Category Archives: Postcards Used

Russian Photography House of V. T. Koksharova

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Real Photo Postcard. Russia, postal stamps removed. Date unknown.

Price:  $20.00

A rare find…..

We don’t come across many old postcards of photographers’ business locations in North America, and I’m guessing it’s probably the same situation for Russian cards. The lettering for the photography business is very stylized, gorgeous really, with that 3-D effect and “snow-covered” look, as well. Someone had put some thought behind it.

The sign on top of the building, ФОТОГРАФІЯ translates as Photography. And underneath is the name В. Т. КОКШАРОВА which, in English, is V. T. Koksharova. Underneath this name, at street level and in the glass-covered box, the photographer has displayed some examples of his work.

The reverse, help us out here please! anyone who can identify this language and can read it. The script is too much to try to decipher without having any background knowledge to draw from. Likewise, I won’t pretend to be a student of Russian architecture, but it seems obvious we’ve got some different styles, and it looks like the upper glass-walled portion was built on later. Great details in the intricately carved  wooden railing or roof topping – likely there is a proper term for that. And just thinking….maybe this was the man’s home on our right, with those beautiful lace curtains showing, and then studio attached.

Coming Home By Rail

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Divided Back postcard. Postmarked from Loudonville, Ohio, October 10, 1908.

Price:  $10.00

Railway days…….

There are other “Coming Home By Rail” postcards that can be found online; the joke, of course, being that the person is not traveling by train but walking along the railroad ties to get home. And due to the frequent occurrence of the expression in U. S. newspapers, (1872 is the earliest we found,) we assume it was American in origin. In the 1910’s (not surprisingly) it was still going strong, becoming less common as more and more people became proud car owners. The last mention we found was in 1952 (must have been an old-timer who wrote that article 😉 ).

For a twist on the original gag, here’s a clip from the U. K., from the Kent and Sussex Courier, 1923:

Friends, Orpha and Bertha…..

Postcard addressed to:   “Miss Bertha Yoder, North Manchester Ind. “College.”

The sender wrote:   “Hello Bertha. That address is:  Mr. C. U. Slifer. Abilene, Kansas. Hope you will receive the picture O.K. Pardon me for not getting the address sooner.”

“Do not think that I have forgotten you altho’ my silence seems to imply as much. I have been away visiting. Tell Cora that I saw her bro. Clyde at our District Meeting last week. Kindly remember me to Cora and all others that I do not know. Be good till I see you. Bye bye, Orpha. No. [North] Manchester about Oct. 20. Girlie tell all the pretty boys that I am coming and speak a good word for me. Do not forget. Ha! Ha! Lovingly, Orpha W.”

The given name Orpha was not terribly uncommon around the time this postcard was sent. The town of Loudonville, Ohio is located in Holmes and Ashland counties. Rather surprisingly, we weren’t able to find definite matches for either Orpha or Bertha.

Sources:  “The Yale Exploring Expedition of 1871.” The Watertown News (Watertown, Wisconsin). April 3, 1872. Wednesday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Tonbridge Cricket Week.” Kent and Sussex Courier (Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England). June 22, 1923. Friday, p. 13. (Newspapers.com).

“County Party Line.”  Ventura County Star-Free Press (Ventura, California). July 10, 1952. Thursday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

With Every Fond Wish

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Divided Back, embossed postcard. Copyright 1908, Julius Bien & Co., New York. Postmarked March 15, 1909 from Kansas City, Missouri. “St. Patrick” Series Number 740.

Price:  $12.00

Just realized we missed posting a St. Valentine’s card last month, oops! But here’s a gorgeous one for St. Pat’s Day.

Addressed to:   “Miss Elizabeth Waite, Salina, Kansas. Hoyt-West Millinery Co.”

The sender wrote:   “Only a postal from Myrtle. I leave here Monday eve for Wellington. Hope you are all O.K.”

Elizabeth Waite, according the the 1910 Federal Census was a milliner, so this card was sent c/o her employer. She is the daughter of Isaac Smith Waite and Lizzie Hogle, born native to Ohio. Elizabeth was born in Kansas, October 19, 1884.

In searching for Hoyt-West Millinery, among other mentions, we’ve clipped part of the “Town Gossip” section of The National Field, March 5, 1908. (How’s that for a pretty close date to our postcard?) The interesting thing is the mention of a Myrtle Wilcox accepting a position with Hoyt-West. So, this could be the same Myrtle that sent this card.

