Old-Fashioned Christmas Happiness

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked December 18, 1923 from Los Angeles, California. Made in the U.S.A. Series 1016 D. Publisher unknown.

Merry Christmas….

“Old-fashioned Christmas happiness

Is what I’m wishing you

And a host of good and loyal friends

To share the Day with you.”

A country scene of a home in winter, sunset colors painting the sky, all within the soft outline of a snow-laden evergreen tree…

The sender writes: “Dear Grandma, I wish you all a happy Xmas. I am sending you a pkg. something for dossie and for Geo. Jr. But do not open untel Xmas, Love from all, Maebell.”

Addressed to: “Mrs. J. M. Ellison, 604 N St., Sacramento, Calif.”

Fortune Bright, Friendship True

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, artist-signed, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked December 22, 1916 from Sacramento, California. Artist: Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Publisher: International Art Publishing Co. Series 104-3.

Price: $12.00

Best Christmas Wishes…

“Fortune bright and friendship true,

Bless this Christmas-time for you.”

A Clapsaddle Christmas postcard: This one’s a bit of a departure from the artist’s more recognizable work of adorable children. It shows a hazy winter scene of evergreens, with one in white standing out in embossed relief, and three small biblical-looking figures (I think it’s the staff that gives that impression) appearing near the bottom of the stand of trees, and then a rustic wooden fence leading to the foreground.

Sent to: “Miss Bessie Ellison, 1415 G St, Sacramento, Calif.”

The sender wrote: “A Merry Xmas and a happy New Year. F. J. Reynolds.”

The postcard cancellation was advertising the “Panama California International Exposition at San Diego – 1916.”

Sources: Ellen Clapsaddle. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Clapsaddle. (accessed December 23, 2016).

Panama-California Exposition. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama%E2%80%93California_Exposition. (accessed December 23, 2016).

$1K For Christmas

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked from Fresno, California, December 22, 1914. Santa Claus Series No. 2. Publisher unknown.

Price: $10.00

“Christmas Greetings and Joys.”

Addressed to: “Mrs. J M Ellison, Sacramento, California, General Delivery”

“Dear Mrs. Elison, have thought of you so often and…?…?…a letter but no answ. so will try again. This is wishing you all a Merry Exmas and a happy new year right me a letter from now Patterson 884 Inez at Fresno California.”

The sender of this card was Dwight Ives (or Ivees) Patterson, born in Pueblo, Colorado, December 14, 1892, son of William Edgar Patterson. From the 1915 Fresno city directory Dwight’s occupation is “carman” for the “Fresno Trac Co”, business address 884 Inez. WWI Draft Registration (1917) shows occupation street car conductor for the Fresno Traction Company, residence address given as 324 Inez. Passport records, including photo below, for Dwight show that by 1918 he was an engineer for the Democrata Mine in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. We know from other postcards in our Alice Ellison Collection, that the Ellison Family had lived for some years in Pueblo, Colorado, so Dwight and the Ellisons may have been neighbors at some point. In any case, he sent a beautiful Christmas postcard. Note the amount of money from Santa in one of the stockings!

Sources: Polk-Husted Directory Co.’s Fresno City and Fresno County Directory, 1915. p. 169. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. (Ancestry.com).

Registration State: California; Registration County: Fresno; Roll: 1530792. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 – March 31, 1925; Roll #: 499; Volume #: Roll 0499 – Certificates: 12750-12999, 11 Apr 1918-13 Apr 1918. (Ancestry.com).

Richest Gifts Of Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, unused, embossed postcard. Series 209. Printed in Germany. Publisher and printer unknown. Circa 1907 – 1914.

Price: $4.00

From our Ethel Main Collection, this card has a trade mark logo of either publisher or printer (or both) that is thought to be one of the Gibson Art Company’s logos (see Comments from JAX on this post): showing below, a capital G inside a rectangular artist’s palette with brushes “attached.”

The front of the postcard shows a pretty typical moonlit tableau of a church in a snow-blanketed country setting, with Christmas bells hanging on the left and poinsettias in the background. Nice though! The verse reads:

“Christmas Greetings.

May richest gifts of Christmas cheer

Bestrew your path to=day.”

The card was addressed to someone’s mother, and the sender wrote: “Hoping you will have a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. Love, Helen Main.”

A Coaching Christmas

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked from Lodi, California, December 22, 1921. Publisher unknown. S02 – 6. Des. (design) Xmas.

Price: $6.00

We’ll start off Christmas this year with a 1921 postcard from the Alice Ellison Collection showing a stagecoach with team of horses arriving at a country inn: There’s the driver and two (artistic license most likely) coach guards, both with their “yard of tin,” the long trumpet used to announce arrival and departure, warn off other traffic on the road, and announce arrival at toll gates; and with the figures of a man and boy; a bunny bounding down the path through the snow; and a couple of horseshoes and whip….altogether a charming remembrance of the Regency Era. The card’s beautiful verse goes out to all:

“Each Christmas binds more close the friends

We knew in Auld Lang Syne,

And so, in thought, my hand extends

To meet the clasp of thine.”

Addressed to: “Miss Ella Ellison, 1314 F St., Sacramento, Califa.,” and signed, “From Mrs. McNees & Dorothy.”

Easter Chick For Lily V. Herrling

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Annieoakley

“Easter Greetings”

Here’s one more official Easter postcard for this year and it’s of another chick, so adorable, wearing her little shell hat with pussy willow decoration, and carrying a little bouquet.

