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

I Ain’t Nobody’s Sweetheart Yet!

Posted on June 27th, 2014 by

I Aint Nobodys Sweetheart Yet pc1 (1)I Aint Nobodys Sweetheart Yet pc2

Divided back, artist-signed, used postcard. Postmarked March 1921 from Fresno, California. Publisher:  Edward Gross Co., New York. Comic No. 25. “Smile Messengers.”

Availability status:  SOLD

Adorable cutie in white dress with pink polka dots and wearing a big pink bow in her hair. The caption is  “I ain’t nobody’s Sweetheart yet!”  This postcard, as the printing on the front states, is from a painting by C. H. Twelvetrees. For more information about the artist see the prior post.

The sender wrote,  “Dear Sis:  Your letter received today. Keep an eye on that job. I will come at once if there is any chance. If there was only two jobs why say I missed any thing. I wouldn’t have seen them any way. Has Alice moved yet? Calla[?] has been here all afternoon. I am going to spend all day Thurs. with her. Write again soon. Love from Bess.”

Card addressed to  “Miss Ella Ellison. 1314 F St., Sacramento, Calif.”  and is another from the Alice Ellison Collection.

Tags: , ,
Categories: Children, People, Postcards, Postcards Artist Signed, Postcards Used, The Alice Ellison Collection

Charles Henry Twelvetrees (1872 -1948)

Posted on June 26th, 2014 by

Charles H. Twelvetrees is well-known to vintage postcard, and ephemera collectors in general for his many illustrations, mainly of chubby-cheeked children, which often are shown with funny captions. I put up the two examples that I have from postcards below (cropped and cleaned up a little in Photoshop.) His work can also be found on magazine covers, in newspapers, on calendars, and as valentines of that era. To mention a couple of particular examples, he was the illustrator for a children’s story by Seymour Eaton, called “Prince Domino and ‘Muffles’ ” and he did a comic strip called “Johnny Quack and the Van Cluck Twins.” (Some accounts say Van Cluck Sisters which, unless the strip name was changed at some point, is incorrect. Images can be found online of the comic strip showing the last word in the title as “Twins” not “Sisters.”) It’s also interesting to note that the 1900 Federal Census shows Charles’ occupation as “portrait artist.”

After looking online for information about this artist (for the prior post) and finding conflicting information, which some others have also been questioning, namely the year of birth, that there was also a Charles R., that the father of Charles was also an artist, I decided to make a list of online records to try to see if I could find some answers. I also noticed speculation about a Hollywood connection for a possible son of Charles Twelvetrees.

So, it was funny, but after doing quite a bit of research, I came across a website for someone who has written a book about the artist, author Robert William Mellberg. So, I will not go into great detail here, as Mr. Mellberg, who has done years of research, as opposed to my ummm week (shaking head and chuckling) will be the authority. A good lesson learned:  If someone is well-known, there’s probably already been a book written about them! But anyway, I did want to post something as there are so many examples online of the incorrect information for Charles H. Twelvetrees, and so am putting this up in the hope that it will help in the correction process.

It’s the 1920 U.S. Federal Census for Manhattan, New York that shows the wrong year of birth of 1888. Charles’ age is listed incorrectly there as 37. The best source for his date of birth from the census records is the 1900 record which states he was born July 1872, and the other census’ collaborate this year, being exact or a year off.

Charles’ father, Henry Twelvetrees, was a carpenter. There are simply scads of records that show this: both federal and state census’, as well as many Utica, New York city directories and at least one New York City directory, and none of those records show a middle initial. So, Henry never worked as an artist in the context that we’re looking at here. (Although perhaps he was an “artist” in the field of carpentry. And it’s interesting to see that on one of Henry’s census records (1910) he is listed as a carpenter in the shipbuilding industry.) But the “R” as a middle initial for Charles or Henry or anyone else that one could try to attribute to the art in question is incorrect. (See Mr. Mellberg’s website listed below for more on that.)

According to author, Robert W. Mellberg, artist Charles H. Twelvetrees was married three times (I had found two.) His second marriage was to Rose B. Clark, and they had one son, Clark Twelvetrees. Clark married Helen Marie Jurgens. Helen was married several times but kept her first married name, and is better known as Hollywood and stage actress, Helen Twelvetrees.

Update: See the comment posted – Charles’ third wife was Vera Albert.

