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

Regal Young Woman

Posted on September 13th, 2014 by

Regal Young Woman pc1Regal Young Woman pc2

What if this is the little girl of the prior post all grown up? But no, they really don’t look that much alike, and the time frames are backwards anyway; it was just fun to entertain the idea, fleetingly, and left me with the hope that I find a set like that some day. This one was a little hard to give a title to, but the word regal keeps coming to mind for the pose and demeanor of this beautiful dark-haired young woman. She wears a white or very light-colored high-necked blouse, the sleeves of which go past the elbow and are wide-cuffed to match the collar; a long skirt of a dark color; and a fabric belt with a metal buckle. Her hair is swept up in a Gibson Girl style crowned with a wreath of small flowers, which we can’t see too much of, due to the wreath setting back somewhat and the angle of the shot. At first glance that might appear to be a large corsage fastened to the blouse but after a closer look seems to be something that happened afterward to the postcard. The horizontal lines running almost all the way across the card are part of the story, too. So, this postcard must have had something laying on top of it that created some impressions. The lines are a fascinating effect, really. The photo backdrop depicts a stone archway with some plants next to the base of the arch (of which we only see one side) and this gives the impression that the woman has made an entrance, and then paused to gaze off into the distance.

The stamp box here is an Aristo with bird logo, the word “Trademark” and the phrase “Place One-Cent Stamp Here.” This particular Aristo style is estimated to be from about 1905 – 1907, according to the excellent Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City website.

Undivided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. Aristo stamp box. Circa 1905 – 1907.

Price:  $10.00

Source:  Guide to Real Photo Postcards. Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City. Accessed 12 Sep 2014 (http://www.metropostcard.com/guiderealphoto.html)

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Categories: Photos Without Names, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards, Undivided Back

Emma Beinhup

Posted on September 12th, 2014 by

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Divided back, unused Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1918.

Price:  $6.00

Real Photo Postcard of an oval photo of an adorable little girl. She looks to be about three or four years old, is seated at a table or desk with a reflective surface (a nice effect.) She has dark hair, wears a white or light colored short sleeved dress with a frilly lace collar, and also wears a pendant of some type. What a face and expression! The pose is cheek resting on hand, with an “I’m unimpressed” look. Her name appears handwritten on the back of the postcard, but surprisingly, is not showing up in Ancestry.com or Find A Grave or online in general. It appears to be Emma Beinhup, but Bienhup, Beirhup, Bierhup were tried. Beinhoff is a possibility if the name was changed at some point or the person that wrote it had an incorrect spelling.

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Categories: Children, Photos With Names, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards

Mississippi Map

Posted on September 11th, 2014 by

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“The needlepoint map was made by Mississippi Extension Homemakers Club members and is displayed in the Extension Center at Mississippi State University.”

A vintage postcard, maybe from the 1960s. According to the back caption, the original map was done in needlepoint. And it shows the map broken down by county, with a different design in each, and the Mississippi River, of course on the western border.

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher:  Marketing Professionals, Inc., P. O. Box 16549, Jackson, MS 39206. Series or number 155,641. Circa 1960s.

Price:  $6.00

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Categories: Postcards, Postcards Unused, State Map Postcards

Happy Birthday Rosalia Jaycox

Posted on September 10th, 2014 by

Happy Birthday Rosalia Jaycox pc1Happy Birthday Rosalia Jaycox pc2

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked November 20, 1911 from Worcester, New York. Publisher unknown. Printed in Germany, series 1460A.

Price:  $15.00

Here’s another lilies of the valley postcard – this time the lilies are the main subject, and this is one of those vibrantly colored, printed in Germany cards. The composition is great, as is the detail in the basket and flowers, and the colors, typical to this type, showing a deep violet, a blue, a red, a rose, and the standout here (maybe less often used) of chartreuse. (Love the wild mix of colors.) The lilies of the valley, also called May lillies are spilling out of the basket which is tipped on it’s side.

The sender wrote:  “Wish you a happy birthday. Come down and see us. From Luther Albert.”  This card didn’t have far to travel, since it was postmarked in Worcester and mailed to East Worcester, New York. Today’s map shows East Worcester about 4.8 miles northeast of Worcester. Both towns are in Otsego County, and located in the northwestern foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The card is addressed as:

“Mrs. Rosalia Jaycox, East Worcester, New York.” 