Another clip below; this one mentioning Elizabeth:

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Salina Ward 4, Saline, Kansas; Roll: T624_455; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0138; FHL microfilm: 1374468. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125233967/elizabeth-s-waite: accessed 17 March 2023), memorial page for Elizabeth S. Waite (19 Oct 1884–1 Mar 1983), Find a Grave Memorial ID 125233967, citing Gypsum Hill Cemetery, Salina, Saline County, Kansas, USA; Maintained by Mayflower Pilgrim 332 (contributor 47081711).

“Town Gossip.” The National Field, March 5, 1908. Thursday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

“Local Items.” The Salina Evening Journal.July 20, 1909. Tuesday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com).

Time and Tide Pass Quickly Away

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Divided Back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked December 31, 1915 from Grand Central Station, New York, New York. Publisher:  S. A. S., copyright 1913. Series 254.

Price:  $7.00

“A Bright New Year”

“Time And Tide Pass

Quickly Away

But True Friendship

Is Here To Stay.”

Addressed to:   “Mr. & Mrs. Louis Maier, #320 E. 123 Str, NY. City”

From:  “Mr. & Mrs. Carl Klein”

A few possibilities show up for Louis Maier around this time, but oddly, nothing with the above address, not even under a different name. And Carl Klein is a common name in New York City, so, there’s no way to track him either.

A charming card – that of boy in snowshoes and winter outfit, carrying a beautifully-flowered lantern and bringing some mistletoe – one assumes maybe this was a Scandinavian tradition, but we couldn’t find confirmation of this idea. Maybe, just in general, the lantern’s bringing light for the New Year. The embossing is quite nice, too – the whole scene coming to us on some rough-edged “parchment” with a poinsettia “attached.”

To Mr. and Mrs. Les Sparks, Lansing, KS

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Divided Back, embossed postcard. Made in U.S.A. Series 161. Postmarked from Tonganoxie, Kansas, December 23rd. Year missing. Circa 1925 – 1936.

Price:  $7.00

A cute design for this card, with its bowl of holly, quite adorable bow and dainty stars. (Seems unusual that the artist used a brown “pen” to draw with  – but that’s part of the charm of old postcards.) The prior post was from the same unknown publisher and dated 1927, so we started with an estimate of 1920s and went from there. The senders, Babe, Gladys and their boys, lived about 17 miles southwest of Lansing, Kansas.

The addressees are Kansas natives, James Leslie (or Lesley) Sparks, born about 1901, and wife, Mary, born about 1902. They were married August 8, 1923. Mary’s maiden name was Throckmartin, middle name Ver (apparently a family surname).

James appears as Leslie Sparks on the 1920 Federal Census, and as J. L. Sparks in city directories found online. Their home was in “Tonga City” and he worked at the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing when this card was sent, hence the added, “c/o Warden K. P.”

The 1925 State Census shows James L.’s occupation as written below. (Wow, tricky.) But this is standing for he “mans a service station”.

On the 1930 Federal Census, James L. is listed as unemployed. The record refers us to line number 3 on the Unemployment Schedule, however that information appears to have been lost. It’s possible that he may have been employed at the penitentiary and temporarily laid off, or he may not have not started working there until later in 1930 or as late as 1934, per that city directory.

The town, Tonganoxie was named after a Delaware Indian Chief.

Sources:  “Married Wednesday Evening.” The Columbus Weekly Advocate. August 11, 1923, Saturday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com).

Registration State: Kansas; Registration County: Jefferson County. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Union, Jefferson, Kansas; Roll: T625_535; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 84. (Ancestry.com).

Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1925 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: KS1925_78; Line: 29. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1930; Census Place: Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, Kansas; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0033; FHL microfilm: 2340443. (Ancestry.com).

“FAQs about the 1930 Census.” (archives.gov). Accessed December 25, 2022.

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Leavenworth (and county) City Directory, 1928. p. 439. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Leavenworth (and county) City Directory, 1934. p. 388. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Leavenworth (and county) City Directory, 1936. p. 407. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.

Linenberger, Shawn. June 9, 2016. “Chief Tonganoxie:  The man who shaped us.” tonganoxiemirror.com. (accessed December 25, 2022).

A Joyful Christmas To Ida Thorstensen

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Divided Back, embossed postcard. Postmarked December 24, 1914 from Brooklyn, N.Y., Station G. Series 347.

Price:  $7.00

A small insert of Santa in his sleigh. He’s looking over his shoulder at us, surrounded by a spray of holly and berries.

“Best Wishes From The [?]”

Addressed to:  “Miss Ida Thorstensen, 8 Helen ave, So. Ozone Pk, L. I.”

