Bunny Embrace

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, used postcard. No. 7713? Postmarked from Dixon, California, April 16, 1908. Publisher: Richard Behrendt, San Francisco, California. Made in Germany.

Price: $8.00 for digital scan only. Original in web author’s personal collection.

“Dear Cora! Rec’d you card and it was very pretty. How is every thing, all O.K? It is warm up here now. Farmers are all crying for rain up here. Hope they get it soon. Kind Regards to you all from Ellen – Write Soon”

Card is addressed to: “Miss Cora Hollenstein, Salinas, Cala.”

This is a postcard that my friend bought for me since my husband and I have our own bunny (the most beautiful in the world – and they all are; as well as the most beautiful kitty in the world, and they all are.) So, this card is only for sale as a digital scan. Anyway, this is just a precious image: A little girl with light brown curls, sits outside on a lawn, holding a closed umbrella (for some reason an umbrella, but this makes the picture even better.) She has an Easter basket of eggs beside her, and is dressed charmingly, with red striped stockings, a blue skirt, white peasant-type blouse, white apron, a red and blue scarf or perhaps this is part of a pinafore, and an embroidered-looking hat. Directly behind her is a taller basket with her brown bunny appearing out of it to give her a hug. Girl and bun are cheek to cheek, and their expressions are wonderful. The caption Easter Greetings appears in light purple at the top left, after which the sender has written, “to you all from Ellen Anderson.”

The card has the postal markings from Salinas on the front, as well as the postmark for Dixon, California on the back. Perhaps I will do a Photoshop version of the image without the postal markings. (When I get some extra time, ha – or finally learn how to “bend the space-time continuum” ha ha. This last remark is part of caption from a great newspaper comic that appeared somewhere, that I hope I saved. If I can find it, I will put post it. Why not?) This postcard is also interesting for the fact that we are also experiencing (unfortunately) a drought here in California, just as the farmers were in the Dixon area in April of 1908.

The addressee on this card is likely the same as appearing with her parents and siblings on the 1910 Federal Census, taken in the Santa Rita precinct of Alisal Township (Salinas today) California. The family is as follows: Henry H. Hollenstein, occupation farmer, born Denmark about 1836; his wife Maria M., born Denmark about 1853; their children Andrew B., born California about 1879; Henry H., born Arizona about 1884; Harrietta? C., born Arizona about 1882; Mabel E., born Arizona about 1887; and Cora M., born Arizona about 1890.

The card is postmarked from what must be Dixon, California (located about 23 miles from Sacramento, in northern Solano County) since Ellen is saying “it is warm up here…” Dixon is about 150 highway miles north of Salinas. The postmarked date is April 16, year is probably 1908.

As to the sender of this postcard, Ellen appears on the 1900 Federal Census taken in Dixon, with her parents. The family is as follows: Andrew Anderson, occupation farmer, born Sweden in May 1857; his wife Hilda, born Sweden in November 1865; and their daughter Ellen V., born California in January 1889.

Sources: Year: 1910; Census Place: Alisal, Monterey, California; Roll: T624_89; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0002; FHL microfilm: 1374102. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1900; Census Place: Dixon, Solano, California; Roll: 113; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0145; FHL microfilm: 1240113. (Ancestry.com)

Bunnies Pulling Chick And Eggs

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, unused with writing postcard. Publisher: Wolf & Company. No. 461. Made in the U.S.A. Date unknown, circa 1910 – 1925.

Price: $4.00

Another from our Alice Ellison Collection….

A pair of white bunnies are harnessed to a wicker two-wheel cart being driven by a chick perched on top of some Easter eggs. This is very cute – the chick holds the reigns in her beak and holds a pussy willow branch for a riding crop. “A Happy Easter” is the caption in fancy blue and red lettering, and is signed, “Grandma.” On the back is written, “Jean from Grandma.”

Easter Calla Lilies

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, lightly embossed, used postcard. Postmark appears to be April 10, 1915. Publisher unknown. Series 75 F. Made in the U.S.A. (Publisher or printing heading containing the S in oval mark is the same as the card posted April 12, 2014 on this site under the title Bunny School.)

