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

Photo Day

Posted on May 17th, 2014 by

Christening Day pc1Christening Day pc2

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

Price:  $10.00

The divided back plus AZO stamp box, with all four triangles pointing up, places this Real Photo Postcard at around 1907 – 1918. We can tell the original photo was of the studio variety from the fake backdrop; it’s a charmer of a youngish mother and father with their infant son or daughter. The child wears a white gown and a very unusual bonnet with sides that stick out. (We wonder how the child felt about that bonnet later on!) The woman wears a short-sleeved corduroy dress with lace applied at the sleeves and in a “V” at the neck, a large-brimmed hat, and gloves. The man wears a pin-striped, three-piece suit and tie. We can see that his shirt collar is of the pointed, turned down variety. A shadow was produced in the photo from the collar that is not laying flat. He wears a hat with a short brim that is perched back on his head, maybe because he was having his photo taken, and we can see the shine on his right shoe and notice the side buttons. Also, if you look closely at this photo you will see the stuffed animal that the child is holding; it looks like a lion, and you’ll notice that the mother is making sure the lion stays in one place for the photo. We might imagine that this photo could have been taken after the child’s christening, or perhaps it was part of the family’s Sunday excursion to the park, after attending church.

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Categories: Children, Hats, Photos Without Names, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards

The Conversation

Posted on May 17th, 2014 by

The Conversation pc1The Conversation pc2

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher unknown. Date circa 1910 – 1920.

Price:  $4.00

Unusual postcard scene of a girl on a pony, talking with a boy that is standing a little bit in front of them. The boy and girl appear to be having a conversation, and the scene takes place on a dirt road with the houses or other buildings of the community behind them, and in the background some snow covered mountains. For some reason this scene reminds me of Eastern Europe, but it could depict a number of different locations around the world. The image is round and surrounded by a gold-tone border with white – how does one describe these designs? I’ve seen a similar design once or twice before on other postcards – they remind me of thistle. I like this card because of it’s unusual theme and design, and the slightly optical illusion effect of the circle going off the postcard.

Update Sept. 2015:  The scene’s location mystery appears to have been solved. No, it does not match this web author’s fanciful Eastern Europe impression; as it turns out it is much closer to home – the Pacific Northwest. See River Logging Stereoview.

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Categories: Animals, Children, Horses, Postcards, Postcards Unused

Beautiful Mother And Daughter

Posted on May 16th, 2014 by

Beautiful Mother And Daughter p1

Oval studio photo, with decorative border, mounted on heavy cardboard. Date:  circa 1890 – 1900. Size:  About 6 x 4″

Price:  $15.00

A gorgeous oval studio photo found in Salinas, California of a mother and daughter. I love their beautiful expressions and how the mom is looking off to her right and the baby looking into the camera. At first glance I thought the little girl’s cap was polka dot but if you enlarge the view you will see that it was made from lace, and her ruffled high-neck dress is adorable. The mom’s lace blouse is just as lovely. Mother and daughter both wear pendants, and the mom has a perfume vial attached at the waist; it is of a simple design, perhaps of crystal or glass with a sterling silver top. These scent bottles were one of the many items that could have been worn on a chatelaine (used during the 16th – 19th centuries.) Dictionary.com describes a chatelaine as  “a hook-like clasp or chain for suspending keys, trinkets, scissors, a watch, etc. worn at the waist by women.”  Check out the photos of chatelaines online, like the ones shown in this Pinterest collection listed below in sources. (Wow, absolutely incredible!) ….We can’t  forget to mention the woman’s hat in this photo, a very high affair which jaunts off to one side, and so tall that the top part was cut out of the photo. It might have included feathers, maybe ostrich, though it is a little hard to tell.

Sources:  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chatelaine

http://www.pinterest.com/mysweetbebe/chatelaines/

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Categories: Children, Hats, Lace and Crochet Work, Photos Without Names

A Family In 1904

Posted on May 15th, 2014 by

A Family In 1904 pc1A Family In 1904 pc2

Real Photo Postcard of two women and two men, names unknown, possibly siblings, posing for the photo. The women are wearing wide-brimmed hats. The photo is on the blurry side. Too bad or we would be better able to see those stylish hats, but it’s a great photo anyway, of some very nice-looking people, and written on the front of the card is the date of July 3, 1904. This is from the pre-divided back era, and the back shows the logo of an eagle with a shield. Incidentally, July 3rd, 1904 was a Sunday.

Real Photo Postcard, non-divided back, not postmarked. Dated July 3, 1904. Publisher or printer unknown. Location unknown.

