Hen And Chicks On The March

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Annieoakley

Divided back, unused postcard. Unknown Parisian publisher. Printed in France, Series or number 595. Dated by the sender: October 1944.

Price: $5.00

A very cute French postcard for Easter (though dated in October) showing a hen and her three chicks, marching off to une Fête de Pâques. The hen is a cut-out that is pasted on for a slight 3-D effect, and some of the card’s silver glitter still remains after seventy-three years. But we love the details: the differing expressions for each of the feathered-four, and the red balloon, the green umbrella, the Pierrot-like clown hats worn by the chicks, and the artist’s realistic touch with the four-leaf clover….The card was, poignantly, sent home during WWII, from probably an American soldier, to his little girl, Elsa. He writes:

“Special for my sweet little daughter, Elsa-pie from her loving Daddy. France, October 1944.”

A close-up of the publisher logo appears below, but the company name is, for the moment, a mystery. For sure, that’s “Paris” at top and underneath would be “Marque Déposée” for trademark, but what’s the first letter there…? Our best guess for the publisher initials is either T.D.A or Y.D.A.

Easter Chick For Lily V. Herrling

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Annieoakley

“Easter Greetings”

Here’s one more official Easter postcard for this year and it’s of another chick, so adorable, wearing her little shell hat with pussy willow decoration, and carrying a little bouquet.

The sender writes:

“April 4, 1914. Fort Pierre S. Dak. Dear Miss Herlling. I will drop you a few lines this tues[?]. we all well hope you the same. the snow is all gone now and we have a nice bit of water in the…?…now. it has bin dry all winter but we will have a lot of it now for this summer & yes nellie has got a little colt one week old but lily…?…is the same color she was when you saw her. good by, by for now[?] …and…? L. E. Datts. I will write a letter in a few days. Wishing you a joys Easter.”

Sent to: “Miss Lily V. Herrling. Walton, Neb. % Geo. Wilson. R.F.D.”

Lily was a public school teacher who was born in Wisconsin, about 1885. The 1920 Federal Census for Sheboygan finds Lily and her sister, Elsa May, living with their brother R. B. Herrling. Various short newspaper clips can be found online, like the two below, which show that Lily traveled to various locations to teach:

From the Lincoln Daily News (Lincoln, NE) 11 June 1915:

From the Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, WI) 17 August 1916:

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked April 13 (or 3rd?) 1914, Fort Pierre, South Dakota. Publisher: James E. Pitts. Series 42 F.

Price: $12.00

Sources: Year: 1920; Census Place: Greenbush, Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Roll: T625_2016; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 116; Image: 1042. (Ancestry.com)

Lincoln Daily News (Lincoln, NE) 11 June 1915. (Ancestry.com)

Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, WI) 17 August 1916. (Ancestry.com)

Easter Joys Be Thine

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Annieoakley

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).

Compliments Of Your Bro, M. M. Miller

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked March 25, 1912 from McDowell, West Virginia. Publisher unknown. Series or number B53.

Price: $5.00

“A Happy Easter”

A beautiful postcard of – I think these are supposed to be – Easter Lilies along with a cottage scene, a gold ribbon and dramatic rays of light surrounding all. And the capital “A” in the Easter wish some shadow behind it, giving it kind of a 3-D effect.

This was sent by M. M. Miller, the same person in the prior post, and he writes: “Compliments of your Bro. M. M. Miller to J. M. Ellison.”

Addressed to: “J. M. Ellison, 26 St. & Cheyenne ave, Pueblo, Colo.”

Happy Easter From Uncle M. M. Miller

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Annieoakley

Three Easter chicks and flowers, in a basket that has a nice sunshade of a leaf with a pussy willow border. So cute!

This card and the next one to follow, were sent by the same person, for the same Easter, and to the same Ellison household. This one is addressed to:

“Bessie Ellison, 26th St. & Cheyenne ave., Pueblo, Colo.”

And the sender wrote: “Compliments of your uncle m. m. miller, to Bessie Ellison.”

See The Alice Ellison Collection on this website for more.

The postmark appears to say “McDowell, W. Va.” which seems unusual, as McDowell is a county in WV. A town by that name can be typed in to Ancestry.com (if you’re familiar with the search format) as in “McDowell, McDowell, West Virginia” but nothing shows up in an actual search for anyone at all in this supposed town, and nothing was found online naming a town as such, so maybe it was a county-named post office?

Divided back, used, embossed postcard. Postmarked March 25, 1912 from McDowell, West Virginia. Publisher unknown. Series or number 618.

Price: $3.00

A Glad Eastertide

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher unknown. Series 1168 B. Circa 1923 – 1928.

Price: $5.00

“In Easter

Blessings you may share,

And peace be yours

Beyond compare.”

A beautiful Easter card in the Alice Ellison Collection of a green cross covered in pansies. The message on the back is simply, “To Ma from Doss.”

There are seven or eight others from this unknown publisher in this same family collection of cards. The dates on those range from 1923 – 1928, with the back header, the card stock and the gold-tone border being common to all.

