Temple Guardians, Bali, Indonesia

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1910s – 1930s. Publisher:  Gevaert.

Price:  $75.00

This seems to be a rare card – we’re not finding any duplicates online – and the subject matter is great!

It was after a couple of days of research, and at the point of giving up (much online scrutiny of gods, deities, masks, carved repeating patterns, etc. in a surprising number of potential countries) that the location in question was happily revealed. Not surprisingly, it was the larger figures in the postcard photo, with their protruding top teeth, tongues hanging out, curving tusks, bulging eyes and bull-like nose, that took us (in that moment of certainty – like space-warp instant travel) – to the island of Bali, Indonesia. (It would be nice to be able to identify each carved figure but that turns out to be more challenging:  There can be multiple manifestations, including both female and male representations of the same god.)

Below, our Google search result, and see the link in “Sources” for more information from the Bali Culture Tours website:

Sources:  “Balinese Gods With Their Manifestations And Their Meanings.” Bali Culture Tours. (accessed July 26, 2022).

“Images of Indonesia Deities.” Google.com search. (accessed July 26, 2022).

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.

Globe Soap Trade Card

Trade card. Globe Soap Company. Circa 1880s – 1890s. Gies & Co., Buffalo, NY.

Price:  $12.00          Size:  3 and 3/16 x 4 and 13/16″

Captain Jinks, etc.

This seems like a good trade card for autumn, of a boy with long hair, wearing a felt hat with a peacock feather and a scarf with stripes. The colors are wonderful, along with the boy’s expression, the clouds in the background almost seem to be moving…..all-in-all a beautifully-done card. The lithographers were Gies & Company, out of Buffalo, New York. And this particular design was evidently a popular one:  others can currently be seen for sale online showing several different companies or brands being advertised. In addition there’s one version (lithographer unknown) with the printing underneath, “Young Captain Jinks,” which was paying homage to the public’s love of a song or a play, or perhaps both.

“Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines” was a humorous number (you can find it on YouTube) written in the mid-1800s that is credited to T. Maclagan, or William Lingard, or sometimes both. It was later very much in the public eye as a comic play by Clyde Fitch, which debuted in January 1901, and starred Ethel Barrymore. And in 1975 the title was re-introduced as an opera written by Jack Beeson.

The Globe Soap Company

Back to our card…..According to a 1918 excerpt (below) from Moody’s Manual, the Globe Soap Co. was incorporated April 27, 1881 in Ohio. They included the brand names, Grandma’s Borax Powdered Soap, Export Borax Soap, Pearl Soap and others. The plant was located on 23 acres in Saint Bernard, Ohio.


A pretty long distance

Globe Soap was bought out by Procter & Gamble in 1928, along with some other soap manufacturers around this year, tallying Globe Soap’s run to around forty-seven years. Interestingly, articles in 1928 report the possible buy-out, and then that it was only a rumor.

Sources:  “Miss Barrymore’s New Play.” The Buffalo Enquirer (Buffalo, NY) December 21, 1900, Friday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

William Lingard. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lingard (accessed October 28, 2017).

Clyde Fitch. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Fitch (accessed October 28, 2017).

Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Jinks_of_the_Horse_Marines (accessed October 28, 2017).

Moody’s Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities. Vol. 3, Industrial Section, 1918. Moody Manual Company, New York. 642. (Google.com. book search).

“Rumor Procter Buys Globe Soap.”  The Daily Times (New Philadelphia, OH) May 23, 1928, Thursday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

Whitten, David O. and Bessie E., eds. Handbook of American Business History:  Extractives, manufacturing and services. Vol. 2. p. 226. Westport, Connecticut:  Greenwood Press, 1997. (Google.com. book search).

The Little Indian

Vintage photo, circa 1940s – early 1950s

Price:  $3.00       Size:  About 3 x 4 and 1/2″

Another found in Dearborn, Michigan on my recent trip, from a box of loose photos. I’ll look for anything related to this one when I go back next year. The reverse appears to be written in Czech, and probably by the grandmother of the beaming little boy “playing Indian” on the front lawn. Ewaline would be the name of the boy’s mom. And maybe someone will recognize this particular toy set of Indian headdress and drum. (Those look like hawk feathers and it says “Indian Chief” across the headband.)