As a side note, the 1905 New York State Census for Manhattan, New York shows Charles and wife (Rose) living at the address given of 37/45 West 22nd St. Living at the same address, which is presumably an apartment building or buildings, are ten other artists, two of whom are women. I just find this interesting. Their names as they appear on this record are:

Henry B. Snell, William H. Lippencott, Arthur Cushing, Frederick T.[?] Richards, William H. Drake, Augustus R.[?] Whytal, Walter D.[?] Sewall, Francis Pauling, Eleanor Bell, Flinker Augustine.

Here are the images from the two Charles Twelvetrees postcards that I have, as stated above (cropped and cleaned up a little). And please see the first source listed below for author Mellberg’s website, and detailed information about the artist, including a photo taken of him while he was working.

Nobodys Sweetheart YetFresno Girl

Sources:  Mellberg, Robert W., The Life and Works of Charles H. Twelvetrees, Artist – Illustrator. Web. 25 Jun 2014. https://usartworks.us/c-h-twelvetrees/

Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855.

“New York, State Census, 1875,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VNJ3-JY6 : accessed 25 Jun 2014), Henry Twelvetsus, Utica, Oneida, New York, United States; citing p. 23, line 19, State Library, Albany; FHL microfilm 1435185.

Year: 1880; Census Place: New York City, New York, New York; Roll: 877; Family History Film: 1254877; Page: 377D; Enumeration District: 223; Image: 0176.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll: 1095; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0307; FHL microfilm: 1241095.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York; Roll: T624_1021; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0514; FHL microfilm: 1375034. (Ancestry.com)

“New York, State Census, 1915,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K9P2-LPD : accessed 25 Jun 2014), Rose Twelftree, Southampton, Suffolk, New York, United States; from “New York, State Census, 1915,” index and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing state population census schedules, 1915, p. 09, line 22, New York State Archives, Albany.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Manhattan Assembly District 7, New York, New York; Roll: T625_1198; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 567; Image: 159. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1930; Census Place: Bronx, Bronx, New York; Roll: 1488; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0661; Image: 802.0; FHL microfilm: 2341223. (Ancestry.com)

“United States Census, 1940,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KQS6-PSJ : accessed 24 Jun 2014), Charles H Twelvetrees, Assembly District 7, Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 31-576, sheet 3A, family , NARA digital publication of T627, roll 2636.

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989

Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Marriage Indexes 1866-1937

Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Death Index, 1862-1948

National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 (Ancestry.com)

Anna Twelvetrees obituary, New York, New York. The New York Times, 4 Jan 1903. Web. Accessed 24 Jun 2014. [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F00E3DF1F3DEE32A25757C0A9679C946297D6CF]

Holtz, Allan. blog “Stripper’s Guide”  article “Obscurity of the Day:  Prince Domino and Muffles” Web. 24 Jun 2014. [http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2007/01/obscurity-of-day-prince-domino-and.html]

http://www.alamy.com/stock-photos/BJCGN4/Johnny-Quack-and-the-Van-Cluck-Twins-by-Charles-H-Twelvetrees.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Twelvetrees

Tags: , , , ,
Categories: Postcard Artists

Why Don’t You Come To Fresno

Posted on June 21st, 2014 by

Why Dont You Come To Fresno pc1Why Dont You Come To Fresno pc2

Divided back, artist-signed, used postcard. Postmarked from Fresno, California May 22, 1917. Publisher S. Bergman. Series or number 1060.

Price:  $8.00.  Besides the usual wear, this card has some soil marks on the little girl’s face.

In keeping with the prior post, here’s another one having to do with the city of Fresno, with the caption reading, “Why don’t you come to Fresno, Cal.”  This is one of many that was produced using this same theme, with the city and state in a flag or pennant, though the designs and publishers vary. This one happens to be an artist-signed postcard by Charles Twelvetrees of a painting or drawing of a cute little girl in a pink dotted dress and straw hat with blue bow. A copyright logo appears at the bottom left of the front of the card which is hard to read, but others online have identified the publisher as S. Bergman (indeed the last name is discernible after knowing what to look for.) The copyright here looks like 1917. The card is addressed to:   “Miss Henrietta Ellison, Sacramento. Calif. 1314  F st.”  

The sender writes (this is good):   “Dear Henry. Do you think you could come here – alone if Ma will let you or maby you dont wont[want] to come do you?  Dos.   yes. no. no  yes”  (Love the yes no no yes part.)  “Dos” is short for Dossie. This is one of many from our “Alice Ellison Collection.”