Ida was found on the 1910 census, born in New York, about 1893. Daughter of Ferdinand and Julia Thorstensen, both born in Denmark. So, she’s about twenty-one when she receives this card. Charles, Frederick and Agnes are her older siblings.

Source:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 25, Kings, New York; Roll: T624_974; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0714; FHL microfilm: 1374987

Gator Couple

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Divided Back, artist-signed, used postcard. Postmarked August 21, 1917, Brimfield, Illinois. Postcard artist:  Hans Horina.

Price:  $15.00

A gator (the “husband” we presume) standing in a river or pond, calls out,“Oh, I don’t know!” to his wife, who is walking off, holding a small parasol. This card was part of a series of comic gator cards that told a story, so the caption would have made sense when seeing the full set.

We found a short description for the German postcard artist, Hans Horina (1865 – 1918) from the wonderful site, Lambiek – Comix Strips (lambiek.net) under the Comiclopedia section. (Check it out if you have time.)

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Ida Ost, 609 Abington Str., Peoria, Illinois.”

The sender wrote:   “From the bunch. Brimfield, Ill. Aug. 21st, 1917. Dear Peorians, We missed the mail yesterday after-noon so if your card didn’t go on through you wouldn’t get it to-day but hope you did. It is a rainy day here. Toodles is playing and has got Teddy in that little wagon now. Harland is going up town now and will mail this card. Oscar says to tell you that he got that piece of pie alright so he didn’t lose out after all. Does this look like the aligator in Central Park [grand-pa] ha ha ha. Oscar says for you Edie to meet him at the depot Wednesday night. Good-bye. Write soon.”

The above message was written by Clara (Wizeman) Pemble, wife of Harland Pemble. Clara, born in Illinois about 1886, was the daughter of William Wizeman and Louisa Mohler. Harland, born in Illinois about 1882, was the son of James H. Pemble and Mary Cavender. “Toodles” is probably Harland and Clara’s daughter Ida, who in 1917, when this card was sent, would have been about four or five.

Ida Ost, the addressee, is Clara’s sister. Ida was born in Illinois about 1875. She is listed as widowed on the 1900 Federal Census.

Sources:  “Hans Horina.” (https://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/horina_hans.htm). Accessed October 17, 2023.

Peoria County Courthouse; Peoria, IL, USA; Peoria County Marriages, 1825-1915; Collection Title: Peoria County Marriages, 1825-1915. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1920; Census Place: Brimfield, Peoria, Illinois; Roll: T625_398; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 47. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1900; Census Place: Peoria Ward 3, Peoria, Illinois; Roll: 334; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0097; FHL microfilm: 1240334. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1860; Census Place: Elmwood, Peoria, Illinois; Roll: M653_217; Page: 554; Family History Library Film: 803217.  (Ancestry.com).

Hotel Turpin Autobus, San Francisco

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Divided Back, used postcard. Postmarked July 23, 1916 from San Francisco, California. Stamp removed. Publisher:  Edward H. Mitchell. 

Price:  $12.00

Auto Bus meets trains and Steamers. Hotel Turpin Auto Bus. 17 Powell St. at Market, San Francisco, Cal. F. L. Turpin. A. W. Turpin.

This postcard was likely produced from a newspaper or magazine photo. Interesting that there are no women in this picture. Wonder what type of event it might have been? You have your businessmen on the left and some of the staff next to them; all the passengers and the driver of the bus are men, and then there’s the guy standing behind the bus. Note the suitcases on the running board. There’s a Touring Club of America sign on the hotel awning. And apparently there was a pool. The business next door was Kingsbury & Unger, (G. Kingsbury and F. Unger) a liquor store at 21 Powell St.

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Bell Brown, 1415 26th st, Bakersfield, Calif.”

The sender, Bell’s sibling, wrote:

“San Francisco, Calif. July 23rd – 1916. Dear Sister. I were in Stockton Friday. The land lady said she sent mail to the place I wrote to you from so I am going there tonight & will write from there.   M – “

Curiously, nothing definitive comes up in records when trying to find Bell (Belle). Nothing under Brown at this address in city directories. Maybe they were only there temporarily.

From the 1920 Federal Census for San Francisco, Edward H. Mitchell, postcard publisher, was born about 1869 in California, married to Idelle and they have three daughters, Gertrude, Bernice and Marion.

Sources:  H. S. Crocker Co.’s, San Francisco Directory, 1912, p. 963. Google book search.

Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 28, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_140; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 278. (Ancestry.com).

Postcard To Mabel L. Schultz, Halsey, Oregon

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Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked June 9, 1910 from Portland, Oregon. 

