Ole Bull Monument, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Undivided back, used postcard. Postmarked March 31, 1906 from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Publisher:  V. O. Hammon Pub. Co., Minneapolis and Chicago. No. 52.

Price:  $6.00

Ole Bull Monument, Minneapolis, Minn.

This card was postmarked just over a month before Norway gained independence from Sweden which occurred on June 7, 1905, so it’s quite good timing for the subject matter: the statue of Norwegian violinist and composer, Ole Bull (1810 – 1880).

This is the fourth postcard in chronological date order, in our Olaf and Elise Thunstrom Collection, and is addressed to:   “Mrs. O. Thunström. 186 Purdy St., Astoria, L. I., N. Y.”  It’s also the second, so far, from Elise’s sister Augusta. (Maybe Augusta was having “a bad day” in some way, shape or form in her initial perception of the beautiful city of Minneapolis. I’ve been reading Make Your Mind an Ocean by Lama Yeshe. Highly recommended!)

“Minneapolis 31st Mars 1906. Tack för sist! Sitter nu på stationern i Minneapolis och väntar på mitt tåg. resan har gått väl och i dag är det så vackert väder att det är rigtigt härligt, Minneapolis är en ful stad, åtminstone hvad jåg ser däraf. Rära hälsningar till alla ifrån. syster Augusta.”

“Thanks for last! Now sitting at the station in Minneapolis waiting for my train. The trip has gone well and today it is such beautiful weather that it is really lovely. Minneapolis is an ugly city, at least what I see of it. Greetings to everyone from sister Augusta.”

Sources:  Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_union_between_Norway_and_Sweden (accessed May 12, 2017).

Ole Bull. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Bull (accessed May 12, 2017).

“Minnesota fiddlers:  Ole Bull.”  Minnesota State Fiddlers Association.(http://www.fiddlemn.com/home.html) Accessed May 12, 2017.

Drottningholms Slott med Drottningholmsbron

Undivided back, used postcard. Postmarked March 10, 1905 from New York, N. Y.

Price:  $7.00

In the Stockholm area…Drottningholm’s Castle with Drottningholm’s bridge.

That’s Drottningholm Palace appearing from a distance on our left, private residence of the Swedish royal family. And this is the third postcard from our new Olaf and Elise Thunstrom Collection.

Addressed to:   “Mrs. O. Thunstrom, 288 Flushing Ave, Astoria, L. I.”  (Long Island). The sender writes…

“20 W. 56th St. Har ni hört något ifrån C. ännu, jag förstår ej hvarför jag ej får bref, har varit i kyrkan i kväll trots regnet var det mycket folk där, nu am lördag skall vi resa till Lakewood för 8 eller 10 dags ni duga hälsninaar till alla ifrån syster Augusta.”

As per usual, our translation could be slightly off; also we’re discovering that some of the spelling of Swedish words seems to have changed since the early 1900s.

“Have you heard anything from C. yet, I do not understand why I can not get a letter, have been to church tonight, despite the rain there were a lot of people there, now am Saturday we will travel to Lakewood for 8 or 10 days you will be happy, from sister Augusta.”

A clue to the family…This card is addressed to Mrs. O. Thunstrom, who is Elise (Bengtsson) Thunstrom. So Elise has a sister named Augusta, living at (or visiting) 20 W. 56th Street. (We’re hoping to find a way to trace the family back to Sweden.) Stay tuned.

Source:  Drottningholm Palace. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drottningholm_Palace (accessed May 6, 2017).

Blomberg Property, Kinnekulle, Sweden

Undivided Back, used postcard. Postmarked February 13, 1905 from New York, NY. Publisher:  Axel Eliassons Konstforlag, Stockholm, Sweden. No. 3561.

Price:  $10.00

Addressed to:   “Mrs. O. Thunstrom, 288 Flushing Ave., Astoria, L. I.”

“N. Y., den 12 febr. 1905. 

 Jag kommer till om frelag, för att stanna 10 dagar har nu lofvat [lovat] att stanna här, och det är ej utan att jag är ledsen deröfver [däröver] i alla fall, men det får väl gå för en tid. Hoppas att ni alla mår godt, stora och små. Vidare när jag kommer!  Många hälsningar, August.” 

The adverb deröfver, according to Wiktionary, is an obsolete spelling of däröver. Below, a translation from online sources. We’ll try to get a better one, shortly:

“I’m coming to you on Friday, to stay 10 days now have now promised to stay here, and it’s not without I’m sorry for anyway, but it may be a while. Hope you are all good, big and small. More when I arrive! Many greetings, August.”

Blomberg Säteri

From the above link, Blomberg Manor is beautifully described as being located  “…on the flowering mountain Kinnekulle on Lake Vänern.”  (Google translation coming up very poetic – no doubt from the Swedish!) The first-known original proprietor was from the early Middle Ages, an Olof Skötkonung of Blomberg. As to be imagined, since then the estate has passed through a variety of hands (bishop, priest, statesmen, noblemen, captain) and uses (dairy, lime mortar, grinding mill, sawmill, distillery). Today it is proudly owned by the Jönsson Family, and is an  “ecologically driven farm in regards to agriculture and meat production”  per quick web translations.

Sources:  deröfver. n.d. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/der%C3%B6fver (accessed April 30, 2017).

Blomberg Säteri. (blombergsäteri.se.) Accessed April 30, 2017.

Nubble Light, York Beach, Maine

Undivided Back, used postcard. Postmarked September 3, 1904 from York, Maine. Publisher:  Chisholm Brothers, Portland, Maine. No. 40.

Price:  $5.00

A fifty-year span

This is the first postcard from our Olaf and Elise Thunstrom Collection which was a wonderful find this spring in San Juan Bautista, CA. They’ll be going up in chronological order, according to postmarks (a few we’ll have to guess at as they are unmarked) and are a collection of 29 cards, some sent from Sweden. They span a nice, neat, half-century, from 1904 to 1954.

A little background, so far….

Sweden natives Olof Thunström and Elise Bengtsson were married May 19, 1894 in Manhattan, New York. They had two sons, Olaf, born July 19, 1895 and Clarence (Wilhelm Clarence) born March 15, 1899. (Olof seems to be generally spelling Olaf here in the States). Per the 1900 Federal Census for Manhattan, Olaf was born January 1863 and Elise, March 1863. The family was living on E. 53rd St. (house number not given) and at this time Olaf was working as a plumber. From a few quick searches, son Olaf gains newspaper mention as a track star in high school and becomes a musician, by trade. Clarence was found working as a clerk with the stock exchange, but we’ll delve into details as we go on. This particular Nubble Light card from 1904 has a short message on the front:   “Kära lilla Lisa”  (Dear little Lisa) and it’s signed,  “Amanda.”  We’ll see if our friend, Lars, in Sweden, can help on the rest of the message, and on some of the upcoming cards, too. The card is addressed:

“Mrs. Olof Thunström, 14 West 49 Street, New York.”

Happily still in use

Cape Neddick Light or Nubble Light or just “the Nubble” has been in service since 1879.

Sources:  Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Marriage Index 1866-1937.

Registration State: New York; Registration County: Queens; Roll: 1787091; Draft Board: 173. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll: 1113; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0745; FHL microfilm: 1241114. (Ancestry.com)

Cape Neddick Light. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Neddick_Light (accessed April 24, 2017).