The Dewey Post Card Co.

The Dewey Post Card Company was a postcard publisher out of Dewey, Oklahoma, according to our Grand River Dam card. And there may be non-digitized info out there somewhere, as in city directories, that would shed more light on the company, and certainly one would presume that other postcards from them must have survived. (Nothing showing at the moment.) The one thing we did find though, is the publisher’s connection to the photo chronicles of one of the most important events in Waco, Texas history, and a slight glimpse into downtown happenings maybe a month or two afterwards:

From The Waco News-Tribune. (Waco, TX) July 22, 1953.

The storm referenced above was the devastating F5-strength Waco Tornado that tore into (descended on – an even better description – from the Teardrop Memorial) the city on May 11th,1953, resulting in the tragic loss of 114 lives, as well as injuries to around 600 and property loss valued at the 1953 rate of over 50 million….The hail before the tornado had become as big as baseballs….From the sound of the ad, Dewey was one of several (?) enterprises set up at the “Waco storm photo stand” downtown at 5th and Austin, downtown being one of the worst hit areas. (Was it still mostly rubble at this point?) See the links below for detailed information and photos.

Sources:  “Notice!” Dewey Post Card Co. Ad. The Waco News-Tribune, July 22, 1953, Wednesday, p. 15. (Newspapers.com).

1953 Waco tornado outbreak. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Waco_tornado_outbreak. (accessed June 11, 2017).

Simmons, Brian M. “The Most Horrible Storm: A Firsthand Account of the 1953 Waco Tornado.” May 8, 2012. Baylor University’s The Texas Collection. (http://www.baylor.edu/lib/texas/) Accessed June 11, 2017.

Needham Mass, Ice Storm, Nov. 28, 1921

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Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. Cyko stamp box. November 28, 1921, Needham, Massachusetts.

Price:  $10.00

Here’s another weather-related post, and well, someone thought this storm newsworthy, to make a postcard from their photo; we just didn’t see anything in historical newspaper accounts (online anyway). Probably there would be something in a local library about this ice storm. That’s a 2-story wood-shingle siding house there on our right, with another house next to it, which we barely glimpse through the trees. What a beautiful place to live this must have been, in any weather.

Huyler’s Bonbons And Chocolates

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Trade card for Huyler’s Cocoa and Chocolate. Circa 1903.

Availability status:  SOLD          Size:  4 and 1/2 x 2 and 7/8″

For the Huyler’s or the Goldberg, Bowen & Co. collector:  At the time of this post, this appears to be the only Huyler’s card in this particular design, though the condition is poor due to the creases.

The little scene playing out up top shows two children who’ve found the chocolate stash at home, while the third, the lookout, is in the act of sounding the warning alarm.

On the front:   “Huyler’s Delicious Bonbons and Chocolates. Copyright 1903.”
The back shows a design in blue indicating from pod to cup,  “without alteration”  and  “quality unequaled.”  Printed in red on the side is:

“Sales Agents Goldberg, Bowen & Co.   San Francisco and Oakland, Cal.”

The Goldberg, Bowen & Co. stores were described by a San Francisco Chronicle writer in 1886 as,  “paradise for the bon-vivant,”  offering local grocery, household and other items as well as those imported from all over the world. The company’s origins come by way of The Bowen Bros. (who started out as fruit merchants) and grocery, wine and tea merchants, Lebenbaum & Goldberg. In 1881 Lebenbaum & Goldberg consolidated with The Bowen Bros. and became Lebenbaum, Goldberg & Bowen. In 1885 Bowen bought out Lebenbaum and the company became known as Goldberg, Bowen & Co. Newspaper ads can be found as late as 1925 for their 242 Sutter St., SF address. They prospered in Oakland, as well, having a couple of smaller stores in that city, but expanding to their 13th and Clay Street location around 1901.

