Steamer White Horse on the Yukon River

Old photo, white border. Circa 1901 – 1910’s.

Price:  $15.00            Size:  About 3 and 1/2 x 2 and 1/2″   

The sternwheeler White Horse pushing a load of lumber on the Yukon River….

Our photo above, as usual, was resized for the web and though you can enlarge the image (twice) the boat’s name (on the pilothouse) still won’t be readable. Below, a crop of the larger image size – here you may be able to make out what looks like “Horse” or “Morse.” Checking online, there were some possibilities under Morse but not being really convinced, I tried Horse and then thought of what might precede that word. This is the type where you can look at something fifteen times, give up, glance one last time and suddenly it seems to come into focus. (Maybe it’s intuition, I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s always most welcome!)

White Horse, later Whitehorse, was a sternwheel paddle steamer built in 1901 by the British Yukon Navigation Co. Her last trip on the river was made in 1955. See an excellent article on the Explore North website for details, including a timeline of some of her adventures and fate after retirement.

Below, an article from The Vancouver Sun, June 1916. In this neck of the woods it’s all about the ice:

Sources:  Lundberg, Murray. The Sternwheeler White Horse (later Whitehorse). https://explorenorth.com/library/ships/white_horse.html. (accessed August 13, 2023).

“Yukon River is Open Through to Dawson; Navigation Starts.”  The Vancouver Sun, June 5, 1916. Monday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

La Crue du Nile Old Postcard

Divided Back postcard. Postmarked June 22, 1912, Alexandria, Egypt. Publisher:  POF or OPF. Stamp:  Postes Egyptiennes, Cinq Milliemes, rose color.

Price:  $15.00

La Crue du Nile…..The Flood of the Nile

The flooding of the Nile was usually an event each August before the Aswan High Dam was built in 1970. If you have time, take a look at this great article on the Saudi Aramco World site, “The Last Nile Flood,” by John Feeney.

This postcard was produced from a photo; at the time of this post, there’s a colorized version of the same scene available on eBay, but from a different publisher. The scene is two boys seated on a water buffalo, a man in charge of the animal at the reigns, and two men in charge of a camel, the one holding onto the camel’s tail. The boys and men are all posing for the camera.

Addressed to:   “Yonge juffrouw Lucie van Veen, Keizersgracht 254, Amsterdam Holland.”

The sender wrote:

“Alexandrië 22 Juni 1912. Beste Lucie, Ik ben nog niet op en kameel geweest, maar ik hed er al meer dan een op straat ontinoef. Ik denk heel dikwyils aan jullie allen en hoop dat je je niet te veel verveelt. Vele groeten.”

Translated from Google as:   “Dear Lucie, I haven’t ridden a camel yet, but I’ve seen more than one in the street already. I’m thinking of you all very often and hope you’re not bored too much. Many regards, Anie Schulthess.”

What a great way to start a postcard line, “I haven’t ridden a camel yet.” Love it! Neither Anie nor Lucie are showing up on Ancestry, however it’s always possible their descendants will find this card. We listed the type of stamp for the stamp collectors out there. The publisher’s a bit of a mystery:  Assuming that the initials go in the order of POF, if not OPF, however we’re not finding any other like this online right now or in the usual sources we consult (Metropostcard, Walter Corson’s Publishers’ Trademarks Identified and several others). Here’s the logo that’s appearing on the front of the card, bottom right:

Source:  Feeney, John. “The Last Nile Flood.” May/June issue of 2003, Volume 57, Number 3. https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200603/the.last.nile.flood.htm (accessed June 1, 2022).

Old Spanish Bridge, Ocotlán, Jalisco, México

Old photo, circa early 1900s. Printer/publisher stamp on back not readable.

Price:  $15.00             Size:  4 and 1/2 x 2 and 3/4″

A commercial-type tourist photo, the printer or publisher stamp (upside-down) is blurred but we can see that the first word is Laboratorios. The caption on the back reads:

“Lake freighters at Ocotlán, Jalisco, stone bridge in the background built by the Spaniards.”

Yes, the term “lake freighters” definitely seems out of place today. And, that’s the Santiago River, according to multiple websites showing shots of the same bridge….How nice, we can make out the name of the boat on our left, she was called Adelita. (Don’t you love when the light bulb comes on…..you’re staring at something that suddenly comes into focus?!)

The church in the distance is Señor de la Misercordia (Our Lord of Mercy). Originally, the site of the chapel La Purísima Concepción. The church was rebuilt and dedicated in the new name, after a documented occurrence – the Miracle of Ocotlán, (also called The Prodigy of Ocotlán, translation below). An image of Jesus Christ on the cross appeared in the sky October 3, 1847, to over 2,000 people. This was one day after the earthquake that killed over forty people and left much of Ocotlán in ruins. (Many websites say forty, however the eyewitness account from the town’s mayor says forty-six.)

