Forget-Me-Not Easter Greetings

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked March 24, 1910 from San Jose, California

Price:  $2.00 – Or contact us for price on the whole set.

This is part of our Ethel Main Collection……Ethel’s nickname was “Tottie.”

Addressed to:   “Mrs. L. Main, 253 14th St., San Francisco Cal.”

The sender wrote:   “Dear Ma, Will you please put my postals in my album and look at my post card and photo album to see that that mouse don’t eat them. Love to all, Tottie.”

Ruth Brown, Ida Corbett and Nellie Bond Bagley

Real Photo Postcard, cropped. July, 1913, Santa Paula, California

Price:  $12.00        Size:  About 2 and 1/8 x 3″

“Ruth Brown, Ida Corbett and Nellie Bond Bagley – on her wedding day. Santa Paula, Calif.”

Three beautiful ladies decked in lace, in that gorgeous style from the 1910s. It was Nellie Bond’s wedding day, Santa Paula, CA, July 1913. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the names read left to right, which places the bride to our right, wearing the white shoes, long white gloves, and holding a bouquet of flowers that trails into a long spray. And, if you look closely, you can see that there are some black marks on the photo, obscuring the full bouquet. At first glance, you might mistake the marks as part of the flower arrangement (it works ascetically speaking, but no.) This Real Photo Postcard was found cropped down quite a bit to it’s approximate 2 x 3 inch size.

Nellie Bond was born February 1893 in Missouri, daughter of William and Susie Bond (from the 1900 Federal Census, Benton, Polk County, Missouri). In July, 1913, she married James Elijah “Ail” Bagley, also a Missouri native. His full name and date of birth, October 26, 1893 are found in Ancestry.com family trees.

The clipping below appeared in the Oxnard Courier, July 11, 1913:

Ida Corbett (maiden name Hardison) born about August 1870 in Pennsylvania, was married to Leonard W. Corbett, February 11, 1892. Their marriage announcement was found in the Los Angeles Evening Express, dated February 13th:

Ruth Brown proves to be a little harder to find in records – a common name and we don’t know whether Brown is her maiden or married name. Nothing definitive shows up in quick searches online.

Sources:  Year: 1900; Census Place: Benton, Polk, Missouri; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 0122; FHL microfilm: 1240883. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1900; Census Place: Santa Paula, Ventura, California; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0166; FHL microfilm: 1240116. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Santa Paula, Ventura, California; Roll: T624_111; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0215; FHL microfilm: 1374124. (Ancestry.com).

“Wedding in Santa Paula.” Oxnard Courier, July 11, 1913, Friday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“In Social Circles.” Los Angeles Evening Express, February 13, 1892, Saturday, p. 8. (Newspapers.com).

Silas D. King Calling Card

Calling Card. Circa 1880 – 1900.

Price:  $6.00

A deep blue morning glory flower, some leaves and berries, and a bird carrying “A Token of love” adorn this calling card for Silas D. King. The fringed banner displays the following:

“The cold in clime are cold in blood,

Their love can scarce deserve the name.

But mine is like the lava flood,

That boils in Etna’s breast of flame!”

This is from The Giaour, an epic poem by George Gordon, the 6th Baron of Byron, better known as Lord Byron.

There are a number of potential matches for the original owner of this card. None show in city directories with the middle initial (unexpected) but there are lots without, and then two or three possible matches in census records with the initial, so we’ll skip the major searches and be content, as is. Always interesting though, to track the source for the verse or poem.

Source:  Lord Byron. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron (accessed January 3, 2021).

Alfred J. Hines Calling Card

Calling Card. Circa 1880 – 1900.

Price:  $5.00

Flowers and a feather in orange and peach tones for this calling card…..

