Happy in Winter

Real Photo postcard, unused. Cyko stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1920s.

Price:  $4.00

No name or location on the back, as you can see, and I think I just bought this one because the card made me happy. An older gentlemen in either a fur hat or a black sheepskin hat, (it looks kind of wool-y) and wool turtleneck sweater and jacket. A strong, handsome face with a fairly hefty mustache, and he’s standing outside, looking off to the distance; for me, his expression a mixture of kindness, satisfaction, warmth. The phrase, “a satisfied mind” comes to the forefront. A man of integrity that’s worked hard at taking care of the land and his family, maybe an emigrant to this country many years prior.

The estimated date for this postcard comes from Playles.com, (1904 – 1920s). But our 1907 start estimate is because both sender’s note and addressee info would have gone on the reverse, and postal regulations didn’t allow for that until the end of 1907. (Assuming Real Photo Postcards went by the same general rule, and I’ve never seen anything to the contrary.)

Source:  “Real Photo Postcard Stampboxes – C.” https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoc.php (accessed December 23, 2022).

George W. Parker and William Lewis Parker

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. September 1907. Photographer:  E. E. Flack. Alexandria Bay, New York. CYKO stamp box.

Price:  $12.00

A beautiful studio photo (but was it an oversight for the floor covering not to be straightened out first?) of brothers George Washington and William Lewis Parker. That’s George on the left. A family member had nicely identified them on the back with their dates of birth and included the date the photo was taken.

“William Lewis Parker April 22, 1903. George W. Parker Dec. 16, 1907. This picture taken Sept. 19, 09.”

Per Find A Grave, their parents are Lorenzo Dow Parker and Adelaide (Thomas) Parker and George’s middle name is Washington. The photographer’s full name is Eugene E. Flack per the 1910 Federal Census for Alexandria Bay. State census records show the Parkers living in Macomb, St. Lawrence County, NY., about 25 miles northeast of Alexandria Bay.

Sources:  Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 06 December 2019), memorial page for William Lewis Parker (22 Apr 1903–29 Jul 1978), Find A Grave Memorial no. 26220914, citing Pleasant Lake Cemetery, Brasie Corners, St. Lawrence County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Anne Cady (contributor 46985237) .

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 06 December 2019), memorial page for George Washington Parker (15 Dec 1907–28 May 1981), Find A Grave Memorial no. 26220907, citing Pleasant Lake Cemetery, Brasie Corners, St. Lawrence County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Anne Cady (contributor 46985237) .
New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index. (Ancestry.com).
New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1905; Election District: A.D. 01 E.D. 01; City: Macomb; County: St Lawrence; Page: 11. (Ancestry.com).
Year: 1910; Census Place: Alexandria Bay, Jefferson, New York; Roll: T624_953; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0004; FHL microfilm: 1374966. (Ancestry.com).

Dual-Pitched Hipped Roof Craftsman

Divided back, unused Real Photo Postcard. CYKO stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1915.

Price:  $15.00

A rare roof….

We’re not house experts here at LCG, but feel pretty confident we’ve got the right i.d. for this house style:  If all four sides of the roof slope downward toward the walls, that’s the definition of hipped. We can see that the front and sides do, and are having a difficult time imagining the back not doing the same, thusly 😉 we think hipped. And dual-pitched since the roof pitch changes, pretty dramatically so, in this case. (You might be reminded of the kids’ wooden building blocks where you can top off the structure with that triangular-shaped one.) Anyway, in our go-to reference, A Field Guide to American Houses, the dual-pitched hipped roof is stated as being rare. As for the Craftsman features, one of the most easily recognizable is the unenclosed eve overhang that lets us see part of the roof rafters.

As you’ve noted, there’s no writing on the back of the card to identify the nice family in the photo, or their location. They were the proud owners, no doubt, of this home that was probably new or new-ish when the photo was taken. The time-frame is about December 1907 due to the divided back, till the mid-1910s, or so, due to the clothing style and what looks like some evidence of button-top leather shoes, which were prevalent prior to WWI.

Source:  McAlester, Virginia, and Lee McAlester. A Field Guide to American Houses. 1984. New York:  Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Print.

Bundled Up For The Cold

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, circa 1910s. CYKO stamp box.

Price:  $4.00

This particular style of CYKO stamp box enjoyed a pretty broad range, from about 1904 to the 1920s per Playle.com. Presuming with the divided back it would start at 1907 at the earliest, but I think the most likely time-frame for the photo might be the 1910s. The children look to be between about two and four years old, posing outside on the top porch step with wooden door behind them. The little guy wears a button-down wool sweater with dark contrasting band at the neck, cuffs and below the waist (the latter giving the sweater that tunic effect) short pants, high leather boots, mittens and a striped knit cap. The little girl wears some type of raised pile or plush coat that falls halfway below the knee, slightly puffed at the shoulder seam, leggings and hat of the same material and mittens. We’re guessing the ribbon bow was part of the bonnet, after seeing similar styles on Pinterest for a 1915 Sears & Roebuck ad.

River Girls

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Here’s an unusual Real Photo Postcard of four beautiful young ladies, in semi-profile, seated at river’s edge, in the tall grass, and looking back at the camera. They may be sisters, cousins or friends or a combination of these; we don’t know, as there is no identifying information for them. However, there appears to be a family resemblance, so our hunch is that they are sisters. There are no clues to the location, it could be any rural area or semi-rural area in presumably the United States. How’s that for a broad range? 😉

Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. CYKO stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1910s.

Price:  $5.00

Ship Ann?

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Undivided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. CYKO stamp box shows “Prints at Night” and “Place Postage Stamp Here.” 1904.

Price:  $4.00     Size:  About 5 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/8″

I really do not understand the handwritten caption on this one which appears to say,  “Ship Ann?”  Was Ann the little girl in the photo? Did she like ships? But she’s adorable in her big hat, standing on the shore. This postcard was found along with the prior post entitled “One Of My Favorite Stunts” and most certainly appears to have been written by the same person.

One Of My Favorite Stunts

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Undivided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. CYKO stamp box shows “Prints at Night” and “Place Postage Stamp Here.” 1904.

Price:  $4.00      Size:  About 5 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/8″

” ‘Jen’   One of my favorite stunts.   Ted.  1904″

Click on the front of this postcard view, then click once more to get the best look at this photo. It shows a young man riding a bicycle while balancing on his shoulder a tall ladder – sideways. Not an easy thing to do! The photo’s unusual border is sort of like a puzzle piece. This postcard, and the following one under the title “Ship Ann?” appear to have both been written by Ted.

Teedler Toddler

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Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. The stamp box shows the outlined (rather than the filled in) Cyko logo, with the words “Place Postage Stamp Here.” Circa 1907 – 1920s.

Price:  $7.00

Sort of a funny photo of a beautiful baby, seemingly a little precariously perched on the chair for the photographer. Divided back plus CYKO stamp box logo dates this postcard approximately 1907 – 1920s. I would think this one would be closer to the later years time-frame, maybe the late teens to sometime in the twenties.