The artist:  Charles H. Twelvetrees was born in New York, about 1872 or 1873. A separate post will be up within the next couple of days on him, as there has been some confusion owing to what seems to be an incorrect middle initial of R, and whether his father was or was not also an artist. There are lots of online records to dig into for clarification, and we’ll get there in just a jiffy.

Tags: , ,
Categories: Children, Hats, Postcards, Postcards Artist Signed, Postcards Used, The Alice Ellison Collection

Gene Balch in Fresno, California

Posted on June 21st, 2014 by

Gene Balch 1Gene Balch 2

Oval studio portrait of a handsome gentleman in a dark suit jacket with a white or light-colored patterned vest, white tie and wingtip style collar. He is identified on the back as Gene Balch. This is very likely Albert Eugene Balch, who according to the U. S. City Directories, Voter Registrations and U. S. Federal Census records, had a long career in the school system in Fresno, as principal of Emerson, Washington Junior High, Longfellow Junior High, and was also Assistant or Deputy Commissioner for the Superintendent of Schools (at least approx. 1914 – 1917.) Born in Kansas, about 1874, he appears to be the same person as on the 1880 Federal Census taken in Chase County, KS with parents Albert and Almira Balch, and other household members Elliot, Carrie, Mary and Homer. Fresno city directories show many entries starting in 1906, and voter reg as early as 1894. (The 1900 Fresno directory shows an Albert and an A. E. Balch, living in Oleander with occupations for both given as farmer. This may be Albert Eugene and his dad.) The 1910 census in Fresno shows wife Mary (married about 1898); the 1930 shows Albert E. Balch with wife Mary, and their daughter Nellie. A 1935 city directory shows Albert is married to second wife Cydney (various spellings). By the 1940 census, Albert, Cidney and Nellie are living in Santa Cruz, California; no occupation for Albert E., so he is likely retired by then.

As for the photography studio, the signature shows “Maxwell & Mudge, Fresno, Cal.”  This studio opened in about 1898 when John Franklin Maxwell took in A. C. Mudge as partner. More detailed information on the photographers will be put up under a separate post.

Price:  $25.00  Size including cardboard matting: About 8 and 3/4 x 5 and 3/4″  Circa early 1900s.

Sources:  Year: 1880; Census Place:  , Chase, Kansas; Roll: 375; Family History Film: 1254375; Page: 284D; Enumeration District: 149. Year: 1910; Census Place: Township 3, Fresno, California; Roll: T624_76; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0030; FHL microfilm: 1374089. Year: 1930; Census Place: Fresno, Fresno, California; Roll: 116; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0027; Image: 836.0; FHL microfilm: 2339851. Year: 1940; Census Place: Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California; Roll: T627_342; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 44-7. (Ancestry.com)

California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 – 2A; CSL Roll Number: 14; FHL Roll Number: 976462.  For Fresno, California. 1894 – 1896. (Ancestry.com)

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989  for Fresno, California. 1904 – 1938.

Vandor, Paul E. History of Fresno County, California with Biographical Sketches. Los Angeles: Historical Record Company, 1919. p. 2574. Web. Accessed 20 Jun 2014.

Tags: , , , ,
Categories: Old Photos, Photos With Names

Oh, You Lollypop!

Posted on June 20th, 2014 by

Oh You Lollypop pc1Oh You Lollypop pc2

Divided back, used postcard. Sent from Pontiac, Michigan on April 28th, year unknown. Publisher:  Samson Brothers. Series 257. Made in the U. S. A. Circa 1909 – 1916.

Availability status:  SOLD

“Oh, You Lollypop! Such is life – some gets the Lollypops and I gets the stick!”

It looks like Mae, the sender of this card, was an optimist, as underneath the above caption she (or someone) wrote  “Not so.”  Sent April 28th from Pontiac, Michigan, but the year didn’t show up. Addressed to:  “Miss Effie S. Kidd, Davisburg, Mich.”  The sender wrote:

“Dear Effie  I got my permission and will meet you Thurs. – if you come. How are you coming. Did you get your trunk allright.  Mae”

