Category Archives: Rabbits – Bunnies

The Miser

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Divided Back, unused postcard. Copyright S. S. Porter, 1907. Publisher:  The Western News Company, Chicago, Illinois.

Price:  $4.00

This postcard was titled, “The Miser,” at the bottom of the card. You can see it if you enlarge the image. For me, it doesn’t really fit the artwork, as I imagine the little boy would be dropping some crumbs for the bunnies (not that they should eat them) and the birdie. But it’s an adorable card, not in the best shape, as you can see, but still.

Addressed to:   “Master Ralph Enloe, Pinole, Contra Costa Co, Cal.”

Ralph Enloe would have been about six years old when this postcard was written. He was born November 2, 1901 in Pinole, California. Son of Anna May Morgan and Joseph Volley Enloe.

Source:  Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47303740/ralph-thomas-enloe : accessed 23 April 2022), memorial page for Ralph Thomas Enloe (2 Nov 1901–10 Mar 1979), Find a Grave Memorial ID 47303740, citing Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California, USA ; Maintained by rhale1100 (contributor 47198156) .

Bunnies Helping Chicks

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Undivided back postcard. Unused. Circa March 1907. Publisher:  Richard Behrendt, San Francisco, California.

Price:  $10.00

A Happy Easter from Aunt Sadye

This is a day late for Easter but still heartfelt. I love the colors, the pinks and yellows reminding us of a sunrise. And such sweet bunnies, helping the chicks back up to their mamma in the roost!

Addressed to:   “Miss Mabel Chapman. 2929 Clement St. San Francisco Cal.”

From the 1910 Federal Census, Mabel is the daughter of Charles H. Chapman, occupation plumber, and A. Bella (needs research) Chapman. All native to California. Mabel was born about 1897, so would have been about ten when she received this card. We’re estimating the card was sent in 1907, after finding Charles listed at the above address in that year, in city directories.

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 39, San Francisco, California; Roll: T624_100; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0229; FHL microfilm: 1374113.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco City Directory, 1907, p. 392. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.

Greetings And Heaps Of Good Luck

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Christmas card, publisher and date unknown. Circa 1900s – 1930s.

Price:  $4.00       Size:  About 3 and 1/4 x 4 and 1/4″

In looking up Christmas pudding images we linked to a lovely website (one of many, for sure, but we stopped at the one) with a recipe, and discovered an unlooked-for but welcome answer to the full meaning behind the title of the card:  A silver coin or trinket was traditionally baked into the dessert and whoever found it was supposed to be granted good luck. How nice that the children are offering the dessert to Santa (a skinny Santa, at that). And he must be taking a break from deliveries, as he still has toys spilling out of his very full bag of goodies. Back to the pudding – not a pudding in the American sense, but in the British use of the word (a dish, either savory or sweet, that’s steamed or boiled in something). In this case, a steamed cake made weeks ahead with dried fruit and spices…..then topped with brandy and set aflame (remember the scene in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol?) then topped off with cream sauce and garnished with holly.

Sources:   “Traditional British Christmas Pudding (a Make Ahead, Fruit and Brandy Filled, Steamed Dessert).” December 3, 2016. (www.christinascucina.com).

Nelson, Libby. “British desserts, explained for Americans confused by the Great British Baking Show.” November 29, 2015. (www.vox.com).

Easter Greetings From Maebelle McFall

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Set of two, divided back postcards. Unused, with writing, dated 1925. Publisher:  Wolf & Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Series 461.

Price for the pair:  $10.00

Bunny checking his look in the mirror….There don’t seem to be too many Easter-bunny-looking-in-mirror cards that had been dreamed up and printed, as we discovered after Googling for images. And we’re seeing this one, on another site, attributed to artist Ellen Clapsaddle. So that’s a possibility for both of these cards, though they are both unsigned by the artist, so it’s hard to say, for sure. Clapsaddle was a well-known illustrator for publisher Wolf & Co., also called Wolf Co. or referred to as the Wolf brothers. But both of these cards were sent by Miss Maebelle McFall to her cousins Lowell and “Jr.” and are part of The Alice Ellison Collection on this website.

“Jr” and Lowell are George Louis Mugridge and Lowell J. Mugridge, born 1923 and 1924 respectively. Maebelle McFall, born in Colorado in 1912, is the daughter of Jennie May Ellison and Ernest V. Pearsall McFall (biological name Pearsall, stepfather’s name McFall). The boys are her cousins on her mother’s side.

“Dear Little Cousin Jr. I hope the bunnies stope in to see you and bring lots of eggs. I know you are an afful cute boy and I would like to see you. Your Loving Cousin Maebelle McFall   1925  (Lots of xxx and ooo)”

Baskets of eggs….and a bun that seems to minding the store…

“Lowell, I hope the bunnies brings lots of Easter eggs to you. I hope your big enough to walk so you can hunt your Easter eggs. Lot of Love from your cousin Maebelle McFall   1925   Plenty of ooo and xxx for Lowell” 

Easter Greetings To Betty Dow

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Divided back, embossed postcard. Postmarked April 15, 1911 from Oakland, California. Number or series 626.

Price:  $10.00

Heehee, what an expression on this guy! Easter bun on his way (with a handkerchief full of painted eggs and artist’s palette over his shoulder) to your house in 2020 and that of Betty Dow back in 1911.

Betty’s address was found in city directories under Wallace H. Dow, 82 Mesa Ave, Piedmont, CA. The 1910 Federal Census for Piedmont shows Wallace as head of household and vice president of the Dow Pump Co., wife Helen, children Elizabeth age 7, Wallace A., age 5, all native to California, and their Portuguese maid Marama de Azavedo, age 20. So, this postcard, signed from Lloyd and Herbert, was sent to Betty when she was about 7 years old. Betty went on to marry Frederick Cooper Green in 1924 in Alameda, CA. Their marriage certificate show’s Betty’s mother’s maiden name was Crocker.