Price: $4.00

“Dear Mother – If you are all togged up like I will be on Easter every body will be sure to know you by your clothes. Love from all. Lizzie”

Addressed to: “Mrs. Alice Ellison, 1730 – J – St., Sacramento California

A lightly embossed postcard of three calla lilies on a background of white with a purple “backwards L” shape. A lovely composition with the caption Easter Greetings at the top. The whole postmarked date did not get stamped on the card but from what we can see it appears to be April 10, 1915. The unusual thing about this card is Lizzie’s expression “all togged up.” Of course, we understand that it means all dressed up, but in googling the expression we find similar examples such as, “With my new suit people say I am togged to the bricks.” “They were all togged out in dinner jackets and ball gowns.” And “We got togged up in our glad rags.” Togged out meaning to get dressed up. The Oxford dictionary has this entry for the origin of the expression:

“Early 18th century (as a slang term for a coat or outer garment): apparently an abbreviation of obsolete criminals’ slang togeman(s) ‘a light cloak’, from French toge or Latin toga.”

This will be the first of many postcards put up on this site under The Alice Ellison Collection: A group of around 150 – 200 antique or vintage postcards that we’ve been so kindly given by a friend, which had been in her family’s collection for years, and that we are most happy to have.

Sources: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/tog

“tog.” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tog (accessed February 14, 2024).

Bunnies Painting Easter Egg

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Annieoakley

Undivided back postcard, not postmarked but with writing. Dated by the sender March 29, 1906. Card has tape yellowed with age in three of it’s four corners. Publisher: Raphael Tuck & Sons.

Availability status: SOLD

A wonderful Tuck’s scene of three brown bunnies; one is up on a ladder painting a large egg red; a second is stirring the pot of red paint, while the third looks on. The egg is nestled in grass and forget-me-nots, and the cursive Easter Greetings appears in the left top corner.

Our wandering sender, at that time in Los Angeles, dated this card March 29, 1906 and wrote, “Dear Mama McGinn. What is the matter. You never write. You are surely not angry. With best wishes. Good by. Daniel [?]” On the left side is written, “I am wandering again but I am going to stop it pretty soon.”

The card is addressed to “Mrs. J. W. McGinn, Stent. Cal., Tuolomne Co.”

The signature on the card is hard to read; it certainly starts with D-a- and the third letter is likely an n – when comparing the other n’s in the handwriting. Of course, it may be impossible to say for sure, but possibly the sender is Daniel McGinn, who appears as the son of John and Bridget McGinn on the 1870 Federal Census taken in Tuolumne County, Township 3. (Name spelled McGin.) John McGin, a miner, born Ireland about 1820, his wife, Bridget (Mrs. J. W. McGinn on the postcard?), born Ireland about 1829. Their children, ages 11 to 2 and 1/2, are Martin, W. A., Daniel, Edward, Mary, John, Margaret, Ann, M. C. and C. J….The 1900 census shows Bridget (widowed), Michael, William, Daniel, Edward, John and Annie. The older boys are all mining quartz, and the youngest boy on this census, John, is farming. The McGinn Family is one of the oldest in the district, according to a 1909 publication (Tuolumne County, California: Being a Frank, Fair and…) The 1910 census, Tuolumne County, 4th District shows Daniel (single) and living on his own, mining quartz. (So, did the wanderer settle down?)

The town of Stent was originally called Poverty Hill, and started out as a placer camp in the early 1850s. Later it became prosperous as a hardrock mining center, and also served as a supply center for many of the area’s mines. The name Poverty Hill was ironic, since it ended up producing over 15 million dollars in gold. The celebrated American author and poet Bret Harte (1836-1902) wrote about Poverty Hill, and the town is also known as the site of the famous Jumper mine, known for it’s specimen (nugget type) gold. Most accounts about Stent list the fire of 1906, (there were actually two fires in Stent’s history) but the details vary for exactly how destructive the well known ’06 fire was. A September 1, 1906 account in the Los Angeles Herald shows:

“Stent Destroyed by Fire – SONORA, Cal., Aug. 31. – Every business house in the town of Stent, three miles from Jamestown, was destroyed by fire this afternoon. Thirty-three structures were burned to the ground. The loss is estimated at $75,000. Stent at one time was one of the leading mining centers of California.”

It’s interesting to see that our postcard here was sent just about six months prior to the unfortunate ’06 blaze. Below is a photo and wonderful description and history of the town of Stent, too good not to include the whole paragraph, appearing in the aforementioned 1909 publication with the very long title (Tuolumne County, California: Being a Frank, Fair and…)

