivan County. Stevensville later became Swan Lake.

The sender wrote:   “We are all well and hope this finds you all the same. I wish you and your mamma a happy Thanksgiving – With love from Anna Budd.    will write soon.”

Grace Snyder, born about 1892, was the daughter of Nelson H. Snyder and Evelyn Racine. On December 4, 1911 Grace married William Hathaway, born about 1887, son of Eli Hathaway and Lettie Van Orden. Bride and groom were both living in Stevensville, NY at the time of marriage.

Anna is Anna H. Budd, born January 1893, daughter of Morris D. and Carrie E. Blackmon. The 1900 census shows Anna, her parents, her old brother John (all born in New York) and her younger sister Florida, who was born in……..Florida (awww!)

Sources:  Marriage Records. New York Marriages. Various New York County Clerk offices.  (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1900; Census Place: Kupfrians Park, Escambia, Florida; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0013; FHL microfilm: 1240168. (Ancestry.com).

“Mrs. Carrie E. Budd” obituary. The Herald-News. (Passaic, NJ). December 1, 1941. Monday, p. 8. (Newspapers.com).

Swan Lake, New York. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Lake,_New_York. (accessed November 28, 2019).

Le Vendôme, La Ville de Québec

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Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked September 22, 1986 from North Suburban, Illinois. Photographer and publisher:  W. Schermer, 1795 Pierre Lauzon, Pierrefonds, PQ (Montréal). Printed in Canada. Numbers or series:  57999-B and D-1152-R.

Price:  $10.00

Wall murals (love them!) This restaurant in Québec City originated in the 1950s but is now, unfortunately, permanently closed.

Described on the back of the card as:   “Le Restaurant à l’ambiance 100% parisienne. air climatisé. 36 Côte de la Montagne, Québec, Canada. – Tél. 692-0557 – 1er étage.”

Addressed to:  “Tiroler Hof Motel. 150 – Carp – River – Hill. Marquette, Mich 49855.”

Tiroler Hof translates as Tyrolean Court and was built and run by Austrians Sepp and Annemarie Hoedlmoser who came to Marquette in 1957….The motel later became the Nordic Bay Lodge and then was torn down in 2015. In the photo below, taken October of 1983, the owners stand in front of the chapel.

From a slice of Austria in the U.P. to French Canada to North Suburban, IL, with other stops (…the German stained glass from a Wisconsin church that graced the chapel…..) along the way, we’ve traveled alongside the postcard’s sender, who wrote:

“09/21/86. Mag lichkeit besteht…….MONDAY den 28 Sept. an …..für die Farben zu besichten. Freundliche Grüsse……Lucille Bubl.”

Translated as “It is true…….to visit for the colors. Friendly regards….” That might be two signatures there. (Maybe a husband drew the goofy face.) And we’re not sure on Lucille’s last name, but maybe someone who reads German can help us out!

Sources:  Rood, Dave. “Edelweiss thrives near Marquette.” Detroit Free Press. October 28, 1983, p. 3. (Newspapers.com).

“Old Tiroler Hof/Nordic Bay Lodge torn down.” The Mining Journal. November 15, 2015. (www.miningjournal.net).

The Dock At Patchogue, Long Island

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Héliogravure or Photogravure. Postmarked July 23, 1914, Patchogue, New York. Publisher:  H. O. Korten. Panel Card No. 174. Printed in Germany.

Price:  $8.00            Size:  About 6 and 1/8 x 2 and 1/2″

An interesting image, though a big chunk of the right-hand upper corner is missing. It might be relevant for anyone interested in the history of Patchogue, and definitely so if their ancestor owned a sailboat christened Nancy Hanks.

Originally I listed this one as a Real Photo Postcard, but many thanks to Jim, who commented, for the correction. It’s a héliogravure or photogravure.

What degree of separation….mother, horse, sailboat…?

One naturally assumes the boat may have been named after a then present-day (1914) person, maybe a relative of someone who lived in Patchogue. So, we went to census records for Nancy Hanks, but found nothing; then went to historical newspapers and found a reference to someone running off at “a Nancy Hanks trot.”  Intriguing…..Ahhhh, a little further searching revealed that Nancy Hanks (named after Abe Lincoln’s mother) was a Standardbred trotting mare, a record-breaker that was later inducted into the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame.

The trotter Nancy Hanks circa 1892, photo by Schreiber.

As for the card’s sender and recipient…..

Addressed to:   “Miss Elsie Blum, 481 E – 11th st., Brooklyn, N.Y.”

The sender wrote:   “Dear Ones, just got mother’s letter & will write soon. Wieder[?] is very very happy with you. Love & a big kiss. Tanta Lahy.”

The Blum family were of German origin, and maybe “Tanta” is a nickname for tante (aunt). It sounds like the sender’s son received a gift from Elsie and was thrilled with whatever it was. As for the addressee, there’s an Elsie Blum on the 1910 Federal Census that might fit for the addressee of this card. Born in Ohio about 1890, parents Adam and Elsie, address 812 Cortelyou Road in Brooklyn, with a near cross street being E. 7th. Nothing coming up for the address on the postcard in city directories at either 481 11th (apt. E) or 481 E. 11th, which is surprising. But it is an address today, if the numbering is the still the same, 481 11th St., a condo, and so beautiful on the inside! ( If Elsie could see it now!)

Sources:  Photogravure. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogravure (accessed February 7, 2021).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 29, Kings, New York; Roll: T624_983; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 1023; FHL microfilm: 1374996. (Ancestry.com).

Nancy Hanks (horse). n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Hanks_(horse). Accessed September 15, 2019.

Forget-me-nots and Seagulls

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Divided back, embossed postcard. Postmarked May 11, 1913 from Elwood, Nebraska. Series or number G10.

Price:  $5.00

“Only a message sweet and true

Saying I think today of you.”

Addressed to:   “Miss Lena Davis, Almena Kans.”

“May 10       Dear Cousin, We are all well having fine weather. I have 109 little chicks my housecleaning done and garden planted. The wheat look fine. Fred is listing corn he has been sick but better now. The boys grow fast and play out doors all the time. From Your Cousin Alice.”

Have been away from posts (alas) for some time. This seems to be a common refrain lately (sigh). Anyway! Here’s one from our Lena Davis Collection (hey, Lena 🙂 ) of a beautiful sunset on a lake (lake as in Great Lakes comes to mind, being a Michigander) with sailboat, seagulls and is partially framed by forget-me-nots. Flipping to the back to read the message from Lena’s cousin Alice, we jump from lakeside to a rural farm setting of chicks, wheat and corn……What woman cannot relate to this sense of accomplishment,  “I have my 109 little chicks, housekeeping done and garden planted.”  Time to kick back on the front porch with an ice-cold lemonade (while of course, keeping an eye on the boys, ever-multi-tasking 😉  ).

And, yes, Fred is really “listing” corn. He would have used a piece of farm equipment similar to the one pictured below, planting the kernels in the furrows (the ditches) so the corn could root deeper in the soil and the roots could be covered later, thus protecting them in times of drought.

Source:  Widtsoe, John Andreas. Dry Farming:  A System of Agriculture for Counties Under Low Rain Fall. New York:  The McMillan Company, 1911. (archive.org).