Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa 1917 – 1919.

Price:  $10.00  Size:  3 x 5 and 1/4″

Real Photo Postcard from the WWI era of an older couple, and a young man in U. S. Navy uniform who is holding the American flag. They are posing in front of what is probably their home or the older couple’s home. This one was not postmarked, and has identification in pencil on the back showing:  “Father and Mother and Dewey taken at Omaha.”  In very faint writing, and appearing upside down here it says,  “For Pa & Ma.”  I guess one would presume that Dewey is either the couple’s son, grandson or maybe nephew, but if he was the originator of the faint writing then he would likely be the son. This postcard was trimmed by someone, and thank goodness, does not have any of the black photo album paper glued to the back which so often ends up covering up the identifying information. The size is an uneven, approximate 3 x 5 and 1/4.”

Wow! Who would guess that there would so many Deweys showing up in Omaha, Nebraska in the U. S. Draft Registration records for WWI? There are at least 57 entries for young men with Dewey as a first name, or more commonly, as a middle name, residing in Omaha and registering for the draft. When I bought this postcard I thought there might be a possibility of tracing the people in the photo, since Dewey (so I thought) would be an uncommon name. This brings up the question of the name’s origin, and after checking online, I found a website that states Dewey (Dewydd) is the Welsh form of David. Interesting! And though WWI ended on November 11, 1918, one can well imagine that this photo could also have been taken after the war ended, maybe on the Fourth of July, the following year.

Source:  http://www.behindthename.com/name/dewey