“Stent. To the Argonaut far away from and unfamiliar with the happenings in the county he once called home this name means nothing. Say ‘Poverty Hill,’ and the veil is lifted. Some of the old-timers will tell you to-day that the change from a historical name to a meaningless one was what afterward caused the star of ill fortune to twinkle malignantly over the town. Poverty Hill was a great camp in the early days, but its placer diggings were shallow and soon worked out. Then came the long lethargic period of depression that the few inhabitants withstood as best they could and which was occasionally broken by far separated reports of good ore being found in some of the quartz mines. But this rekindling of the fires of hope brought on only a bright flash, invariably followed by the flame dying down to a mere flicker. Early in the ’90s, however, came the big boom in Mother lode mines. The great Jumper, a short distance out of town, was soon ‘coughing up’ a stream of gold, other claims were paying, people flocked in, buildings were hurried up and soon a lively little city was on the map. Then came the serious mistake of formally re-christening the place Stent, after a mining man who apparently occupied the topmost position on the wave of prosperity. Later the step was regretted. Twice the town was visited by disastrous fires, the two very nearly wiping it out. It is now but a shadow of its former self, but the people still there are of a good class and will be early on the ground when the next boom hits Stent, as sooner or later it must.”

Sources: http://www.malakoff.com/goldcountry/stent.htm

http://tchistory.org/TCHISTORY/Jamestown.htm

http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19060901.2.11

Los Angeles Herald, Vol. 33, Number 336. 1 September 1906. (California Newspaper Digital Collection) http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19060901.2.11#

Tuolumne County, California: Being a Frank, Fair and Accurate Exposition, Pictorially and Otherwise, of the Resources and Possibilities of This Magnificent Section of California. J. A. Van Harlingen & Co., Printers and Publishers, Sonora, California. Copyrighted 1909 by the Union Democrat, Sonora, California. (Google eBook)

Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registers, 1866-1898 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Great Registers, 1866–1898. Microfilm, 185 rolls. California State Library, Sacramento, California.

Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 3, Tuolumne, California; Roll: M593_93; Page: 365A; Image: 129; Family History Library Film: 545592. Year: 1900; Census Place: Township 6, Tuolumne, California; Roll: 116; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0130; FHL microfilm: 1240116. Year: 1910; Census Place: Township 4, Tuolumne, California; Roll: T624_111; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0168; FHL microfilm: 1374124.(Ancestry.com)

Brown Bunny In Flowers

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Annieoakley

Beautiful bun looking out from a bouquet of lilies, forget-me-nots and lilies of the valley. “Easter Greetings” is the caption in silver lettering, the bouquet is tied with a pink ribbon, and the card has a lavender-mauve border (more of a mauve color on the left owing to some color fading.)

This postcard may be related to the one put up directly prior to this one, as it is addressed to “J.[?] A. Barker Jr. Oakland Calif.” and dated “March the 18th, 1913. From Grandma Thomas.” (The prior was from Allen Barker.) This one, like the other, was never postmarked.

Divided back, embossed, unused with writing postcard. Dated by the sender March 18, 1913. Publisher: Samson Brothers. Series 414 C. Made in the U.S.A.

Price: $8.00

Easter Greetings To Uncle Dewey

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Annieoakley

“To Uncle Dewey”

“Apri 7. 1914. Dear Uncle Dewey. Wishing you A Happy Easter. From your nephew Allen Barker.”

Two adorable bunnies, one black and white, and the other brown, appear in an egg-shaped design that is surrounded by a gold and white embossed lace-type border, which leads up to the fancier scroll work of a finial-type ornament. The contrast of the white, tan and gold background, with the brighter colors in the egg, is gorgeous, and the card is in very good condition. The caption in gold reads “Easter Greetings.”

Divided back, embossed, unused with writing postcard. Publisher unknown. Card dated by the sender April 7, 1914.

Price: $10.00

De Nombreuses Joies Pour Les Fêtes De Paques

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, used postcard, postmarked December 4, 1922 from Tours, Indre et Loire, France. Publisher: Inter-Art Co., Florence House, Barnes, London, S. W. “COMIQUE” Series. No. 3837. Made in Great Britain. Circa 1922.

Price: $6.00

“De nombreuses joies pour les fêtes de PAQUES”

Cute illustration of rosy-cheeked little girl in red bonnet, carrying Easter lilies and a striped hat box, and bringing you “Many joys for Easter.”

The sender wrote, “Easter Greetings. Still having a wonderful time! Visited Amboise yesterday and are going to Chenonceau to-day. Hope you are well. Will write soon, Lovingly, Ann.”

Addressed to: “Mr. & Mrs. P. H. John, 701 – Grand St., Alameda, California – Etats-Unis d’Amerique”

A closer look at the sender’s handwriting was in order, after being a little puzzled at first, by the signature. This person has lovely handwriting in general, but an unusual style of writing her As – and we can compare the A in Ann to the A in Amboise and Alameda.