“Ten mály Indian jest moj ‘sweetheart’ Ewalinies synek.” 

“The little Indian is my sweetheart, Ewalinie’s son.”

Indian Post Souvenirs, Algonac, Michigan

Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. Circa late 1940s – early 1950s. EKC stamp box.

Price:  $25.00

What is revealed…

There’s a lot to take note of in this vintage RPPC of the Indian Post souvenir shop, Algonac, Michigan:  First and foremost, the two men posing for the photo, one in full headdress; then the address on the building of 717 – this may have been Michigan St. or St. Clair River Dr; the hand-painted artwork on wood of the Indian maiden (love it); the “Railway Express Agency – Packages Received Here” sign, the striped folding deck chairs on the lawn, and how about the very cool window silhouette of the guy on our right? Then there’s the small sign behind him that we can’t read – that looks like part of a wing there; the U.S. souvenir-type flag in the window, and little plastic “windmills” – maybe this was taken around Memorial Day or Fourth of July. And, we impart this fact to you, the readers – this postcard was made from a photo that had some folds in it. The card itself is in great condition, but note the three vertical creases at the top, in the image.

Probably in 2022……no, we didn’t have to wait till then

If it’s of great import (for sure, why not?) the shop owner’s name will probably turn up on the 1950 Federal Census, but that won’t be out till April of 2022. City directories for the area were not found online; maybe they exist at a local library. But in moving over to search Newspapers.com we hit the jackpot with a full page spread on Algonac (Chris-Craft enthusiasts you already know the connection) in Port Huron’s, The Times-Herald, (the River Section) dated July 21, 1950, with the photo below…..Thanks to readers that commented the man in the full headress is Maxim “Max” Ouimet.

Proprietor in “chief”

The Times-Herald photo showing the Post’s owner with two potential buyers, and displaying some of the baskets the store was known for. Our shop owner then, who we now know is Max Ouimet, is the man on our left in the postcard image. We also now know that the Indian Post was situated between two buildings. The Railway Express sign is still up, visible just next to the 5-story birdhouse…..and as for that particular item for sale, who bought it, is it still happily in use, and if so where?…Picturing the now grown-up kid contacting us with a great story to tell….the day he met the “chief” and his parents bought the bird condo. Stranger things have happened!

Two clippings from the article

Algonac, Michigan on the Saint Clair River

Sources:   “Color A-Plenty Awaits Visitors In Lovely Algonac.”  The Times-Herald (Port Huron, MI) Wednesday, July 21, 1950. p. 90. (Newspapers.com)

Algonac, MI 48001. Google.com map. (accessed May 25, 2017).

Further reading:  Walpole Island First Nation. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpole_Island_First_Nation (accessed May 25, 2017).

Bkejwanong. Walpole Island. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ksands/Warpole.html. (accessed May 28, 2017).

Le Grand Chef Deskaheh

Le Grand Chef Deskaheh pc1Le Grand Chef Deskaheh pc2

Divided back, unused. French postcard. Circa 1917 – 1925.

Price:  $15.00

This one definitely ties in to the previous post:  An old French postcard in black and white, of a painting by N. George of Chief Deskaheh, the president of the Iroquois Council of Six Nations from 1917 – 1925:

“Le grand Chef Deskaheh. Délégué et président du Conseil des Six Nations Iroquoises.”

See the Wiki entry on Deskaheh or Levi General (1873 – 1925) which includes the photo below taken 1922. The painting shown on our postcard greatly resembles the photo  (courtesy Wikipedia, originally from the British newspaper The Graphic) so may have been created around the same time.

Deskaheh photo

See The Last Speech of Deskaheh for more.

But since we like to solve mysteries here, who was the artist (peintre or painter) N. George?  Hmmm, for now, this question remains a mystery. Below, an article from the Pittsburg Daily Post dated December 17, 1922.