The sender, Luther H. Albert, born about 1860, appears on the New York State Census (and multiple census records) in Worcester with his wife Elva, born about 1862. They are farming.

Multiple census records also show for Rosalia Jaycox, who is Rosalia Ostrom according to the Find A Grave website, born in 1842. She was married to Samuel Jaycox, born 1834 and died in 1907, both born in New York. There is also another Jaycox family (on the NY 1905 Census in Worcester) John, Melinda and daughter Edna, who would likely be related.

Sources:  New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 01; Assembly District: 01; City: Worcester; County: Otsego; Page: 03. (Ancestry.com)

New York State Education Department, Office of Cultural Education. 1892 New York State Census. Albany, NY: New York State Library. (Ancestry.com)

New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1905; Election District: E.D. 02; City: Worcester; County: Otsego; Page: 2. (Ancestry.com)

Rosalia Ostrom Jaycox. Find A Grave Memorial #117167470. (Findagrave.com)

Samuel Jaycox. Find A Grave Memorial #117167409. (Findagrave.com)

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Categories: Flowers, Postcards, Postcards Used, Printed in Germany

Here’s A Handshake

Posted on September 9th, 2014 by

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Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked October 22, 1913 from Long Island, Kansas. Publisher:  E. Nash, series G40.

Price:  $6.00

“Here’s A Handshake – And May You Live A Long Time”

A lovely thought on a postcard of the same, showing an artist’s image in oval of a red-roof house and outbuildings set behind a marshy wetland, with trees and sunset in the background. The oval is nicely framed by lilies of the valley and stylish gold lines.

This is another addressed to  “Lena Davis, Almena, Kan”  and the sender wrote:

“Long Island, Oct. 20. Dear Cousin. I got your card O.K. We have the wheat in the hay stacked after so – a time [?]  I think you might bring the buggy down, that would be a nice ride I think it’s about time. You was coming down anyway – K.”

Probably the sender meant “the wheat and the hay” but directly after this part, I am not sure. It looks like the embossing was making it a little difficult.

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Categories: Flowers, Postcards, Postcards Used, The Lena Davis Postcard Collection

Under The Arbor

Posted on September 7th, 2014 by

Under The Arbor p1Under The Arbor p2

Sepia-toned, faded photo dated December 27, 1919. Size:  About 2 and 1/2 x 4″

Price:  $5.00

Here’s a lovely, though light (I seem to say this a lot) old photo, dated December 27, 1919. It shows a beautiful young woman with her young son of about four years old (They must be mother and son, I think. You can see a resemblance.) They are standing underneath a wooden arbor that has some type of vine growing on it. If this was taken in December it may have been taken somewhere temperate in winter, unless it was unseasonably comfortable that day. We certainly don’t see any snow, and since the photo was found in a California antique store, it may be that it’s from the West Coast. But it’s some type of waterside scene, at river or lake or next to a peaceful ocean inlet, as we notice the reflection of some trees under the piece of land jutting out on our left. Is that a small boat there on the water? And there are some houses or cottages, some utility poles and in the bottom left corner what looks like a wooden plank walkway. But getting back to the subject of the mother and child – the woman is holding and admiring what may be a cutting from the vine, while the happy boy looks at the camera. It’s just a beautiful image from another century.

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Categories: Children, Old Photos, Photos Without Names

Fenton, Michigan View of Long Lake And Case’s Island

Posted on September 7th, 2014 by

Fenton Michigan View Of Long Lake And Cases Island pc1Fenton Michigan View Of Long Lake And Cases Island pc2

Case Island is located in Genesee County, Michigan, south of Flint. At the time that this postcard was printed, the island was located in Long Lake, but the lake was later renamed Lake Fenton. Per authors Donna and Kenneth Seger, the name change was the result of a petition started by one of the long-time island residents. At this time there were over a hundred other Michigan lakes called Long Lake. A Wiki entry indicates that the name change officially took place in 1932 – a decision made by the United States Board on Geographic Names. (The BGN is a federal agency of the Department of the Interior.)

Since this is a divided back card printed in Germany, the estimated date would be from about 1907 – 1914. Easy to miss but on the front “in the lake” at the bottom right, is printed what appears to read as “A67977.” Since the postcard number is already identified with the publisher info, then one assumes the number on the front may be the series number (unless vice versa.)

