Category Archives: Swimming

I’m In With All The Swells!

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Divided back postcard. Postmarked December 18, 1913 from Wichita, Kansas. Publisher:  Williamson-Haffner Co., Denver, Colorado. Artist name unknown.

Price:  $12.00

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Ida McFrederick, Harper, Kans, Route 3.”

The sender wrote:  “Dec 18 – 1913. send my mail up here. Hello Ma, Guess I won’t be home Sat. so don’t look for me until you see me. am working now. by by   Florence.”

Per Walter E. Corson’s, Publishers’ Trademarks Identified, the publishing house is the Williamson-Haffner Company, of Denver. So, the initials appearing at the bottom left corner of the illustration must be those of the artist. (Name unknown at this point, but maybe we’ll find out later.)

Thanks, Florence (for passing along) the wonderful phrase on the card, “Don’t look for me until you see me.”  Might remind you of the conundrum we find ourselves in when we contemplate time travel…..and some of the great comedic vignettes we’re familiar with:  Two that come to mind are Joe talking to Frito at the Costco Shuttle in Idiocracy, and one of Big Bang’s segments, something along the lines of, “Okay, we agree that if one of us invents a time machine, we’ll meet right here at exactly (whatever o’clock.)” They look around the room, and then….damn, disappointment. (Not sure – President Not Sure? 😉 ) what episode this was from and this is only from memory, but you probably know the one I mean.)

From the 1905 Kansas State Census, the family is parents, William and Ida McFrederick, and their children, Carl, William, Roy, Earl, Florence and Fern. With the family is a young McDowell (possibly) couple (who may or may not be related) by marriage to the McFredericks. Florence would have been about eighteen when she sent this postcard to her mom.

Sources:  Corson, Walter E. Publishers’ Trademarks Identified. Ed. James Lewis Lowe. Norwood, PA:  1993. (print).

Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1905 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: ks1905_62; Line: 13. (Ancestry.com).

Surf Bathing In The Pacific

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Surf Bathing In The Pacific pc1Surf Bathing In The Pacific pc2

Here’s a colorful card of a southern California beach scene, with reports about the weather, the tourists, and the 1908 presidential race. “Bryan” was William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate who ended up losing to William Taft. Note that the postmarked date of the card shows just two days prior to the election.

Addressed to:   “Mr. John Pugh, Kahoka, Missouri, R.F.D.# 6.”  The sender wrote:

“Papa, you ought to be in ‘sunny’ California this winter. The paper today stated there had been two – thousand tourists come in the last month. We have not had much rain yet and it is very warm and pleasant in the middle of the day. I suppose you are holloring ‘Hurrah for Bryan.’ A good many here think he will be elected. Della.”

The 1900 Federal Census for Union Township, Clark County, MO identifies Ohio natives John Pugh and his wife Emeline, and their daughters, Della F. and Carrie Pugh, both born in Missouri. John, occupation farmer, was born about April 1843; Emeline was born about August 1849; Della was born about September 1874, and Carrie, about April 1888. Union Township is southwest of Kahoka, about 13 minutes in driving time.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked November 1, 1908 from Los Angeles, California. Publisher info:  A. A. 6. Newman Post Card Co., Los Angeles, California. Number or series 62232. Made in Germany.

Price:  $10.00

Sources:  United States presidential election, 1908. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1908. (accessed July 9, 2015).

Year: 1900; Census Place: Union, Clark, Missouri; Roll: 848; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0029; FHL microfilm: 1240848. (Ancestry.com)

Place Stanislas, Nancy, France

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Place Stanislas Nancy France p1Place Stanislas Nancy France p2

Here are a couple of old photos that had been taped together at some point, saved to a photo album, and later wound up in the same antique store in Dearborn, Michigan (on Michigan Ave.) that was mentioned in the last post. Too bad the black photo album paper covers some of the writing on the back. The young man appearing in both photos seems to have signed the back with his first initial and last name, which we can’t determine. But how nice to have a location for the photo on the right:  Place Stanislas, colloquially known as Place Stan’ is a large town square in Nancy, Lorraine, France. The statue in the photo is that of Stanislaw Leszczyński (1677 – 1766) King of Poland, and brother-in-law to King Louis XV of France (1710 – 1774). Presumably the swimming pool photo was also taken in Nancy, but we don’t know for sure. The subject makes reference to his brother, but too much of the writing is hidden. (The water looks cold!)

Two vintage photos, circa 1910s – 1930s.     Size:  About 2 and 1/4 x 3 and 1/4″ each.

Price:  $6.00

Sources:   Place Stanislas. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_Stanislas. (accessed May 9, 2015).

Stanislaw I. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_I. (accessed May 9, 2015).

Louis XV of France. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XV_of_France. (accessed May 9, 2015).