There is an Effie S. Kidd who was married May 8, 1916 in Springfield, Oakland County, Michigan. Springfield is actually Springfield Township, and Davisburg is located in Springfield Township, so this would be the same Effie S. Kidd for this marriage as the addressee on this postcard. The marriage data shows Effie, age about 22, born in Detroit, daughter of William Kidd and Christena Barclay. Now, the interesting thing (relating to this postcard) is that Effie married Sydney T. Lillycrop, age about 23, born London, England, son of George Lillycrop and Eliza Outen. Lollypop/Lillycrop – Humorous definitely, coincidental perhaps, or by design? Did Mae choose this card on purpose because Effie had confided to Mae that she liked Sydney, or Effie and Sydney were boyfriend and girlfriend already? The imagination runs wild. Maybe Sydney was dating someone else, Effie was upset (like the little girl on the postcard) and Mae was telling her don’t worry, you’ll get him (some gets the lollypop and I gets the stick – Not so.) It’s funny, though.

The 1900 Federal Census taken in Royal Oak, Oakland County, Michigan shows Effie and her parents and siblings:  William and Christana Kidd, ages 43 and 38, both born in Scotland. William works for the railroad; the children are William, James, Robert F., Effie S., George, Annabell and Alfred. The two oldest children were born in Canada and the younger born in Michigan. Effie is listed as born January 1894, and this is confirmed in the Michigan birth records with the exact date as January 5th.

Taking into account Effie’s birth and marriage dates, we could estimate this card to be from about 1909 when she was around age 15, till right before her marriage in 1916.

Sources:  “Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N359-HV8 : accessed 19 Jun 2014), Sydney T. Lillycrop and Effie S. Kidd, 08 May 1916; citing Springfield, Oakland, Michigan, v 4 p 256 rn 158, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2342717.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Royal Oak, Oakland, Michigan; Roll: 735; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0105; FHL microfilm: 1240735. (Ancestry.com)

“Michigan, Births and Christenings, 1775-1995,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F42H-2VM : accessed 20 Jun 2014), Effie S. Kidd, 05 Jan 1894; citing Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, reference bk30 pg89 cn1332; FHL microfilm 1377671.

Tags: , , , , ,
Categories: Children, Humorous, Postcards, Postcards Used

Auburn Ski Club 1930

Posted on June 18th, 2014 by

Auburn Ski Club p1Auburn Ski Club p2

Three pals pose next to their car, which is one of a long line of cars that are lined up at the side of the road. (I feel redundant here but oh, well.) The writing on the back says  “Auburn Ski Club 1930.”  It looks like this might have been taken on the way back home, after the fellas got some good skiing in. You’ll notice the snow in the background, but that the guys don’t have their winter jackets on. Auburn is Auburn, California, located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains…. In keeping with the tradition of identifying vehicle types on this website, the car in the foreground will be researched (more) to try to figure it out. (What would you think the rope attached to the steering wheel was for?)

The Auburn Ski Club still exists today. The Western SkiSport Museum was founded in 1969 by the ski club, and there are all kinds of fascinating facts and photos and exhibits to be found there. The second website listed below is The Donner Summit Historical Society: tons of cool (no pun intended) stuff in there, too.

The condition of this 1930 photo is not the greatest: There are some indentations in the photo, and if you enlarge it you will see that it’s a little out of focus. But it’s still a great photo of three friends and a great piece of Western skiing history.

Price:  $17.00  Size:  About 2 and 3/4 x 4 and 1/2″

Sources and related reading:  http://auburnskiclub.com/ski-museum/

http://www.donnersummithistoricalsociety.org/PDFs/newsletters/news12/December12.pdf

Tags: ,
Categories: Automobiles Buses Trucks, Mysteries, Old Photos, Photos Without Names

Lost In Thought

Posted on June 17th, 2014 by

What A Face pc1What A Face pc2

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused, deckled-edge. Publisher unknown. Series or number 990. Circa possibly 1930s to 1950s.

Price:  $20.00

Originally I was going to give this post the title “What A Face” because well, just look at that face – you just want to hug him. But the translation from German for the caption  “In Gedanken versunken”  is “Lost in thought.”  (Awww!) that’s great, too. And I hope someone corrects me if I’m wrong, but I believe this guy is a Wire Fox Terrier.

