Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. PMC stamp box showing diamonds in all four corners. Circa 1907.

Price:  $15.00

Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) showing a studio portrait of a beautiful young mother and her adorable, approximately three year old son. They are both fashionably attired. The little boy, who has blond curls, wears a sailor suit, belted romper-type outfit with a large bow. The mother wears a dress, or it may be a matching skirt and blouse, in a dark material with a squarish neckline, trimmed in matching braid, and a white insert with a double row of dark braid on the high-necked collar. The bodice shows a double row of buttons which continue onto the skirt and flare out to the sides. The woman wears a chain with a round pendant, and a bracelet over the right sleeve of her long sleeved blouse, but one of the most striking things about her ensemble is the Breton style hat. The description found on the excellent Shappos blog under types of hats for the Breton or Bretone is a “women’s hat with ample round crown and brim turned up all around.”

This postcard’s date is estimated at 1907. The stamp box shows PMC with diamonds at each corner, which is a design that is at least from 1907, according to the stamp box examples on the excellent playle.com website. There does not seem to be much known about the company that produced this type of “printing out” paper for Real Photo Postcards. Playle.com shows six different PMC designs ranging from approximately pre-1907 to 1915, and shows a known year for the design we have here of 1907. You may have to take a closer look at the letters in the stamp box, as at first glance they may look like PMO.

Lastly, when viewing photos we sometimes have strong impressions about a person’s nationality (and wonder a little about the political correctness of saying someone “looks” like they are from a certain country) but for me I’m thinking immediately of Ireland when looking at this woman’s photo.

Sources:  http://www.shappos.com/blogs/how-to/9021445-hat-terminology

http://www.playle.com/realphoto/photop.php