Gator Couple

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).

Artist-Signed Postcard Birds in Pine Tree

Divided Back, deckled edge, unused, artist-signed postcard. Number or series 206. Publisher:  Alfred Mainzer, Inc. 39-33 29th Street. Long Island City 1, New York. Printed in Belgium. Circa 1940s – 1950s.

Price:  $12.00

This is a beautiful card that I’ve had for awhile and finally got around to posting. The variety of bird, or if it even exists, is unknown. It may be something from the artist’s imagination (that very distinctive spotted-feather crown) as I don’t see this type of guy online, or in the bird reference book from my bookshelf. The artist appears to have been Swiss-born Eugen Hartung (1897-1973), he is best-known for doing the cats in clothing funny cards that were first published by Max Kunzli, then later by Alfred Mainzer. Here’s a crop of the signature that appears in the lower right corner:

Source:  Eugen Hartung. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Hartung (accessed May 11, 2022).

Close Hauled

Divided back, artist-signed postcard. Postmarked August 8, 1910 from San Francisco, California. Artist: D. P. Crane. Publisher:  H. G. Zimmerman & Co., Chicago, IL.

Price:  $8.00

Addressed to:   “Mrs. A. Schweitzer, Napa, Calif. Box 253”

The sender wrote:   S. F.  8/8/1910   Dear Lena:- Again home with the folks again. [?] comes the 1st of Sept then we will come up for the day. All O.K. here. Love to all at home. [Dodie?]  1228 Octavia St.”

We didn’t find a match in online records for the sender of the card at the given address:  She is findable, most likely, but would require some heavy searching. So, moving on to the recipient: The 1910 Federal Census for San Francisco shows Lena Schweitzer, age 38 with husband Alvin, age 35, and their nine year old son, Seymour L. Both Albert and Lena were born in Germany, and Seymour was born in New York.

“Close-hauled” is a sailing term – one of many “point of sail” references. A quick definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is:  “having the sails set for sailing as nearly against the wind as the vessel will go.”  But see the Wiki link below for a more detailed explanation.

Sources:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Napa Ward 2, Napa, California; Roll: T624_90; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0080; FHL microfilm: 1374103. (Ancestry.com).

Close-hauled. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/close-hauled (accessed June 9, 2020).

Point of Sail. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_sail (accessed June 9, 2020).

I’m In With All The Swells!

Divided back postcard. Postmarked December 18, 1913 from Wichita, Kansas. Publisher:  Williamson-Haffner Co., Denver, Colorado. Artist name unknown.

Price:  $12.00

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Ida McFrederick, Harper, Kans, Route 3.”

The sender wrote:  “Dec 18 – 1913. send my mail up here. Hello Ma, Guess I won’t be home Sat. so don’t look for me until you see me. am working now. by by   Florence.”

Per Walter E. Corson’s, Publishers’ Trademarks Identified, the publishing house is the Williamson-Haffner Company, of Denver. So, the initials appearing at the bottom left corner of the illustration must be those of the artist. (Name unknown at this point, but maybe we’ll find out later.)

Thanks, Florence (for passing along) the wonderful phrase on the card, “Don’t look for me until you see me.”  Might remind you of the conundrum we find ourselves in when we contemplate time travel…..and some of the great comedic vignettes we’re familiar with:  Two that come to mind are Joe talking to Frito at the Costco Shuttle in Idiocracy, and one of Big Bang’s segments, something along the lines of, “Okay, we agree that if one of us invents a time machine, we’ll meet right here at exactly (whatever o’clock.)” They look around the room, and then….damn, disappointment. (Not sure – President Not Sure? 😉 ) what episode this was from and this is only from memory, but you probably know the one I mean.)

From the 1905 Kansas State Census, the family is parents, William and Ida McFrederick, and their children, Carl, William, Roy, Earl, Florence and Fern. With the family is a young McDowell (possibly) couple (who may or may not be related) by marriage to the McFredericks. Florence would have been about eighteen when she sent this postcard to her mom.

Sources:  Corson, Walter E. Publishers’ Trademarks Identified. Ed. James Lewis Lowe. Norwood, PA:  1993. (print).

Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1905 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: ks1905_62; Line: 13. (Ancestry.com).

Afraid To Go Near It

Divided back, unused postcard. Artist:  William Standing. Publisher:  Dennis Delger. 1948. Western Stationery Co., Yachats, Oregon.

Price:  $7.00

“Me Too But I’m Afraid To Go Near It.”

A humorous card of a totem pole and two dogs….taken from the original etching by Indian artist, William Standing (1904 – 1951).

Source:  William Standing. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Standing (accessed March 1, 2020.).