There will be multiple possibilities for who this card had belonged to……But wow, as it turns out, not as many as you’d think. City directories for a search anywhere in the U.S., that includes the middle initial, show much later records than this time-frame (1919 at the latest and that person in Saginaw was born too late to fit this card). Many hits that come up under all categories, and without the middle initial, can be eliminated right off the bat – either too young, too old, middle initial not matching, and duplicates – later or earlier records of the same person. We could spend days to really narrow it down, but won’t, believe me, that would be really too much! (But yes, it is always tempting.) So, maybe the three best possibilities are:

Alfred John Hines, born December 17, 1867 in Wolcott, CT. His obituary states he was educated in the schools of Wolcott and Montpelier Seminary and married Agnes Conant in October 1901.

Alfred Joseph Hines, born November 13, 1873, PA. Lived in Cresson, PA, occupation clutchman? for P.R.R. Co. (Pennsylvania Railroad Company) per his WWI Draft Registration Card, in 1918. See if you can figure out what that says there:

An interesting fact on the “Pennsy” Railroad:  By 1882, the company had become the largest corporation in the world, with a budget second only to the U.S. government.

Or had this calling card belonged to the Alfred J. Hines, who was married to Dorothy E., living in Rochester, NY, per the Rochester city directory, occupation engineer (but employer name not listed). We don’t know the age of this Alfred J. Hines. Oddly, no census records were found on him.

Sources:  “Alfred J. Hines.” Hardwick Gazette (Hardwick, VT). January 8, 1942, Thursday, p. 3. (Newspapers.com).

Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Cambria County. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

Pennsylvania Railroad. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad (accessed January 3, 2021).

Drew Allis’ Rochester Directory, 1919, Vol. 70. p. 518. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.

To Max Lutzner in NYC 1903

Postcard, undivided back. Postmarked from Goppingen, Germany, February 5, 1903. Printed in Germany.

Price:  $7.00

Another one in German. It was sent to:

“Mister Max Lützner. 334 Est. 41 Street. New York, Amerika”

Max Lutzner was found in the city directories at 334 E. 41st in 1899.

UPDATE:  See the comment from J. Hassel for translation of the message!

Source:  Trow’s General Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, City of New York. Vol. CXIL, for 1899. p. 806. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

Greetings From Hohenstaufen, Germany

Undivided back postcard. Postmarked July 25, 1898 from Göppingen, Germany.

Price:  $10.00

Gruss vom Hohenstaufen (Greetings from Hohenstofen)

Another, again a little hard to decipher without knowing German. The sender appears to have been  “M. A. Stempa.”  But it’s beautiful artwork, printed of scenes from the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, located in the south of Germany:  that of the mountains called Hohenstaufen and Rechberg, and the Barbarossa kirchlein (kirchlein means little church) and church at Schwäbisch Gmünd (Hohenrechberg pilgrimage church, built 1686). The reverse of the card shows the heading Königreich Württemberg, which translates as the Kingdom of Württemberg, a German state which existed from 1805 to 1918. See last link below.

Sources:  Rechberg (mountain). n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechberg_(mountain). accessed September 28, 2020.

File:2015_Hohenstaufen_Barbarossakirche_1.jpg. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2015_Hohenstaufen_Barbarossakirche_1.jpg. accessed September 28, 2020.

Kingdom of Württemberg. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg. accessed September 28, 2020.

Alfred J. Brown Seed Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Trade Card for the Arthur J. Brown Seed Company, circa 1905.

Price:  $8.00         Size:  3 and 1/2 x 5″

Spring has already sprung and yesterday was a beautiful day with half the neighborhood out doing gardening. So, here’s a trade card with nasturtiums and morning glories from the Alfred J. Brown Seed Company out of Grand Rapids, MI.

Choice Flower Seeds

“The Success of the Flower Garden depends principally upon the quality of seeds planted. We sell the Best and only the Best that grows. Alfred J. Brown Seed Co. New location Corner Ottawa and Lewis Streets. Grand Rapids, Mich.”

The ad below, appearing in March 1925, in The Daily Times (New Philadelphia, OH) indicates that the Alfred J. Brown Seed Company was established in 1891. Evidently, the company was quite successful since the most recent city directory found for them appears in 1946, address 37-45 Campau Ave. But our card above is from around 1905, since this is the first year they show up at the then new location, the southeast corner of Ottawa and Louis. The year prior they were doing business from 24-26 N. Division and 20-22 N. Ottawa.