Deskaheh article1Deskaheh article2

Sources:  Deskaheh. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deskaheh (accessed June 4, 2016).

The Last Speech of Deskaheh. Two Row Times. (accessed June 4, 2016).

“Protests Raid of Old Domain.” Pittsburg Daily Post. Sunday, December 17, 1922. p. 1 (newspapers.com)

For Ever And Aye

For Ever And Aye pc1For Ever And Aye pc2

For My Valentine…

“A little bird told me

‘Twas Valentine’s Day,

And gave me this feather

To send you, and say:

‘I’ll love you, my sweetheart,

For ever and aye’ “

A lovely verse for Valentine’s Day – I like the “forever and aye” part, it has such a nice ring to it. “Aye” in this case means always, which is the other significance besides the affirmative “yes” that we are generally more familiar with. And this is a beautiful card, though not in the best of shape with, besides the usual corner wear, a crease in the bottom left corner, and some discoloration and soiling on the back. But the mark on the front right – this looks like it was from an error in the printing process – the colors there are the same as in the feather. I like the blue-green grayish border, and just noticed the pale shadow that the artist included, for the shaft or quill. (These subtle details are important!)

This postcard is the second one that we have posted for these publishers or this publisher/distributor duo. See Publishers Ernest Nister And E. P. Dutton & Co. (Likely E.P. Dutton & Co. was the distributor.)

The writing in pencil from the sender shows:  “To Aunt Tootsey from – Little Paul.”  The card is addressed to:  “Miss Lucy Shockey, Iola, Kansas, 12 1/2 Jackson St.”

Lucy Shockey was found on the 1920 Federal Census for Iola, Allen County, Kansas, at the Jackson street address. She is 18 years old there (and at the time this card was sent), born in Kansas, and sister-in-law to head of household Fred A. Vogel, age 35, born in Kansas, a self-employed manufacturer of cigars. His wife (Lucy’s sister) is Blanche, age 28, born in Colorado; and their daughter, Dorothy Dean Vogel, born in Kansas, is age 1 year, 2 months.

The 1910 census for Iola shows Lucy and Blanche with their parents, H.H. (doing farm work connected with the carpentry industry) and Belle Shockey, and five siblings, Alice E., Clyde, Hattie, Ellen R. and Howard Shockey. (Lucy is Lucy Belle Shockey.)

By the time of the 1930 census for Iola we find that Lucy had married Clyde H. Taylor, a steelworker, age 30, and that they had two children at this time, Evelyn R. and Robert H. Taylor, ages eight and three.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked February 11, 1920 from Dallas?, Texas? Publisher:  Ernest Nister, London. Printed in Bavaria. Number 3532. Distributor:  E.P. Dutton & Co., New York.

Price:  $15.00

Sources:  Definition of Aye. Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aye. (Web accessed February 14, 2015.)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Iola Ward 2, Allen, Kansas; Roll: T625_522; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 10; Image: 233. (Ancestry.com)

“United States Census, 1910,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M2HV-HTM : accessed 14 February 2015), Lucy Belle Shockey in household of H H Shockey, Iola, Allen, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 15, sheet 26A, family 7, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,374,444.

“United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QV5W-J7WJ : accessed 14 February 2015), Lucy B Shockey Taylor, Kansas, United States, 05 Oct 1991; from “Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 – Today),” database and images, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing .

Feather and Roses

Feather pc1Feather pc2

“Miss Maggie, how are you. We are all well. Hope you are better. It is afful [awful] warm here. By by.” Signed, CEM or LEM? This postcard is postmarked June 5, 1911, Kansas, and addressed to:  Miss Maggie Miller, 805 S. 14th St., St. Joe, MO. The city name in Kansas is cut off but starts NEO, which means this would have been postmarked in Neodesha, Neosha Falls or Neosho Rapids.

Update:  Here’s another card that went to a Miss Maggie Miller. They may be one and the same.

Divided back postcard, white border, printed in Germany, series 7014B. Publisher:  Samson Brothers. Postmarked June 5, 1911.

Price:  $10.00