Price:  $4.00

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Categories: Hats, Photos Without Names, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards

Scene On The Creek, Columbia MO

Posted on May 15th, 2014 by

Scene On The Creek Columbia MO pc1Scene On The Creek Columbia MO pc2

1906 postcard addressed to:  “Miss Allie Bryant, Brunswick Mo.”

The sender wrote,  “Be sure to make it a point to come see me some time. If there is an excursion come[?]. Give the girls at the store my love and tell Edith I’m awfully sorry I didn’t get to see her before I left. Write me some more letters please.  [?] C. Margaret F.[?]   314 Hitt St. Columbia Mo.”

The U. S. City Directories for Columbia in 1909 show a Miss Margaret Faller rooming at 314 Hitt St; a student at the University of Missouri. She is also listed in the U of M school yearbook Savitar in 1909, as of member of the Home Economics Club, estimated born 1889. (No photo, darn!) Impossible to say for sure, but it would be a good bet that this Margaret would be the same person that wrote this postcard to her friend, Allie. Allie Bryant was found in the Federal Census records for 1900 and 1910; two census records for 1910 actually, which is somewhat unusual, but not unheard of.

One of the 1910s shows Allie and her family living in Brunswick, Chariton County, Missouri:  parents Daniel A. (occupation farmer) and Bettie W. Bryant; children Allie B., (born Missouri about 1885, saleswoman for a general merchandise store), Edna A., Louis M., Harry C., and Earle F. The other 1910 census, taken in Triplett, Chariton County, shows Allie is boarding with head of household Nora B. Allega[?] and others, and working as a sales lady in a general store. Both census records were taken in April, about a week apart, so Allie may have just been visiting her family when she was listed on that census. But, her occupation coincides with friend Margaret’s request to be remembered to the girls at the store.

The creek in the photo is another matter entirely. Which local tributary was called “the creek”? Nothing was found to shed any light on this subject as of the date of this posting.

Non-divided back postcard, postmarked September 28, 1906, from Columbia, Missouri.

Price:  $10.00

Sources:  Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line].

Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Various school yearbooks from across the United States.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Brunswick, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: 847; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0029; FHL microfilm: 1240847. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Brunswick Ward 1, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: T624_776; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0030; FHL microfilm: 1374789. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Triplett, Chariton, Missouri; Roll: T624_776; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0045; FHL microfilm: 1374789.  (Ancestry.com)

 

 

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Categories: Postcards, Postcards Used

Greetings From Hamilton, Ontario

Posted on May 12th, 2014 by

Greetings From Hamilton Ontario pc1Greetings From Hamilton Ontario pc2

Divided back, linen, used postcard. Postmarked August 22, 1954 from Hamilton, Ontario. Published by Royalty Specialty Sales, 118 Queen E., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A Colourpicture Publication. Made in Canada.

Price:  $5.00

“Greetings From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada”

Beautiful Linen, Large Letter postcard from our Alice Ellison Collection, addressed to:  “Mr. & Mrs. G. Hume, 2100 Virginia St., Berkeley, Calif. USA” 

The sender wrote:  “Dear Mr. & Mrs. Hume. Here I am in Hamilton after a lovely trip. I hope you are both in the best of health. Will write you when I get settled   Love, Jean Leslie”

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Categories: Large Letter Postcards, Linens, Postcards, Postcards Used, The Alice Ellison Collection

Greetings From Los Angeles, Cal.

Posted on May 12th, 2014 by

Greetings From Los Angeles Cal pc1Greetings From Los Angeles Cal pc2

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Printed in Germany. Postmarked 1910 from Los Angeles, California. Series 506. Publisher unknown.

Price:  $5.00

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

The sender wrote:  “I sent the eye medicine today by Wells Fargo express. I paid the full charges on it so don’t you pay any more.  Dossie”

Lovely German-printed postcard from 1910 from which the stamp had been removed. I’m thinking that the flowers are probably asters. The Wells Fargo reference is interesting. In 1910 the Wells Fargo Wagon (like in the song from The Music Man) would have been delivering goods all over the country. Their website states that in 1910 “the company’s network linked 6,000 locations.” And the Wells Fargo blog listed below indicates that in 1910 motorized trucks started being used in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Orange, New Jersey, so the delivery referenced on this postcard must of been of the horse-drawn wagon variety.

Sources:  https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/history/adventure/since_1852

Riggs, C. (2014, March 28). The Road Ahead: Wells Fargo and Trucking. [Blog] Guided by History. Retrieved from: https://blogs.wellsfargo.com/guidedbyhistory/2014/03/trucking/ [Accessed 11 May. 2014]

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Categories: Flowers, Postcards Used, The Alice Ellison Collection

Pikes Peak Avenue

Posted on May 11th, 2014 by

Pikes Peak Avenue pc1Pikes Peak Avenue pc2

Divided back, unused postcard. Date:  1961 – 1963. Publisher:  Sanborn Souvenir Co., Inc., Denver, Colorado. Series or no. 3579. No. 47388-B, Printed by Dexter, West Nyack, New York. Color by Coil.

