“This is no idle story,

Which now I sing to you,

In a sudden blaze of glory

Your ship will come to you.

This year she’s coming to you,

From out the Golden West,

And heavily she’s laden

With all that you love best.”

What a beauty! A 1907 postcard in great condition showing a gorgeous print of a painted scene of a couple of sailboats coming in to the harbor at sunset or sunrise, and above this in gold-tone  “A Happy New Year to you!”  On the right is the above verse in Old English style print; note the sun and rays inside the capital “T.” It’s not often that the verse shows the author, but this one lets us assume that it was Clare T. Baldwin who penned the lovely New Year’s wish. On the other hand, this could have been the artist (or artist and poet), based on some family tree research.

Inquiries are currently being made as to the identity of the author. There is an Emily T. Baldwin, born New York, about 1865, who shows up as a single woman, living with family, occupation Artist, in the 1910 Federal Census taken in Richmond, New York. This person is a possibility, based on an Ancestry.com private family tree for Emily Clarissia “Clare” T. Baldwin. The 1900 census for Richmond shows this same person under Clare T. Baldwin, artist, living with her family.

The sender’s signature is pretty hard to figure, but there is no doubt about the addressee, since it was typed, which is unusual. The card is addressed to:

“Mr. Jas. Flanagan, 2-29. 139 Central Ave., 2146. City.”  James Flanagan was much easier to locate. He is listed at 139 Central Ave on the 1910 census for San Fransisco which shows he was born Ireland, about 1856, occupation Buyer for a dry goods (company presumably); his wife Letitia R., born California, about 1871; and his daughter Letitia A., born California about 1894. Living with the Flanagans is lodger Margaret McCabe.

As far as the publisher information, the back of the card shows two names:  Ernest Nister of London and E.P. Dutton & Co. of New York. As it turns out these are two very well-known and researched names in the world of antique and vintage ephemera. Briefly, Ernest Nister was a German born printer and publisher known for his superior quality children’s books in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and known for his innovations in the pop-up and moveable picture book genre. Nister started in Nuremburg, Germany and branched out to London and New York. E. P. Dutton & Co. was an American book publishing company founded by bookseller Edward Payson Dutton in Boston in 1852. Dutton began publishing in 1864 and then relocated to New York in 1869. His company became one of the leading U.S. publishers and worked with many famous authors. In 1986 the company was acquired by The Penguin Group. Dutton was known as both distributor for Nister, and later as co-publisher. Many collectables in the form of books, calendars, holiday cards, postcards of either/or and both companies in tandem, can be found online. This particular example that we have for sale here was repeated in at least a couple of other designs that can be found online – in other words with the same general design of a verse in very fancy Old English style lettering and with a place at the bottom for the sender to sign his name.

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked December 31, 1907 from San Francisco, California. Publishers:  Ernest Nister, London and E.P. Dutton & Co., New York. Printed in Bavaria. No. 352.

Price:  $25.00

Sources:  “United States Census, 1900,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSLY-2J9 : accessed 3 January 2015), Cloe T Baldwin in household of James G Baldwin, Borough of Richmond New York City Ward 4, Richmond, New York, United States; citing sheet 4B, family 88, NARA microfilm publication T623, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 1,241,154.

Year: 1910; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 37, San Francisco, California; Roll: T624_99; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0173; FHL microfilm: 1374112

“Ernest Nister.” From  “A Brief History of Moveable Books.” UNT Libraries. Web accessed January 3, 2015. [http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/exhibits/popup2/nister.htm]

“E. P. Dutton & Company, Inc. Records.” Syracuse University Libraries Finding Aids. Web accessed January 3, 2015. [http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/e/ep_dutton.htm]

“Publisher – Ernest Nister/E.P. Dutton” Oct. 20, 2014. Vintage Valentine Museum. Web accessed January 3, 2015. [http://www.vintagevalentinemuseum.com/2014/10/publisher-ernest-nistere-p-dutton.html]

“Dutton.” Penguin.com. Web accessed January 3, 2015. [http://www.penguin.com/meet/publishers/dutton/]