Kindest Greeting From Mrs. Burger, Hardtner KS

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked April 13, 1911 from Hardtner, Kansas. Publisher: The American Art Production Co., Series 680/6.

Price: $4.00

From our Alice Ellison Collection…..

“A Peaceful Easter” is the wish that adorns this 1911 embossed postcard done in muted gold and gray tones, showing a pretty girl in an egg-shaped “window” with three chicks. (So cute the way the one chick is standing on the girl’s shoulder!) The egg is flanked by lilies of the valley. The note from the sender states:

“Kindest greeting to All. Mrs. Jennie[?] Burger.” And the card is addressed to: “Mrs. Alice Ellison, 26 & Cheyenne Ave. Pueblo, Colo.”

For more about the publisher see our post: American Art Production Company, S. M. Salke – A Mystery Solved.

Three Chicks For Easter

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Annieoakley

Divided back, embossed, unused with writing. Publisher unknown. Printed in Germany.

Price: $4.00

One last Easter card for the season…showing three adorable chicks – two yellow and one black, on a bed of grass and flowers, beneath a blue sky. This is yet another from the Alice Ellison Collection. Addressed to: “Mrs. Dossie Deck, Pueblo, Colo. 26 st. & Cheyenne Ave.” The sender was Alpha Lunsford, and she dated the postcard April 19, 1908.

Easter Day

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Annieoakley

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked April 6, 1914 from Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania.

Price: $10.00

“The world itself keeps Easter day,

And Easter larks are singing;

And Easter flow’rs are blooming gay

And Easter bells are ringing.”

That’s a lovely poem for Easter, but what I love most about this postcard is the illustration: There’s a big basket of eggs (quite large eggs) two bunnies and a little boy. I love the expression on the boy’s face as he holds the one bunny in his arms (and the bun’s expression, too) while the one on the ground gazes at the basket of eggs. Flowers on each side of the card frame the scene somewhat, and have a little bit of a flow-y Art Nouveau look to them.

The sender wrote: “Best wishes for a Happy Easter. Your friend Annie.” The card is addressed to:

“Miss Edith Johnson, Clermont, PA. Box 85.”

The village of Clermont is a “blink and you’ll miss it” location, according to Neil Anderson’s blog, Neil’s Neck of the Woods. “It sits a few miles south from Pennsylvania’s scenic Route 6 as it intersects county Route 146.” (I was happy to find this description as Clermont was not showing up on my Google map search.) And here’s another great website regarding Clermont at Smethport History.

UPDATE: Thank you to Judy, one of our informed readers, who states, “Edith Johnson was the post mistress in Clermont, PA.”

Sources: Anderson, Neil. “The Village of Clermont,” Neil’s Neck of the Woods. Web accessed April 5, 2015.

Historic Clermont, Pennsylvania, Virtual Tour. Smethport History. Web accessed April 5, 2015.

Bunnies In The Backyard

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Annieoakley

Divided back, lightly embossed, used postcard. Postmarked March 24, 1910 from Axtell, Nebraska. Publisher unknown.

Price: $4.00

“Axtell Nebr., Mar. 24, ’10 – Dear cousin Ida. How are you by this time we are all well hope this will reach you all the same. You had better come with your mother and Josie out here this summer. It blew something terrible yesterday but to-day it is still and nice. Have you got any small chickens yet we got two hens that are hatching. As ever your Cousin Alice.”

Addressed to: “Miss Ida Nelson, Terril, Iowa, Box 5”

Tea with kitty, breakfast with bunny….

This is a great card for me, as it so reminds me of myself with our own bunny (as previously mentioned on a prior post.) After, what I’ve come to refer to as “Tea With Kitty” comes “Breakfast With Bunny.” Breakfast with the bun takes place in the backyard, in a setting much like the one here, with a high fence, and greenery, and with me on the garden bench with my cereal, and the bun bun, just like on this card, to my left, with her varied plateful of kale, parsley, roses, dandelion leaves and flowers, etc. (Enough about me, but it is interesting to find the ones where art imitates life or there is some special connection.)

You might not notice at first, the caption in script at the top which says, “A Joyful Easter.” And just to describe the card, it shows two reddish brown bunnies and a white one (the lookout maybe, making sure everything is okay) in a garden setting. The brown bunnies are being fed some greens by a little girl in her Easter dress, who sits on a garden bench. She has gold ringlets, and holds Easter eggs in her lap.

The receiver of this card was not found in online records, though there are plenty of Nelsons in Dickenson County, and even in the town of Terril.

Laurel Cottage Genealogy

Genealogy Services, Old Photos, Postcards, Trade Cards, Etc.

Category Archives: Easter

Hen And Chicks On The March

Easter Chick For Lily V. Herrling

Easter Joys Be Thine

Compliments Of Your Bro, M. M. Miller

Happy Easter From Uncle M. M. Miller

A Glad Eastertide

Kindest Greeting From Mrs. Burger, Hardtner KS

Three Chicks For Easter

Easter Day

Bunnies In The Backyard