Availability status:  SOLD

“#3579 – Pikes Peak Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Showing Antlers Hotel and Pikes Peak (alt. 14,110 ft.) in background.”

This is a wonderful early 1960s postcard. There’s so much to look at here and it’s just a really nice shot. Of the four cars in the foreground, left to right, (without spending too much time researching) starting with the white vehicle in the left hand corner, we have:  a ’61 Ford, a ’58 Ford Wagon, a ’57 Buick Special 2-Door Hardtop and a ’61 Chevy Impala….At the Ute movie theater All Hands On Deck (1961) was playing, starring Pat Boone, and the marquis advertised that the movie was in color. On the left, it looks like there was another theater, as we can see under the E A K (The Peak?) the marquis is advertising (looks like) Elizabeth Taylor starring in something – can’t read it. There are maybe two other movie theaters in the photo:  the Chief on the left for sure and on the right we can see what looks like another marquis behind the orange and white bus. Some of the other businesses showing in the photo are Bob’s Books, Fabric’s Inc., Arrow Hotel, Security Savings, and the Exchange National Bank.

The photo for this postcard would have be taken from 1961 – 1963, since the car in the far left corner is a 1961 (would have come out the same year) and the writing on the back of the card that says “1963.”

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Categories: Automobiles Buses Trucks, Postcards, Postcards Unused With Writing, The Alice Ellison Collection

Mary’s Little Lamb

Posted on May 11th, 2014 by

Marys Little Lamb pc1Marys Little Lamb pc2

“It followed her to school one day, Which was against the rule;”

Cute postcard showing the above caption from the children’s nursery rhyme,  “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”  Funny on our end here to look at the writing on the sign above the schoolhouse door – to wonder if there was an actual school name there, or something discernible (as in I wonder what the artist was thinking…)  Anyway, this card appears to be addressed to:  “Mrs. N. Oldham, Santa Clara, Cal.”  The sender wrote,

“Dear Nellie, your sweet letter came. I am glad your [?] is well  Arline.”  The sender Arline, had an unusual way of writing the cursive small “s.” You can see that the “s” in sweet is the same as the “s” in the word that looks like “siz” and appears to be the same for the “s” in the word that appears to be “Mrs.” in the address line. Maybe it’s “siz” as is sister. There is also writing on the front in the border, but it’s very difficult to make out. The part that is legible is  “…I will write you a letter as soon as I…”  The unusual thing about this postcard is that it was stamped in three different cities. It must of went from Piedmont to Oakland to Santa Clara.

There is a Nellie Oldham in Santa Clara on the Federal Census in 1900, age 4, living with her father, William Riley Oldham and older brother William. The family is staying with Nellie’s grandparents, George and Isobel Oldham. In 1888, George and Isobel’s son, William Riley Oldham, married Nellie Grant Hite. William R. is listed as married on the 1900 census but his wife is not listed. This could have been incorrectly recorded, as the census taker mistakenly recorded the grandchildren as children. There are Ancestry family trees that show a death date for Nellie Grant (Hite) Oldham (Nellie’s mother) as 1897, so prior to the census, and in Santa Clara, but no sources are listed. William Riley Oldham is found on the 1920 census and listed there as widowed. If the Nellie on the 1900 census was the receiver of this card, she would have been about twelve in 1908, but it’s just speculation that this postcard has any connection to her. The difficulty is that the card seems to have been addressed to Mrs. N. Oldham, (Nellie’s mother.) ….The son William Oldham is William Riley Oldham, Jr. and his passport photo can be found online.

Divided back postcard. Three postmarks:  Sender’s location of Piedmont, California on January 20, 1908; stamped the same day in Oakland, California; and at the receiver’s location of Santa Clara, California on January 21, 1908. American Post Cards “Mary And Her Lamb” Series No. 67, No. 1761. Publisher:  The Ullman Manufacturing Co., New York.

Source:  Year: 1900; Census Place: Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California; Roll: 111; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0078; FHL microfilm: 1240111. (Ancestry.com)

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Categories: Animals, Postcards, Postcards Used

Benedetto Busetto Bieletto, Artist

Posted on May 10th, 2014 by

Pansies pc1

At this time, postcards for this artist are often showing up on other sites under “T. Bioletto” so if you are looking for other examples, be sure to try searching with the incorrect first initial or just under the last name. (Updated May 2, 2015.)