In checking various websites regarding the miracle, I prefer one in Spanish (from Catholic.net), for content, but had trouble getting its English version, so here’s a quick copy and paste from Google translation:

Back to our photo:  Where is the rest of the church tower on our right? Had there been a problem with the film and it was edited out? No, it wasn’t that. (If anyone can fill us in on what was going on with this church tower for some years, please leave a comment!) Below, our photo, cropped and the 1932 one, in black and white, from a Google search and found appearing on Pinterest:

Last but not least, another crop, calling attention this time to the rather enormous wheels on the horse-drawn wagons:

Sources:  Señor de la Misericordia de Ocotlán.” https://es.catholic.net/op/articulos/63499/cat/1241/senor-de-la-misericordia-de-ocotlan.html#modal (accessed April 14, 2022).

“Eye-witness account of an earthquake in Jalisco in 1847.” (February 21, 2010.) https://geo-mexico.com/?p=301. (accessed April 10, 2022).

“images of the churches in ocotlan jalisco mexico.” Google.com search. Cropped from search result of images that included Pinterest.com. (accessed April 10, 2022).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlD3I2oKV4.

Gloria LoVasco, Detroit 1940s

Vintage photo, early 1940s.

Price:  $7.00         Size:  About 1 and 1/2 x 2 and 5/8″

One last summery photo before we start moving into autumn…..beautiful Miss Gloria LoVasco (also seen as Lo Vasco and Lovasco) of 3839 French Rd in Detroit. This small photo was probably given to a friend back in the day, estimating early 1940s, but almost seventy years later had been waiting to be rediscovered in a bin at an antique store. The 3839 French Road address, now a vacant residential lot, lies just north, less than two miles, from the Detroit River and Belle Isle, so, that might be the River in the background. (Note the picnic basket on the bottom left. Looks like it was a fun day!)

As for the surname, the 1940 Federal Census for Gloria and her family shows the LoVascos were of Italian descent and then a quick search for the name origin of Vasco indicates a name used for someone from the Basque region (in Northern Spain). It would be interesting to see if the family had a Basque connection going further back.

Sources:  Year: 1940; Census Place: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: m-t0627-01849; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 84-286. (Ancestry.com).

Vasco name meaning. https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=vasco. (accessed 09/29/19).

Par La Lumière De La Lune

Divided back, unused postcard. Made in France. Series Nivôse. Publisher: SR. Série Nivôse. Reproduction Interdite. Fabrication Française.

Price:  $10.00

Bonne Année

Happy New Year….by the light of the moon:  A rustic but romantic artist’s rendition of a home in winter, that you could travel under by boat, almost like a toll gate building, but then not. It’s rather unusual.

Nivôse, from the Latin word nivosus, meaning snowy, was the fourth month in the French Republican Calendar, and the first month of the winter quarter.

The date of the card is unknown, as is any information on the publisher, though we presume the publishing company used the initials “SR.”

Source:  Nivôse. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niv%C3%B4se (accessed January 6, 2018).

Snake River Bridge At Blue Lakes, Idaho

Divided back, unused postcard, circa 1911 – 1915. Publisher:  Wesley Andrews, Baker, Oregon. Series or number 305.

Price:  $12.00

 I. B. Perrine’s Blue Lakes Bridge

Started in 1910 and completed in 1911, is the steel bridge seen in this postcard, spanning the Snake River at Blue Lakes. It replaced I. B. Perrine’s ferry and was known as I. B. Perrine’s Blue Lakes Bridge or Perrine’s Bridge, and was a toll bridge until Perrine’s building costs were recovered. It was closed to the public in 1921. Ira Burton Perrine was a renowned fruit rancher and is credited as having founded Twin Falls, Idaho.

Below, a clipping from The Oregon Daily Journal, October 1910, informs readers that the piers for the new bridge were completed, and the work on the structure would soon be undertaken by a Minneapolis company. According to the article, the bridge’s length was going to measure 600 feet.

Watermelon in the desert and where was Blue Lakes?

Below, two newspaper clippings:   On the left, a partial clip from The Evansville Press, September 1906, on Perrine’s mineral-rich fruit ranch where fruits too numerous to mention were grown in the volcanic soil. On the right, a partial article from The Minneapolis Journal, September 1903, and the best description found online of Blue Lakes. According to the unknown journalist, Blue Lake was not a town, but a post office established for the fruit farmer, whose ranch was referred to as Blue Lakes, located about four miles below the Shoshone Falls on the Snake River, north of the city of Twin Falls, and who’s name derives from the two almost pond-size bodies of water, so poetically described below, as “….blue with a blueness that defies description…….the water is sparkling, transparent indigo shading into purple….”  And the million-dollar question in 2017:  Are the lakes still there? (Hopefully someone will comment and let us know.)

Sources:  “Bridge The Snake At Blue Lakes.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR). October 30, 1910. Sunday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com)

Matthews, Mychel. “Hidden History:  First Perrine Bridge.” MVMagicValley.com. July 7, 2016. (Web accessed November 18, 2017).

I. B. Perrine. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._B._Perrine (accessed November 18, 2017).

Gardner, Gilson. “Romance Of An Idaho Eden.” The Evansville Press. (Evansville, IN). September 28, 1906. Friday, p. 4. (Newspapers.com).