To Bobby From Aunt Lorilee

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked July 21, 1951, Interlaken, Switzerland. Publisher:  Photoglob-Wehrli A. G., Zurich. Number or series z 2525.

Price:  $6.00

Berner Bueb

“07/21/51     Hi Bobby! You should have been with us today when we had lunch on the Jungfrau, one of the highest mountains in Europe. You would have loved to play in the snow in the summertime! Have fun! Love, Aunt Lorilee.”

Addressed to:   “Master Bobby Burkhardt, 10629 Garden Way, Spring Valley, California, U.S.A.”

The Jungfrau is in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. The postcard caption “Berner Bueb” might be translated as Bernese boy. You can find numerous Swiss postcards with “Berner Bueb” and “Berner Bueb und Meitschi” (Bernese boy and girl, we’re guessing.) This postcard appears to be an artist-signed card per the front lower left corner which shows “Blank.” Checking in Ancestry.com Blank shows as a German and Swiss surname. According to another postcard site, this card was produced at least as early as 1946.

Sources:  Jungfrau. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungfrau (accessed April 20, 2019).

“Ziege Kuenstlerkarte Blank Berner Bueb Kat. Tiere.” https://oldthing.de/Ziege-Kuenstlerkarte-Blank-Berner-Bueb-Kat-Tiere-0024001456. (accessed April 20, 2019).

Frank Corbyn Price Christmas Postcard

Divided back, unused, artist-signed postcard, dated 1923. Raphael Tuck & Sons “Oilette” postcard. “Wonderful White Winter.” Copyright London, Printed in England. Artist:  Frank Corbyn Price.

Price:  $12.00

Christmas Greetings…..

At sunset, a farmer has opened the gate for a shepherd and his dog driving their sheep along a snow-covered road. This Tuck postcard was one of a set of six, under the series title “Wonderful White Winter.” The scene is by British artist Frank Corbyn Price (1862 – 1934). And though the card is dated by the sender at Christmastime in 1923, the work was first used in December of 1914, according to the website, TuckDB Postcards.

On the reverse, the unknown sender writes:

“To Chuckie – Good old Santa Claus greets you & wishes you the very happiest time possible in the present, & in the future. Christmas 1923.”

Sources:  Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995.

Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA), 1911. (Ancestry.com).

“shepherd in bright green driving sheep along road in snow, greeting old man gate, red sunset.” TuckDB Postcards. https://tuckdb.org/items/71829. (accessed December 25, 2018.)

The Romantic Road By Guy Rawlence

Divided back, artist-signed postcard. Postmarked August 8, 1910, England. Artist:  Wilmot Lunt. City of postmark unknown.

Price:  $30.00

The postcard artist

The beautiful artwork for this postcard is that of the frontispiece (the page adjacent to the title page of a book) and is signed Wilmot Lunt. He was Samuel Wilmot Lunt (1856 – 1939) painter and cartoonist, and was also the illustrator for R. D. Blackmore’s Lorna Doone. For more on Lunt see James Malone Farrell’s article,  “Keeping the Home Folks Laughing”  published in Cartoons Magazine, July 1918.

The reverse of the card shows:

“This book is by a cousin of mine and it would be so kind if you would ask for it in your Library. It is really quite readable and he is anxious[?] to [?] know[?] as it is his first book. Love, D. D.”

Addressed to:   “Rvd. Arthur Dolphin.  The College, Durham”

A great find

This postcard turns out to have been a pretty neat find:  It’s not in the best of shape but is seemingly rare, the only one found so far, plus the note to the addressee contains a little insight regarding the author’s feelings, according to his cousin, about the release of his first book. Some of the sender’s handwriting is difficult to read, but I think the word there is “anxious” rather than “curious” and who would not be anxious regarding the reception of their first major work?

Armchair research

It’s a little surprising (same for the postcard artist) that there is no Wikipedia or similar type entry yet on the author; we found mention of over twenty titles to his credit. Our web post here will not be in-depth, as that would require much more research, so we’ll just offer instead bits and pieces gleaned from the usual sources, including an article we found in which the author is quoted. But it’s fascinating how a little fact-finding can get the imagination going….while pulling up bits of information one pictures pieces of a puzzle starting to take shape. For instance, for me, I’m surmising Guy Lawrence liked dogs (therefor I like him) as he did at least four books about dogs, Doings In Dogland (1905), Biffin & Buffin (1934), Tob and His Dog (1938) and Bob et Bobby (1963) the latter being in french, and written with Julianna Ewing. But then after coming across an ad for sheepdog-training that stressed the necessity of correct instruction (the working dog would be vital to the livestock holder) next to a mention of James Rawlence, Esq., Guy’s grandfather, agriculturist and livestock breeder, it hit me that Guy probably grew up around dogs. Not that this is any great revelation, or not that one wouldn’t have assumed this anyway, but at this point this “dog” puzzle piece became something specific to the whole picture; it shimmered into view, and that seemed charming. But, I guess the bottom line is that our imagination about someone else’s life tells us, for sure, something about ourselves, and possibly, if we’ve intuited correctly, something about the person in question.