No census or city directory etc. records were found for the Mr. and Mrs. P. H. John of Alameda, although there is an H. P. John showing up in Alameda County that could be the same person, since we often see the first and middle names or initials switched around. Of course, more research could be done to likely locate them – a page by page census search, after narrowing down the census district, but this usually is quite time-consuming, unless one happens to get lucky. Anyway, this is a lovely card, and it’s always nice to find them in other languages.

Where Did I Put That Powder Puff?

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Annieoakley

“Where did I put that powder puff?”

Another adorable bunny; a reproduction of an original work by Noel Hubert Hopking, a British artist (active 1921 – 1940) known for his beautiful illustrations of animals and birds. A book by children’s author Enid Blyton (1897 – 1968) entitled Enid Blyton’s Nature Lovers Book, contains sixteen engraved illustrations by Hopking. This book can be found for sale online, and quite a number of other Hopking illustrations can be found online or referenced at auction houses, etc.

The Medici Society was founded in 1908. The company logo shown here was their earlier logo; their website states they recently changed logos, but does not state when exactly. The date for this postcard might be from the 1940s through the 1960s. I’ve not yet seen any clarification for the date this card would have been produced, nor the date the original work was created. If found, this post will be updated then.

Divided back, artist-signed, unused postcard. Publisher: The Medici Society, Ltd., London. Art Publishers by Appointment to the late King George V., Copyright. Engraved and printed in Great Britain. Pk. 137. Circa possibly 1940s – 1960s.

Price: $5.00

Sources: http://www.medici.co.uk/index.html

http://www.artprice.com/artist/93997/noel-hubert-hopking

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton

Bunny School

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Annieoakley

On the front is the postcard caption “Easter Wishes – We’re happy and hope you are too.”

The sender wrote, “Did you ever see such a funny school! love from Morton[?] and Mrs. Binder”

Addressed to: “Miss Consuella”

Country scene of three adorable bunnies in “school” or perhaps “church” on Easter Sunday, receiving some instruction from their bunny teacher or pastor. The students or parishioners each wear a white collar and a differently colored necktie. One holds a top hat and cane, and another rests his paws on an overturned clay pot that held daffodils. The kindly-looking bunny schoolmaster or pastor, wears wire rimmed spectacles, green striped pants, a purple coat with tails, and is holding a book. The caption on the front “We’re happy and hope you are too” is just so typically charming of old postcards; they so often contain phrases that we would not find on cards nowadays.

The unknown publisher is another one for the mystery category (yet to be created). I’ve seen the same design of the postcard back on other cards showing up online except without the S in oval design, and one of those cards was dated 1917, so this is just a general guess for the approximate date on this one.

Divided back, unused postcard with writing. Publisher unknown. Year unknown, circa 1917. Series 1414 E. Made in the U.S.A. Possible publisher logo shows a cursive capital S inside an oval, with the bottom part of the S flowing outside the oval.

Price: $8.00

Morgan Club House & Simmons Mfg. Co. Kenosha WI

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Annieoakley

Harbor, Morgan Club House & Simmons Mfg. Co., Kenosha, Wis.

Pre-divided back postcard with “Thank you come again Otto Sorensen” written under the above description. Check out the misspelling of Milwaukee in the publisher’s info on the front, and the publisher’s beautiful eagle logo on the back.

Card is addressed to “Miss Etta Onul. 306 Canal Str. Rome N.Y.”

Simmons Manufacturing Company is the well-known maker of beds and mattresses, and the Morgan Club House was the building on the right (that roof style is known as “gambrel”) used for the local yachting community. The closest possibility for Otto Sorensen is the person listed on the 1910 Federal Census taken in Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha County, WI. (Pleasant Prairie is about seven miles west of Kenosha.) This census lists him as about age 26, living with his parents, Soren and Dorothea, and younger siblings, Theodore, Charles, Frederick, Mary and Annie. Otto works in an auto factory, but his father, Soren works for a bed manufacturer, (the Simmons Company?) The 1905 Wisconsin State Census shows the same family, with Otto working as a machinist. The addressee on this card, Etta Onul or Anul, is even more of a mystery. Nothing is showing for these last names in the Rome NY area, under some quick searches, as of the date of this post.

Pre-divided back, used postcard. Postmarked October 24, 1906 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Publisher: E. C. Kropp, Milwaukee, WI. No. 1549

Price: $6.00

Sources and additional reading: http://amhistory.si.edu/archives/d7731.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenosha_Yacht_Club

Year: Ancestry.com.. Wisconsin, State Censuses, 1895 and 1905 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

1910; Census Place: Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha, Wisconsin; Roll: T624_1715; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0033; FHL microfilm: 1375728. (Ancestry.com)

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Monthly Archives: April 2014