From the 1900 Federal Census and Find A Grave, Alfred J. Brown was born December 1860 in England. He was married to Sarah “Sally” Thrasher, and they had two sons, Thomas and Robert.

Sources:  The Daily Times (New Philadelphia, OH) March 20, 1925. Friday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Grand Rapids Directory 1888, p. 202. (Newspapers.com).

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Grand Rapids Directory 1904, p. 243. (Newspapers.com).

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Grand Rapids Directory 1905, p. 233. (Newspapers.com).

Grand Rapids Directory Company Polks Grand Rapids (Kent County, Mich.) City Directory 1946, Vol. LXVIII, p. 138. (Newspapers.com).

Year: 1900; Census Place: Grand Rapids Ward 10, Kent, Michigan; Page: 22; Enumeration District: 0082; FHL microfilm: 1240723. (Ancestry.com).

Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. (accessed April 19, 2020).

To Lena From Sophia B. Freeman

Divided back, embossed, unused postcard. “Christmas” Series – Postcard No. 207. Printed in Germany. Circa early to mid-1910s.

Price:  $5.00

“To = Lena Davis.   From = Sophia B. Freeman. Handsworth, Sask.”

Re-visiting our friend, Lena…..it’s been a while, but here’s one from our Lena Davis Collection. The publisher name needs research, will get to that shortly, but the card showing Merry Christmas and poinsettias, extends this verse to us:

“Thine be all the joy and treasure,

Peace, enjoyment, love and pleasure.”

The sender wrote:

“Dear Friend, Will answer your kind letter after Xmas. Charles and the little boys are with me for Xmas so I am busily engaged in cooking the usual amount of cake & plum puddings. I wish you a very happy Xmas with lots of fun. Truly[?] yours, Mrs. J. W. Freeman.”

It looks like Sophia is found on the 1916 Canadian Census taken in Stoughton Village, Saskatchewan, which is about 25 miles southwest of Handsworth, the address on the card. Both she and her husband, John William Freeman, were born in England. Sophia was born about 1889. They have two daughters, Mary Sophia, age 2, and Esther Francis, 2 months old. Also in the household is Charles Henry Braithwaite, sister to Sophia, so Sophia’s maiden name is Braithwaite. And this Charles then, must be the one mentioned on the card.

Source:  Year: 1916; Census Place: Saskatchewan, Assiniboia, 17; Roll: T-21935; Page: 2; Family No: 15. (Ancestry.com).

Forget-me-nots and Seagulls

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).

Easter Greetings For Annetta

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Printed in Germany. Series 1520a. Postmarked March 25, 1910, Monmouth, Illinois.

Price:  $10.00

We can’t do Easter without bun-buns! So, here’s a brown bunny wearing a blue bow tie in a red Easter egg, doing his magician’s trick with that ribbon-wrapped egg. The sender writes:

“Dear Annetta :- How are you. Our spring vacation commences today. I am going out to Grandpas. Mamma and Mildred have allready gone. Give my love to all. Your Cousin, Helen.”

Addressed to:   “Miss Annetta Stevenson, 1912 Leland Ave., Ravenswood, Chicago.”

Ravenswood is a neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago. The address of 1912 Leland (if the numbering hasn’t changed down thru the years) today appears to be roughly at the present day Chicago Northside Church of the Nazarene at 1200 W. Leland. This is coincidental (or maybe not, depending on the history of the building and if it’s the same structure) because Annetta’s father’s occupation (from the 1910 Federal Census) is church minister. Annetta was born in Pennsylvania, about 1903, and is with parents Curtis R. and Mildred B. Stevenson, so she was about seven when she received this card from cousin Helen.

Sources:  Ravenswood, Chicago, IL. Google maps. Accessed April 21, 2019.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Chicago Ward 26, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T624_271; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 1121; FHL microfilm: 1374284. (Ancestry.com).