Guy Rawlence (1888 – 1971)

Edward Guy Rawlence was born March 10, 1888, baptized May 10, 1888 in Wilton, Wiltshire County, England, son of James Edward Rawlence, whose occupation at the time was given as auctioneer, and Constance (maiden name Vivian) Rawlence. That’s livestock auctioneer for J. E. Rawlence, as J. E.’s father (Guy’s grandfather) was James Rawlence, a very prominent land agent, agriculturist and livestock breeder in the area. Judging from a number of newspaper articles, Guy Rawlence’s stories received mostly positive reviews. The Romantic Road, published in 1910, was found mentioned in the following “snippet” view in the publication, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, Vol. 34, and informs us that this book about a “girl highwayman” was well-reviewed and the story setting was largely in the author’s backyard. Rawlence would have been about twenty-two when it was published.

Prior to 1910, we found mention of a short story, The White Cavalier, circa 1905, and as previously stated, the children’s book Doings in Dogland (1905). The Highwayman, published in 1911, may have been, judging by the date, Rawlence’s second novel. Click the link to see the eBook.

Below, we were happy to come across this article, in which the author is quoted, from The Decatur Daily Review (Decatur, IL) July 1, 1927.

Gushing reviews for Three Score & Ten, appeared in London’s The Observer, October 16, 1924.

Another book we’d like to read, in addition to the above, per the review that appeared in The Observer, November 17, 1935.

Update – from Lynne B. (a relative of Guy) who very kindly gives us the following:

Guy Rawlence was my late husband’s great uncle but unfortunately I do not know much about him personally or as an author except that, as well as a number of novels Guy also wrote one-act plays, and short stories which were published in newspapers and journals.

This postcard was written by Dorothy Dolphin to her husband’s nephew, Reverend Arthur Rollinson Dolphin, who was a Clerk in Holy Orders (Church of England), Minor Canon and Schoolmaster at the Diocesan Mission House in Durham. I think the first word on the address is possibly Revd (the standard abbreviation for Reverend).

Mrs Dorothy Dolphin was the daughter of Robert Parker and his wife Emma Catherine Rawlence, younger sister of James Edward Rawlence, making Guy and Dorothy first cousins.

Guy’s paternal grandfather James Rawlence was a farmer of 1000 acres, a prominent breeder of sheep (he developed the new Hampshire Down breed), land agent to the Earl of Pembroke and known for his philanthropy. James and his wife Mary Jane Rooke were both descended from the Rooke/Curtis/Rawlence families which can be traced back to 1598. These three prominent families intermarried frequently; James and Mary Jane were first cousins once removed, and also second, third and fourth cousins. The family tree diagram looks like a tangled web! Fortunately the five of their children who married chose to bring new blood into the family.

Guy’s father, James Edward Rawlence (born 1845) married Constance Vivian in 1877. They had three sons, Claud Vivian (born 1879, a barrister), Leonard Curtis (born 1881, an engineer and dealer of American automobiles) and Edward Guy (born 1888). The family moved into The Chantry at Wilton before Guy was born (The Chantry is now a listed building).

Constance Vivian was born in Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia in 1858. At the age of 9 months her family moved to India where she was brought up. She was sent to boarding school in Hampshire, England, at the age of 12 and never returned to India as far as I know. Her father George William Vivian, of Cornish descent, had been born in Plymouth where he trained as a civil engineer. Immediately after marriage in 1850 he, and his wife Janet Pinn, emigrated to Australia where he worked as a civil engineer, firstly at the Kapunda Mine in South Australia, later in Melbourne where he worked on the port facilities and also designed the Kew Asylum. In 1859 the family moved to the Bengal Presidency area of India where George spent most of his career, working mainly on making the rivers navigable. Constance’s brother and sister were also educated in England but returned to India before finally settling in England. One of her cousins who had emigrated to Canada was a survivor of the Lusitania disaster in 1915 (although she lost her husband and baby daughter).

I suspect Guy and his brothers got their desire for travel from their mother. Both Claud and Leonard, while young men, were keen mountaineers, particularly in European destinations. Guy, who never married, was sometimes accompanied by his mother on his travels in Europe and beyond. Guy died in 1971 at Wishford House, also a listed building.”