The sender writes:

“April 4, 1914. Fort Pierre S. Dak. Dear Miss Herlling. I will drop you a few lines this tues[?]. we all well hope you the same. the snow is all gone now and we have a nice bit of water in the…?…now. it has bin dry all winter but we will have a lot of it now for this summer & yes nellie has got a little colt one week old but lily…?…is the same color she was when you saw her. good by, by for now[?] …and…? L. E. Datts. I will write a letter in a few days. Wishing you a joys Easter.”

Sent to: “Miss Lily V. Herrling. Walton, Neb. % Geo. Wilson. R.F.D.”

Lily was a public school teacher who was born in Wisconsin, about 1885. The 1920 Federal Census for Sheboygan finds Lily and her sister, Elsa May, living with their brother R. B. Herrling. Various short newspaper clips can be found online, like the two below, which show that Lily traveled to various locations to teach:

From the Lincoln Daily News (Lincoln, NE) 11 June 1915:

From the Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, WI) 17 August 1916:

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked April 13 (or 3rd?) 1914, Fort Pierre, South Dakota. Publisher: James E. Pitts. Series 42 F.

Price: $12.00

Sources: Year: 1920; Census Place: Greenbush, Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Roll: T625_2016; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 116; Image: 1042. (Ancestry.com)

Lincoln Daily News (Lincoln, NE) 11 June 1915. (Ancestry.com)

Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, WI) 17 August 1916. (Ancestry.com)

Easter Joys Be Thine

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked in Homer, New York on March 27th, year not readable. Publisher unknown. Series or number 155. Circa 1910.

Price: $15.00

This is a really cute one. A chick (chicks are ruling this Easter) in a large eggshell cart that is equipped with flowers for wheels, driving two white bunnies who are harnessed with pink ribbons. The chick’s riding crop is a sprig of lily of the valley. And the colors are a little unusual in the card: The grass is more blue than green; the colors are muted but sort of like “dream” colors, not just understated but sort of “off” like you’re looking at a replay of a dream, or a badly tinted old movie or something similar. It’s very cool. Anyway, the sender writes:

“Wed. Morn. Dear Lucy. Your Aunt Martha says she will come over and stay with you for 2 weeks and do light work if you want her too. So write back soon if you want her. Pa is not feeling good, got the blues. Hope you are all well, Mother.”

Addressed to: “Mrs. Lucy Sears, McGraw, Cortland Co. N. Y., R.D. #3.”

Lucy E., according to the 1910 Federal Census for Homer, New York, was born about 1885. She is married to George F. Sears, born about 1881. He owns a dairy farm, and the couple have two boys, Floyd A., born in 1908, and Roy L., born in 1909. Living with them and helping with the farm is George’s brother, Erastus, born about 1887. All are natives of New York. The town of Homer is about five miles northwest of McGraw, as the crow flies.

The year is not readable or didn’t get stamped when postmarked. It wouldn’t be surprising if it’s 1910, since Lucy at this time has two boys under two years old, and she could definitely use a little help.

Source: Year: 1910; Census Place: Homer, Cortland, New York; Roll: T624_934; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0127; FHL microfilm: 1374947. (Ancestry.com).

Compliments Of Your Bro, M. M. Miller

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked March 25, 1912 from McDowell, West Virginia. Publisher unknown. Series or number B53.

Price: $5.00

“A Happy Easter”

A beautiful postcard of – I think these are supposed to be – Easter Lilies along with a cottage scene, a gold ribbon and dramatic rays of light surrounding all. And the capital “A” in the Easter wish some shadow behind it, giving it kind of a 3-D effect.

This was sent by M. M. Miller, the same person in the prior post, and he writes: “Compliments of your Bro. M. M. Miller to J. M. Ellison.”

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

Happy Easter From Uncle M. M. Miller

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Annieoakley

Three Easter chicks and flowers, in a basket that has a nice sunshade of a leaf with a pussy willow border. So cute!

This card and the next one to follow, were sent by the same person, for the same Easter, and to the same Ellison household. This one is addressed to:

“Bessie Ellison, 26th St. & Cheyenne ave., Pueblo, Colo.”

And the sender wrote: “Compliments of your uncle m. m. miller, to Bessie Ellison.”

See The Alice Ellison Collection on this website for more.

The postmark appears to say “McDowell, W. Va.” which seems unusual, as McDowell is a county in WV. A town by that name can be typed in to Ancestry.com (if you’re familiar with the search format) as in “McDowell, McDowell, West Virginia” but nothing shows up in an actual search for anyone at all in this supposed town, and nothing was found online naming a town as such, so maybe it was a county-named post office?

Divided back, used, embossed postcard. Postmarked March 25, 1912 from McDowell, West Virginia. Publisher unknown. Series or number 618.

Price: $3.00

A Glad Eastertide

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher unknown. Series 1168 B. Circa 1923 – 1928.

Price: $5.00

“In Easter

Blessings you may share,

And peace be yours

Beyond compare.”

A beautiful Easter card in the Alice Ellison Collection of a green cross covered in pansies. The message on the back is simply, “To Ma from Doss.”

There are seven or eight others from this unknown publisher in this same family collection of cards. The dates on those range from 1923 – 1928, with the back header, the card stock and the gold-tone border being common to all.

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