Price:  $15.00

The image on this postcard is of Tressa or Tessa, surname unknown. She writes:

“Wish you were here this week enjoying the Rose carnival. Dude is here and she is to be with me tonight. Edna C. is staying with Oda this week but she will visit me next week. Met her intended yesterday. Suppose you are sorry that school is out? I haven’t heard from Neta in a long time, jog up her memory a little. Write soon and tell me if you are coming down. Much love to you from Tressa.”

“My dear Mibs:- Just recv’d your card so will answer right away. I am sorry I haven’t written before. The schools here close the 22nd. Are you coming down then? I hope you are and you know you must stay longer this time than you did before.”

Addressed to:   “Miss Mabel L. Schultz. Halsey, Oregon.”

Such a charming photo from the sender, she in her wide-brimmed hat, trimmed, in part, with ostrich feathers. (The details of the whole ensemble stand out pretty well for such a small photo.) But, we can’t be sure whether her given name is Tressa or Tessa and we’ll have to skip a long, drawn-out search for her, too many possibilities, even factoring in  trying to tie in the names she mentions in the note to Mibs. (Though some time was spent – as the mystery always beckons.)

As for Miss Mabel L. “Mibs” Schultz:  She is likely the person appearing on the 1910 Federal Census, in Albany, Oregon (about 26 miles north of Halsey) born about 1887 in Nebraska, daughter of Herman and Belle Schultz (spelled Shultz). Mabel’s occupation in 1910 is schoolteacher at a public school, and that definitely fits with the references in Tressa’s note.

Source:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Albany Ward 1, Linn, Oregon; Roll: T624_1283; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0198; FHL microfilm: 1375296. (Ancestry.com).

Mena House And Pyramids, Giza, Cairo

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Undivided back postcard. Postmarked April 6, 1905, Cairo, Egypt. Artist unknown. Publisher:  Lichtenstern & Harnel. Stamps:  Used Deux Milliemes, Sphinx and Pyramid, Green; Unused Un Millieme, Sphinx and Pyramid, Brown. Enlarge images to view condition for stamps.

Price:  $30.00

An unknown artist’s tableau of Mena House, a luxury hotel established in 1886, with the Pyramids of Giza behind it. Closer to us in the scene, the figure of a white-robed Egyptian standing next to a dirt road.

For comparison, a photo below, retrieved from the Library of Congress website, and taken from almost the same angle, but a little closer in:

The postcard is addressed to:   “M. J. M. Sluiter, Barendzstroat No. 40, Amsterdam (Hollande)”

The sender wrote:   “Voilà une adresse – Madme[Madame?] Egizia Romani. Minet-el-Bassal. Alexandrie (Egypte)       Ida Romei”

So, it’s kind of funny but “Egizia Romani” translates from Italian as “Egyptian Romans.” This leads us to think that maybe this was part of the street or district address, rather than a name. But not necessarily, as Egizia is an Italian given name and Romani an Italian surname.  What appears to be “Madme” then might be an incorrectly written abbreviate for Madame (Mme), since French is likely not the sender’s native language. (Ida’s an Italian living in Egypt, writing in French, to someone in the Netherlands. I love these types of criss-crossed connections across the globe!) The fact that Ida Romei had a stamp for her name and address (Ida Romei, Scharawe 22 Cairo Egitta – showing on the reverse) is unusual and may indicate she was a woman of some means.

Minet El-Bassal is a district in Alexandria, on the western harbor, that was built around 1810 and became famous as an industrial and trade center for Egyptian exports, including grains, sugar and most notably, Egyptian cotton. At the time this postcard was sent, in 1905, it was certainly prospering. It is one of numerous places on the planet that for economic and political factors had later fallen into terrible decline, with somewhat recent studies showing online regarding hopeful proposed revitalization. We’d be interested to hear from any readers who might be able to give us any up-to-date information.

A last thought:  In typing the above, the term “urban decline” of course comes to mind. But I wonder how easy it’s become to name something and then become blasé or cynical about it, in part, because it has been “categorized.” As in, we learn to react to the words and become indifferent to the events.

Sources:  “Mena House Hotel (1886)”. Historic Hotels of the World:  Then and Now. https://www.historichotelsthenandnow.com/menahousegiza.html. (Accessed June 23, 2022).

Maison Bonfils, photographer. Hotel Mena-House et pyramides / Bonfils. Egypt Jizah Jīzah, None. [Between 1867 and 1899] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2004666753/.

Minet El-Basal, Alexandria, Egypt:  Urban Revitalization. https://www.behance.net/gallery/37446209/Minet-El-Basal-Alexandria-Egypt-Urban-Revitalization. (Accessed June 23, 2022.)