Divided back, unused postcard. Printed in Germany. Publisher:  Backenstose Bookstore, Pontiac, Michigan. No. 31436. Series? A67977.

Price:  $10.00

Sources:  Seger, Donna, & Seger, Kenneth. (2009) Fenton. Charleston, SC:  Acadia Publishing. (Google eBook snippet accessed September 9, 2014.)

Lake Fenton, Michigan. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Fenton,_Michigan (accessed September 9, 2014.)

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Categories: Postcards, Postcards Unused

Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan

Posted on September 7th, 2014 by

Grand Hotel Mackinac Island pc1Grand Hotel Mackinac Island pc2

“Opened in 1887, Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan, is the world’s largest summer hotel and one of the few surviving examples of a classic and gracious American resort. It has the world’s longest porch offering a sweeping view of the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes. The accommodations are deluxe. The service impeccable. The food renowned.”

“B  62433. Non-Transferable, No-Readmittance. Admission ticket is good for a $2.00 reduction in the price for luncheon (served daily from 12:00 until 2:00 pm) in the hotel’s Main Dining Room. On occasion the Main Dining Room is closed to the public and therefore Grand Hotel reserves the right to withdraw this offer.”

This one looks like it was put out by the Grand Hotel, per the above info. No publisher information is given. But it’s a beauty: unusual in a green and white pointillism, a.k.a “dot” style. If you look closely at the hairstyles for the men, the style suggests this card may have been done in the 1960’s or early ’70s.

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher and artist unknown. Circa 1950s – 1970s.

Price:  $15.00

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Categories: Postcards, Postcards Unused

Main Street, Mackinac Island, Michigan

Posted on September 7th, 2014 by

Main Street Mackinac Island Michigan pc1Main Street Mackinac Island Michigan pc2

“Visitors enjoy carriage rides around the Island seeing Mackinac’s historic and scenic points of interest. Accommodations are available on the Island to fit any pocket book.”

This vintage postcard is estimated to be from the 1950s and was published by Curteich and printed from a photo by Benjamin’s Photo Art Service of Mackinac Island. Robert E. Benjamin was a photographer hired in 1946 by G. W. Wickman, who had started a souvenir photo and postcard shop around 1900 on the Island, having developed his own line of postcards. This is information from the Benjamin of Mackinac website, and they are thankfully still going strong; their store Benjamin Photo and Gift Shop is located on Main St. between the ferry lines. See their site for a full history.

Besides the publisher and photographer info, we’re always looking at any shops with names displayed on these cards such as Florsheim Shoes and the Palm Cafe prominently showing here. The Palm was owned by the Horn Family and later became Horn’s Gaslight Bar & Restaurant, another that is still thankfully in business today. I say thankfully, as in researching these antique and vintage cards and photos we normally find the businesses no longer around. I don’t know about the restaurant advertising “Light Lunches” but find this sign charming. A light lunch would be helpful, after having sampled lots of the famous Mackinac fudge.

Having grown up in Michigan, I got to visit Mackinac (in the 1960s) with the family. We did the bike rental thing around the island and my memory of that is that at the end of the ride there was a steep hill that everyone was gleefully, I guess, riding down. I was the scaredy cat of the group (I was only about five) and refused. Someone must have taken the bike down for me, but I don’t remember. If anyone else has similar memories of this hill, I’d love to hear them. Was the hill really that steep, or was I just unnaturally afraid of hills at that time? Later on, in my early twenties, I lived and worked on Mackinac for part of a summer, and it was pretty wild. You take a bunch of kids just out of high school or still in college, or fugitives from early lost love affairs, blowing off steam in the ’70s at the start of the summertime. But besides all the drinking and partying, a Toga party even, I remember us all thrilling to the sunsets, and seeing the Northern Lights one night, and a moonlight ride around the island. I wish I’d known back then of my family’s ties to the Straights of Mackinac area through our Ojibwe ancestors, and not by a long shot least, I wish I’d stuck around on the Island to continue those friendships that had gotten started. But just to end this one on a kind of funny note, I remember one day my roommate up there came back from exploring some of the unused rooms in our hotel (I think), with some memorabilia from the movie Somewhere In Time that had been shot there, and a nice ladies razor for me, along with a ton of replacement blades. These razors and replacements had been sitting forgotten about in drawers for some years in the hotel. (And they really were not ours to take, but we were young and they seemed abandoned I guess. I’m not saying it was right, though.) But, I just remember thinking, “Wow, I will never ever have to buy razors again!” Well, this was not the case, but they did last for about fifteen years.