Also, from Lynne,  “this link will take you to the village on google maps where, if you go on streetview on West Street next to the church then travel west a short distance you will come to the house on the right, set back with a gravel driveway.”   Wishford 

Sources:  Lunt, Wilmot 1856 – 1939. https://www.artbiogs.co.uk/1/artists/lunt-wilmot (accessed November 5, 2018).

Farrell, James Malone. “Keeping the Home Folks Laughing.”  Cartoons Magazine, Vol. 14. July 1918.

Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre; Chippenham, Wiltshire, England; Reference Number: 1873/1. (Ancestry.com).

Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007.

“Rawlence, Guy 1888 – ” http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n50-54036/ (accessed November 5, 2018).

James Rawlence obituary. Goddard, Edward. H. (ed.) The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, Vol. 27. June 1894. p. 70.

“The Romantic Road.” The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, 1910, Vol. 34. p. 641. Snippet view, Google.com.

Rawlence, Guy. “The White Cavalier.”  The Idler:  An Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Vol. 28. October 1905 – March 1906. (Google ebook.)

Rawlence, Guy. The Highwayman. New York:  W. J. Watt & Co., 1911. (Google ebook.)

“Guy Rawlence.” The Decatur Daily Review (Decatur, IL) July 1, 1927. Friday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“Three Score & Ten.” The Observer (London, England). October 16, 1924. Thursday, p. 4. (Newspapers.com).

“Mother Christmas.” The Observer (London, England). November 17, 1935. Sunday, p. 9. (Newspapers.com).

Wishford. Google maps. ttps://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Great+Wishford,+Salisbury+SP2+0PB/@51.1185404,-1.8876351,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x4873c24cc1654707:0x9e5f004f4a76b2d!8m2!3d51.118361!4d-1.889635 Accessed May 30, 2021.

A Thatched Roof Cottage

Divided back postcard. Postmarked May 10th, (year missing) from Santa Rosa, California. Printed in Germany. Publisher unknown. Number or series:  2781. Circa 1907 – 1914.

Price:  $5.00

Addressed to:   “Miss Lily Rea. Gilroy Calif. Box 23.”

With this postcard (see if the cottage doesn’t remind you of the house in the prior post) we’re getting back, momentarily, to the Lily Rea Collection (more to come later). This is a card from Lily’s good friend, Hazel, who writes:

“Dear Lil: – Card recieved today found me all in. I had too much carnival. Gee kid the fun I did have wish you could have been here. There was a swell dance in the eve. Lee was here Sat. but had to go back in the eve. Its a dead old town now though. I may go to F’risco soon for a few days. Ans. soon    Hazel    To bad my aunt is sick. Give Ella my love.”

Initials TM?

This could be an artist-signed card, per the marks in the lower left corner, as in the initials TM. (They don’t really look like they fit for markings in the grass.)

Only the postcard artist knows for sure?

It was over a hundred years ago that the artist rendered the charming scene for this card, and we suspect that if this painting had been done today, it would not include the sort of bulky topping on the roof with the jutting horn-like things….It makes one realize that over the years details can get lost and form become homogenized…..and then makes one appreciate when historical references come shimmering in, sometimes from the most unlikely places. And so, was it from memory that the artist worked, or a “present-day” cottage he painted from, or maybe it was his artistic expression of something like the carved animal heads in the illustration below (see Low German house). Here we’re at one of those points where one sees oneself writing a book (if one had the time, put everything on hold and take five years) on the subject of rooftop decorations, symbols, significance, etc. throughout the world from the earliest ones found to modern day. (No small task, but it would be beautiful!)

Lastly, while googling “thatched roofs decorations” we were happy to discover that thatching is still alive and well today. And check out these modern-day examples of thatch ornaments from some of the master thatchers in the UK, Brian and Tom Mizon.

Sources:  “Straw Finials / Straw Animals / Straw Ornaments.” http://brianmizonthatching.co.uk/ (accessed October 8, 2018).

Low German house. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_German_house (accessed October 20, 2018).

Loch Lomond By E. Longstaffe

Postcard, unused. Artist-signed by E. Longstaffe. Publisher unknown. Circa 1904 -1905.

Price:  $5.00

Continuing with our short excursion to Scotland….an artist-signed card by English landscape painter, Edgar Longstaffe (1852 – 1933). The few others currently for sale online are dated from 1904 and 1905 (though were put out by other publishers). This particular offering is not in the best shape – the layers of paper comprising the card are starting to peel away from each other, but since Scotland had seemed to be a somewhat neglected area of my collection, I was happy to find this card and include it here.

Source:  Edgar Longstaffe. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Longstaffe (accessed August 8, 2018).