“An Idaho Romance.” The Minneapolis Journal. September 26, 1903. Saturday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

A Break From The Summer Heat

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked July 5, 1911[?] from East Jordan, Michigan. Publisher:  E. C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Price:  $6.00

Old River in Winter, Charlevoix, the Beautiful:  A break for the senses from a Michigan summer’s sweltering heat, and a July 4th reference below….

Happy 4th!

“Hello old boy:  How does this look to you in this kind of weather? 104° yesterday & 90°  to-day, no trouble to keep warm I assure you. Have any fire crackers on the 4th ha ha. I amused my self with a toy pistol and some match heads. Yours, Scotty.”

Addressed to:   “Mr. E. C. Bowman, 33 Kingwood St., Morgantown, W. Va.”

The recipient of this card was likely Eugene C. Bowman, found on the 1910 Federal Census for Morgantown, with wife Madge (Smith). Both are W. Virginia natives: Eugene is about age twenty-seven on this census, and an engineer at a power plant.

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Morgantown Ward 1, Monongalia, West Virginia; Roll: T624_1691; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0077; FHL microfilm: 1375704. (Ancestry.com)

“West Virginia Marriages, 1853–1970.” Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2008, 2009. (Ancestry.com)

Houseboat Heaven

Vintage photo, circa 1920s – 1930s.

Price:  $6.00         Size:  4 and 1/4 x 2 and 5/8″

Three ladies

I love houseboats:  There is something so romantic about them (riverboats, too.) So “houseboat heaven” came to mind immediately upon finding the photo, and the term stuck (and never got unstuck, lol. That’s redundant but, no matter.) But I realize, as I’m posting this, that the watercraft in question could be something other than the type involved in my (just now identified) longing to set up house on the water or meander down a river in rustic comfort. Rather than houseboat, the vessel could be a small ferry….In any case, the image shows a woman posed, relaxing on an inside railing, smiling for the camera. On our left we see a partial view of the woman’s friend, in flounced dress, her hand on one of the thin uprights. You get the feeling she’s chatting with someone outside of the picture. Both ladies are elegantly dressed. And the vessel….is charming:  nothing too fancy, wooden, with her “house” portion curving around, and a shallow, covered deck off of the house, as part of the bigger deck surface as a whole. Note the nice scroll work above the door and the scalloped roof edging….All-in-all, a beautifully captured moment, from a casually elegant or elegantly casual 😉 evening spent on the water, with good friends. (That includes the boat!)

Sweetwater Dam, Near San Diego, California

Undivided back, unused postcard. Circa 1906. Publisher:  E. P. Charlton & Co., San Diego, California. Number or series:  788.

Price:  $6.00

The Sweetwater Dam is located about twelve miles east of San Diego, and was first constructed in 1888, but raised and retrofitted several times over the next few decades. The construction process back in 1888 for the dam involved horses and mules carrying stone from the quarry to the site in carts.

This card is one from our Lena Davis Collection. Click below to see the beautiful flourish-y details of this portion of the reverse from the publisher:  a great design (as is the easier-to-see stamp box).

Heartfelt wishes and wistful thoughts, from the sender:

“Dear Friend Lena. Many thanks for the Kind greetings and in stead of an Easter card will enclose photos hoping you will read in it heartiest wishes for a true Easter as its name implies. So sorry Mrs. Hall is so poorly. Give her my best wishes. And dear girl how I wish for the sake of my boys and girls, I were better looking. When looking at it think how much I love you and desire for you the best in life and may our heavenly Father bless you abundantly. Love to all from your old friend Dee French. Mar. 1914.”

Source:  Sweetwater Dam. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetwater_Dam (accessed June 12, 2017).

Rocky River Bridge, Cleveland, Ohio

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked June 7, 1913 from Cleveland, Ohio. Publisher:  Wm. Frank, Cleveland, OH. Number or series:  1361 – 5.

Price:  $7.00

The publisher logo is eye-catching and worth cropping to highlight below.

The card appears to be addressed to:   “Mr. Ernest Hain, 312 West 24th St., New York.”  Though no records were found under this name or Haim, Hamm etc. that might fit for location and time frame.

The sender, whose name we’re guessing to be Edgar, wrote in french:   “Ca va bien mais seulement il fait très sec dans la journée. les salutations de ton ami Edgar.” 

“Everything’s going well but it’s very dry during the day, regards from your friend Edgar.”

Five of six…

As for the subject on the front of the postcard, the Rocky River Bridge or Detroit Rocky River Bridge (1910 – 1980) was the fifth (of six) bridges to be built at this location that crosses the Rocky River, connecting the Ohio cities of Rocky River and Lakewood. It was replaced in 1980 by its current structure. The old bridge in the postcard was a record-holder for a time:  When it was completed in 1910, it was,  “the longest stretch of unreinforced concrete in the world”  at 208 feet.

Source:  The Cleveland Historical Team, “Detroit Rocky River Bridge.” (clevelandhistorical.org). Accessed June 9, 2017.