Beyond the rubble…

Below, posted here with permission from the California Historical Society, a compelling photo, taken after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, of the site of GB&Co’s earlier Sutter St. store. Beyond the rubble, a large ad on one of the buildings still standing in the background reads:   “Goldberg, Bowen and Co. Grocers Will Open a Grand New Store, Van Ness & Sutter. Present Location 2829 Cal. St., Cor. Haight & Masonic.”   (One hundred and ten years later, this ad could easily mislead us:  2829 California Street and the corner of Haight and Masonic are two different locations.) The 1905 city directory shows all four SF locations as:  230-234 Sutter Street; 2829 California Street; the southwest corner of Haight and Masonic; and 426-432 Pine. In 1909 GB&Co. rebuilt the Sutter St. store at 242-254 Sutter (later just 242 Sutter) and thankfully, the building still stands today. Oh, but the poignant toppled stonework with the fox or wolf’s head, front left (!) The fox has a ring in his mouth, sort of reminding one of a large doorknocker. Wonder what building he had belonged to?

GB&C photo

Title: Site of Sutter St. store of Goldberg, Bowen & Co. [No. 103.] Creator/Contributor: Knight, George H. Date: 1906. Credit Line: Courtesy, California Historical Society.

The Master Grocer – The World Our Field

Below, one of the cover pages of Goldberg, Bowen & Company’s publication, The Master Grocer, which is a catalogue of goods, and includes recipes, poems and artwork. (Thanks to Jim Anderson HCD for the great find!) Earlier installments were offered monthly until at some point they became quarterly. This is the Winter 1915 edition. Click to browse!

Other Sources:  Huyler’s. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huyler’s. (accessed June 11, 2016).

“The Epicure’s Resort.”  San Francisco Chronicle, December 8, 1886, Wednesday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com.)

“Consolidation!”  San Francisco Chronicle, December 8, 1881, Saturday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com.)

“Goldberg, Bowen & Co. Importers of Fancy Groceries and Caterers to Epicures in Table Delicacies and Fine Wines.”  San Francisco Chronicle, August 8, 1885, Saturday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com.)

“New Store A Big Success.”  Oakland Tribune, February 13, 1901, Wednesday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com.)

Crocker-Langley’s San Francisco City Directory, 1905. p. 2127. (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.)

Goldberg, Bowen & Co.’s The Master Grocer, Vol. 45, no. 2. 1915. (https://archive.org/details/mastergrocer4521gold_0).

Power Lines Down At H Street

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This Real Photo Postcard dates from about 1907 – 1918, due to the divided back and the style of AZO stamp box with all four triangles pointing upward. The location is unknown, presumably somewhere in the United States, and somewhere that was recovering from the effects of an ice storm, or a heavy snow that melted, with freezing temps on top of that. If you enlarge the photo you can see the icicles on the lines. It looks like the ground had become too soggy to support the poles which in turn couldn’t support the extra weight. There is a major clue for location in this photo – if you look at the pole on the left you’ll see the street sign attached which says “H St.” Shucks! Too bad we can’t read the cross street – too much of an angle. The building in the background is pretty distinctive, though, and the fact that this building’s neighbor was a power plant of some kind, with smoke stack operating here. These clues should be very helpful if anyone wants to browse historical newspaper articles re storms, search for towns that have or had an H Street, and search historical photos trying to match this building. (I had to stop after awhile.) Or maybe someone will just recognize the building. Note also the man on the right, surveying the damage. What a great photo, all in all! And the image of the ice on the bare trees and on the wires is lovely.

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1918. Damage to right and lower right had removed part of the photo.

Price:  $15.00

Foster’s Molasses Candy Trade Card

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Victorian Era trade card

Price:  $15.00        Size:  2 and 5/8 x 4 and 1/16″

Foster’s Un-X-Ld Old Fashioned Molasses Candy. Made Daily at 244 Essex St., Salem, Mass. Nothing has been found online so far regarding this company. Perhaps a Salem, Mass library has information. The subject matter is a little unusual, I think:  A compact beautiful little lady kissing a doll. Due to the size of the flowers she wears, and the leaves at the bottom of her dress, it’s possible that she is supposed to be a flower fairy. But whatever the artist had in mind, this is a really cool trade card. The term “un-x-ld” stands for unexcelled, as in none better!