The above image with reverse side was recently posted under “Pansies.”  The artist’s signature can be seen on the bottom right of the postcard. The first initial or initials are hard to read but appear to be “B” or perhaps “B.B.”  After some extensive online searching under different possibilities for the initials (and even under a last name variation of Bieletta) I believe that the artist for this card (and quite a few others for sale or view online with this signature) is Benedetto Busetto Bieletto, born in Venice, Italy, November 4, 1869. The index card for his naturalization in the U.S. shows his date and country of birth; arrival in the United States as February 1, 1909; address at time of naturalization as 147 Oak St., Chicago, IL; and witnesses as Charles Reinach of 3726 Herndon St., and Michael Keber of 2135 N. Clark St.

There are a couple of references in the American Art Annual, one of which shows Bieletto’s city of birth as Venice.  The 1915 journal (under the heading of Who’s Who In Art), shows “Bieletto, Benedetto B.,  147 Oak St., Chicago, Ill. (P.)”  The “P” is for painter. And the 1918 shows,  “Bieletto, Benedetto Busetto, 3245 Broadway, Chicago, Ill. P.- Born in Venice, Italy, Nov. 4, 1869. Pupil of Pompeo.”  As to Pompeo, I was not able to find someone who would have been a contemporary of Bieletto under this name, so I believe this to be a reference to Pompeo Batoni (1708 – 1787), and that Bieletto studied the painting style of Pompeo:  being “a student of” rather than “a student under” him.

The 1920 Federal Census taken in Chicago, shows B. B. Bieletto, born in Italy of Italian-born parents; married (wife not on this census); address 2220 Calumet Ave; immigration to the United States about 1909; and the key piece of information:  artist for a photoengraving company.

So, where else should we look for more information? Perhaps the witnesses on the naturalization card will provide some help, as we might assume that one or both of these gentlemen may have worked with Bieletto, and from this maybe we can find Bieletto’s employer name, and verify that Bieletto had something to do with postcards.

Thankfully, Charles Reinach, born IL about 1869, shows up on the 1920 census in Chicago at the address of 3742 Herndon (close enough – he may have moved or the street number changed) and under the occupation of engraver, working at Chicago Eng. Co. (Chicago Engraving Company.) From this we’d assume this was either the name of the company or just the description set down by the census taker….With further research we learn that this is the actual company name, as it is found in various online references for photoengraving, and in a 1913 publication for railroad telegraphers, which lists photoengraving companies and shows the address of 533 Wabash Ave., Chicago. To add a little more weight to the photoengraver/postcard connection, the well-known postcard printer Curt, Teich & Co. is also listed there. So anyway, it’s likely that Bieletto also worked for the Chicago Engraving Company, at this time. A good description for photoengraving can be found in the excellent cycleback.com website, see last source below. Interestingly, Charles Reinach’s occupation on the 1930 census shows as illustrator for a label maker, so it looks like both Bieletto and Reinach were artists.

Michael Keber, the other witness to Bieletto’s naturalization, was found online but nothing showing relating to the photoengraving or postcard business. Keber, born Austria 1857,  became a naturalized citizen in 1913. The address on that record is the same as he records for himself on Bieletto’s record.

Looking further, we discover a Benedetto Bieletto mentioned along with two other Italian artists, Beppe Ciardi and Leonardo Bazzaro, in a German art journal, (thank goodness for online translation) in reference to their work showing Venice and the surrounding area. This publication is dated 1907, before Bieletto emigrated, and since he was born in Venice, it’s an excellent possibility that the artist mentioned there, and ours in question here, are one in the same.

Sources:   Levy, Florence N. (ed.) 1915. American Art Annual, Vol. 12. p. 324.  (Google eBook) 

Levy, Florence N. (ed.) 1917. American Art Annual, Vol. 14. p. 427. (Google eBook) 

Year: 1920; Census Place: Chicago Ward 1, Cook (Chicago), Illinois; Roll: T625_306; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 42; Image: 273. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Chicago Ward 25, Cook (Chicago), Illinois; Roll: T625_343; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 1500; Image: 491. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1930; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 488; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 1695; Image: 4.0; FHL microfilm: 2340223. (Ancestry.com)

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Soundex Index to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District and Circuit Courts, Northern District of Illinois and Immigration and Naturalization Service District 9, 1840-1950 (M1285); Microfilm Serial: M1285; Microfilm Rolls: 15 and 92. (Ancestry.com)

The Railroad Telegrapher, Vol. 13. 1913. St. Louis, Missouri. The Order of Railroad Telegraphers. p. 1665. (Google eBook)

Die Kunst. Monatshefte Für Freie und Angewandte Kunst. Fünfzehnter Band. München. 1907   Verlagsanstalt F. Bruckmann A. -G.  (editor?)  p. 469. (Google eBook)

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

http://www.cycleback.com/photoguide/digi.htm

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Categories: Postcard Artists