Sources:  Polk-Husted Directory Co.’s Husted Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda Directory 1910, p. 318. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: T624_72; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0151; FHL microfilm: 1374085. (Ancestry.com).

Ancestry.com. California, Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941.

Easter Greetings To Elsa From Matilda

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Undivided back, used postcard. Postmarked March 30, 1907, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Publisher:  Raphael Tuck & Sons’ “Easter Post Cards.” Printed in Germany.

Price:  $12.00

Here’s another beauty, mega-charming…two bunnies setting off from shore in an eggshell boat. One rowing and the other at the rudder, off to deliver some eggs on Easter. The caption in light script in the clouds is  “Loving Easter Greetings”  and is signed at the bottom,  “From Matilda.”

Addressed to:  “Miss Elsa Bendschneider, 273 Belleview Pl, Milwaukee, Wisc.”

Yes, that surname is a little hard to read for handwriting but the city directories took the guesswork out of it. William H. Bendschneider is at this address in 1907, occupation janitor. An alternate or maybe earlier spelling of the family name is Bendtschneider. The 1905 Wisconsin State Census shows William Bendschneider, occupation janitor, born 1863 Wisconsin; his wife Sophie, born 1863 Germany; daughter Elsie, born 1889 Wisconsin; and son William born 1895 Wisconsin. Guessing our Elsa is the person on this census, and not the other Elsie in Milwaukee that is Elsie Bendtschneider under different parents’ names.

Sources:  H. C. Wright’s Wright’s Directory of Milwaukee for 1907. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.

Wisconsin Historical Society; Madison, Wisconsin; Census Year: 1905. (Ancestry.com).

Easter Greetings For Annetta

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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).

To Ilma From Edna

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Divided back, embossed postcard. Postmarked April 12, 1911, San Francisco, California. Publisher:  International Art Publishing Co. Series 1262. Printed in Germany.

Price:  $7.00

Fond Easter Greetings

“Hope and gladness, peace and rest

Make your Easter truly blest.”

Wow, where did the time fly? Easter already! Here’s the first offering for this year, and we’ll try to get a few more up today. This one hearkens back to 1911, a beautiful card of a bunny in an Easter egg, framed by lilies of the valley and a few violets, from the International Art Publishing Co. It was sent by Edna Steacy to Miss Ilma Rogers of 3651 20th St., San Francisco, CA.

Ilma, an unusual name (I kept trying to type Alma) was found on the 1900 Federal Census, born in California, January 1893, the daughter of Charles S. and May C. Rogers. In the household are the parents Charles and May, Charles’ mother Jenny M. Rogers and children Oris R., Ilma F. and Charles S. Rogers, address 227 Chattanooga, San Francisco. So, Ilma was eighteen when she received this card.

Source:  Year: 1900; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0108. (Ancestry.com).

A Coaching Christmas

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Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked from Lodi, California, December 22, 1921. Publisher unknown. S02 – 6. Des. (design) Xmas.

Price:  $6.00

We’ll start off Christmas this year with a 1921 postcard from the Alice Ellison Collection showing a stagecoach with team of horses arriving at a country inn:  There’s the driver and two (artistic license most likely) coach guards, both with their “yard of tin,” the long trumpet used to announce arrival and departure, warn off other traffic on the road, and announce arrival at toll gates; and with the figures of a man and boy; a bunny bounding down the path through the snow; and a couple of horseshoes and whip….altogether a charming remembrance of the Regency Era. The card’s beautiful verse goes out to all:

“Each Christmas binds more close the friends

We knew in Auld Lang Syne,

And so, in thought, my hand extends

To meet the clasp of thine.”

Addressed to:   “Miss Ella Ellison, 1314 F St., Sacramento, Califa.,”  and signed, “From Mrs. McNees & Dorothy.”

Easter Joys Be Thine

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Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked in Homer, New York on March 27th, year not readable. Publisher unknown. Series or number 155. Circa 1910.

Price:  $15.00

This is a really cute one. A chick (chicks are ruling this Easter) in a large eggshell cart that is equipped with flowers for wheels, driving two white bunnies who are harnessed with pink ribbons. The chick’s riding crop is a sprig of lily of the valley. And the colors are a little unusual in the card:  The grass is more blue than green; the colors are muted but sort of like “dream” colors, not just understated but sort of “off” like you’re looking at a replay of a dream, or a badly tinted old movie or something similar. It’s very cool. Anyway, the sender writes:

“Wed. Morn. Dear Lucy. Your Aunt Martha says she will come over and stay with you for 2 weeks and do light work if you want her too. So write back soon if you want her. Pa is not feeling good, got the blues. Hope you are all well, Mother.”

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Lucy Sears, McGraw, Cortland Co. N. Y., R.D. #3.”

Lucy E., according to the 1910 Federal Census for Homer, New York, was born about 1885. She is married to George F. Sears, born about 1881. He owns a dairy farm, and the couple have two boys, Floyd A., born in 1908, and Roy L., born in 1909. Living with them and helping with the farm is George’s brother, Erastus, born about 1887. All are natives of New York. The town of Homer is about five miles northwest of McGraw, as the crow flies.

The year is not readable or didn’t get stamped when postmarked. It wouldn’t be surprising if it’s 1910, since Lucy at this time has two boys under two years old, and she could definitely use a little help.

Source:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Homer, Cortland, New York; Roll: T624_934; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0127; FHL microfilm: 1374947. (Ancestry.com).