The stamp box mark for this one says “Echte Photographie.” This seems somewhat confusing as echte is German for “real” and photographie is French for “photography.” Why use both languages? Ahhh, echte is also “real” in Dutch, so perhaps this was printed in Belgium, as Dutch, French and German are the three official languages of the Kingdom of Belgium. Anyway, we know from the stamp box that the card is a Real Photo Postcard. Trying to pin down a date is another matter:  There are variations in the design of these two words in stamp boxes. The excellent Playle’s website (playle.com) shows examples and at first (yikes!) I almost thought I saw the same mark of the cursive words in an oval which is a known 1953 stamp box, but thankfully noticed that ours here is a bit different, (a good reminder to not be too tired when doing these.) The main difference in ours here is that the line in the “e” in photographie extends all the way to the surrounding oval. Here’s the stamp box itself and the unknown printer or publisher logo that appears in the bottom left with either the series or number of the card beneath it. This one will go in the mystery pile to hopefully get clarification on later.

Echte Photographie Stamp BoxPrinter or Publisher logo for E P stamp box

Sources:   http://www.playle.com/realphoto/photod.php

http://www.feldgrau.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=8096

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Belgium

Tags: , , , ,
Categories: Animals, Dogs, Mysteries, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards

New Hat

Posted on June 16th, 2014 by

New Hat pc1New Hat pc2

Young woman posing with her new hat for the camera. At least this is the story that comes to mind with this photo. The hat itself is a little hard to determine (not being a hat expert) but perhaps it is straw. It does seem to have a band of flowers above the brim, but what is that to the right, a bow? or part of the garden type setting of the background? In any case it’s a lovely photo of a beautiful and happy young woman. We tip our hat to her!

Real Photo Postcard. Divided back. Unused. AZO stamp box, circa 1907 – 1918.

Price:  $6.00

Tags: , ,
Categories: Hats, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards

Birthday Greetings From Mabel

Posted on June 15th, 2014 by

Birthday Greetings From Mabel pc1Birthday Greetings From Mabel pc2

Divided back, used postcard. Series 249 C. Publisher:  L S C. Postmarked April 1916 at Weatherly, Pennsylvania

Price:  $8.00

There was no luck researching this one with just an initial for the last name for the sender and the common first name back then, of Mabel, and with the removal of the stamp having taken off the rest of the receiver’s last name. (Nothing showing in White Haven for John Go..?..) Anyway the sender wrote:  “Dear Cousin, Just a line too let you know we are all well hope you are all the same. I recd the letter will anser later wish you a Happy birthday and many more. suppose Edna will be home on Sunday but I am not sure Ma said you should try too get her some good bush or pole beans and bring her a few over for seed. hope you will be over soon. will look for you’s over on Sunday. with Love too all. ans soon   Mabel L.

Addressed to:  “Mr. John Go..?…, White Haven, Penna. R F D # 1.”

The front is beautiful, showing some old roses in dark and light pink with some background colors of tan and blue and a very vibrant yellow. The font for the message “Birthday Greetings” is stylish and delicate.

Tags: , , ,
Categories: Birthday, Flowers, Postcards, Postcards Used

Indian War Dancer

Posted on June 15th, 2014 by

Indian War Dancer pc1Indian War Dancer pc2

Divided back, unused postcard with writing. Publisher and distributor:  Bob Petley, Phoenix, Arizona. From a Kodachrome original by Ray Manley of Western Ways. Made in the U.S.A. Series or number K140. Photo circa early 1950s. Postcard circa 1963.

Price:  $5.00

The caption on the back states:  “Indian War Dancer. Bedecked in brilliant feathers, paint and beads, these tireless dancers carry on the same tribal rituals practiced by their forefathers who inhabited the southwest long before the coming of the white man.”

The website for the Arizona Historical Society has information on the company Western Ways, and mentions the photographer of this photo, Ray Manley. Western Ways was founded in Montana as a “loose association of photographers and writers” in the late 1930s by Charles W. Herbert, who ran the company, along with his wife Lucile, until the late 1970s. After WWII the company re-started in Tucson, Arizona and expanded to a photo-production agency and plant, portrait studio and a base for Herbert’s film and television projects. The company’s top photographers, Ray Manley and Naurice Koonce left Western Ways in 1954 when the company downsized, so the photo used for this postcard was taken maybe ten or so years earlier than the circa 1963 or maybe early ’60s postcard production date.

Source:  “The Western Ways Feature Files Collection” Arizona Historical Society. Web. 15 June 2014. [http://www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/upLoads/library_Western-Ways.pdf]

Tags: ,
Categories: Indians, First Nations, Alaska Natives and Other Indigenous Peoples, Men, People, Photographers, Postcards, Postcards Unused With Writing, The Alice Ellison Collection, Traditional Costumes