Divided back, unused postcard. Circa 1950s. From photo by Benjamin’s Photo Art Service, Mackinac Island, Michigan. Publisher info:  Genuine Curteich-Chicago “C.T. Art-Colortone” Post Card (Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.)

Price:  $6.00

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Categories: Animals, Buggies Carts Carriages Wagons and Stagecoaches, Horses, Postcards, Postcards Unused

Near Nashville, Michigan

Posted on September 6th, 2014 by

Near Nashville Michigan pc1Near Nashville Michigan pc2

“Dowling, District RFD No. 2, Kenyon. March 13, 1910…My Dearest Cousins, Frank, Dora; Ella and the dear little baby. How are you all to day. We are here on the farm and like it real well so far. We are liveing with the people untill they get our new house done. by by, love & kisses. Pearl and Orla. do write soon”

Card addressed to:  “Mrs. Frank Simmons, Grand Rapids, Mich., 355-S Ionia St.”

Well, I love it when the sender or addressee can be found right away in census records, and this was one of those heavenly quick finds. Frank Simmons and wife Catherine are on the 1910 Federal Census taken in Grand Rapids at the above address. Both born in Michigan, Frank is about 47 years old, and Catherine (Dora on the 1900 census) about 39. In the household with them are daughter Ella Finney, about age 18, born MI; her husband George, a waiter at a restaurant, about age 20, born MI; their five month old son Leroy, born Iowa; and boarders Earle (or Carle?) Smith, machine helper, age about 24, born MI; Fred Mosher, carpenter, age about 33, born Indiana; and Peter Fagan, Western Union messenger boy, age about 16, born New York. Many of the men on this census page are working for the railroad, and I don’t know exactly what is meant by this but some entries say “Railroad Shops” which is the case for Frank Simmons, Earle Smith and Fred Mosher.

Dowling, Michigan is located in Barry County, in driving time about an hour southeast of Grand Rapids, and Nashville, Michigan is about twenty minutes northeast of Dowling.

Regarding the senders:  Another easy find; they are Pearl and Orla Kenyon. (Ahhh, they were putting their return address with their name at the top of the card.) Orla is doing general farm labor. Since their ages were so difficult to read on this census I went to the 1920. The 1920, taken in Thornapple, Barry County, MI shows:  Clark O. Kenyon, age about 47, wife Pearl M., age about 43 and children Margaret, Arthur, Ralph, Forest and Sydney (ages ranging from 16 down to 7.) The whole family is listed as being born in Michigan, although on the 1910, Orla is listed as being born in New York. Where were the kids on this 1910 census? Well, they must of been staying elsewhere till the family got into their permanent place, as there is a second 1910 census taken on April 27th in Thornapple Township. In rechecking the 1910 without the children, that one shows it was taken on May 11th. Maybe the parents were still in the process of moving and so still shown on the temporary address a couple of weeks later.

As to the front of the postcard, which has the caption “Scene Near Nashville, Michigan,” it’s not of the highest quality (and I really bought it because I love birch bark stuff) but the design is nice, showing a birch bark tableau peeled back to reveal a lake scene with a rowboat moored on the bank. This is definitely not the first card with a birch bark motif, so it must have been somewhat in vogue for a while, a holdover perhaps from the days when it was actually used to write on (and am making a new category on this website.)

Just as a side note, and as alluded to above, Clark Orla Kenyon’s place of birth on these census records is varying (rather amusing) from Wisconsin to New York to Michigan.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked March 15, 1910 from Dowling, Michigan. Publisher unknown. Number or series 3771.

Price:  $15.00

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Grand Rapids Ward 1, Kent, Michigan; Roll: T624_656; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 0052; FHL microfilm: 1374669. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Baltimore, Barry, Michigan; Roll: T624_636; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0036; FHL microfilm: 1374649. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Thornapple, Barry, Michigan; Roll: T625_756; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 63; Image: 585. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1900; Census Place: Grand Rapids Ward 12, Kent, Michigan; Roll: 723; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0089; FHL microfilm: 1240723. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Thornapple, Barry, Michigan; Roll: T624_636; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0052; FHL microfilm: 1374649. (Ancestry.com)

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Categories: Birch bark motif, Postcards, Postcards Used