Hearts On A String

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher:  Julius Bien & Co., New York. Valentine series 360. Copyright 1907.

Availability Status:  SOLD

“The More the Merrier……Me too.”

A cute card! A large heart, wearing spats, is asking to be taken up with the others. This is from one pal to another – it’s signed,  “from Robert,” and addressed to  “Lugvig Olson, Chetek, Wis.”

From his 1942 WWII Draft Registration Card, Ludvig Ole Olson, was born October 1, 1904 in Barron County, Wisconsin, and living in Chetek, Barron Co. He would have been maybe three or four, when he received this Valentine postcard, going off of the copyright date. Per his confirmation record, he’s listed as Ole Ludvig Olson, son of Mike L. and Louisa Olson.

Sources:  The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Draft Registration Cards for Wisconsin, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 530. (Ancestry.com).

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives; Elk Grove Village, Illinois; Congregational Records. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Maple Grove, Barron, Wisconsin; Roll: T624_1701; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0016; FHL microfilm: 1375714. (Ancestry.com).

Heart Unruly

Divided back, embossed, unused postcard. Circa 1920s. Series or number 245. Publisher unknown.

Price:  $10.00

“Tell me dear

And tell me truly

Will you accept

This heart unruly

And be my valentine”

The leaves on the trees are all hearts!

This card is rather a beauty. The insert on the insert, so-to-speak, is really gorgeous, the colors, the woman’s sweet expression, her soft scarf in folds up to her chin, the lovely hat, fashionable curls….Whoever the artist was, we appreciate them! Also, it has a winter-y look and that always goes well with the spring view behind it. I think this was a not uncommon theme, true, maybe inadvertently in this one, but displaying that feeling that we’re still in winter but spring is just ahead.

Addressed to:   “Miss Edith Welsh, Port Vue, Pa.”

Signed:   “from Lillie Hoak.”

Lillie and Edith were neighbors, from the 1920 Federal Census for Port Vue, Allegheny County. Edith is Edith R. Welsh, born in PA about 1888, daughter of the widowed Genevra B. Welsh, and with younger siblings Nellie B. and George F. Welsh. House address 1700 Liberty Way.

Lillie is Lillie M. Hoak, born about 1905, also in PA, daughter of Leonard E. and Nancy Hoak, with older siblings Raymond H. and Clifford V. and younger sibling, Ella B. Hoak. House address 606 Liberty Way.

As for the publisher, I’m not finding them yet, the logo shows a capital B within a diamond shape, just very simple. Both the publisher mark and the distinctive “Post Card” design on the reverse were searched in Walter E. Corson’s Publishers’ Trademarks Identified, but a match was not found.

Source:  Year: 1920; Census Place: Port Vue, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1516; Pages: 19B and 20B; Enumeration District: 763. (Ancestry.com).

A Flower Fairy Valentine

Divided back, embossed, unused postcard. Publisher:  S. Berman, copyright 1917. Series or number 7025. Printed in the U.S.A.

Price:  $5.00

Valentine Wishes….

“Dear Valentine,

What fun ‘twould be

If you would just

Do this with me.”

A charming postcard for Valentine’s day of a bouquet-offering flower fairy – atop a heart decorated with forget me nots. Her wings are gorgeous in maroon and blue (etc.) and she wears a hat of pink flower petals fastened by a garland. Note how the artist has the wings just overlapping the card’s red border. (A common design trick to add some flow and dimension.) This is another from our Alice Ellison Collection.

“To Grandma from Maebelle. Papa & mamma & I have been to Los Angeles a couple of days & mamma & I got a new hat. & I got two new dresses. Yours with love.”

To My Valentine, 1910

Divided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked February 10, 1910 from Los Angeles, California. Printed in Germany. Number 4129.

Price:  $3.00

A smiling cupid, with pale green gossamer wings, is knocking at the door, ready to deliver a valentine gift:  A garland of forget-me-nots which, at present, frame the doorway and drape over the large red heart. The sender wrote the year, 1910, on the front. On the reverse:

“Dear Ella, write me another one of your good letters. Dossie.”

Addressed to:   “Ella Ellison, Pueblo, Colo., 26 St. & Cheyenne Ave.”

Valentine To Ella From Alice

Divided back, embossed, unused postcard. Publisher:  Whitney Made, Worcester, Mass. Circa:  1910s – 1920s.

Price:  $1.00

“To My Valentine.”

Happy Valentine’s Day! This one’s in rough shape, for sure, but so cute though. Nice outfit (gaiters and tam o’shanter hat) on the little boy that’s sending the valentine postal to the little girl in the smaller top image. Note the climate difference.

To My Sweetheart

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A Valentine’s Day postcard with Cupid riding up in the clouds in a small golden chariot that is overflowing with forget-me-nots, and being pulled by two doves. This one is signed presumably by the sender on the bottom right of the front of the card, but the name is hard to make out. Mailed to:

“Miss Ethel Main, 299 Sunol St., San Jose Calif.”

Undivided back, embossed, used postcard. Postmarked February 15, 1907 from San Francisco, California. Publisher:  The International Art Publishing Co., New York.

Price:  $3.00

I Can’t Tell Why But I Do

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Here’s a postcard by the mysterious publisher D. Hillson, who did quite a number of cards, but who’s identity appears to be unknown. He was not found in city directories, Google Books, Newspapers.com, etc. This heart shaped design with couple kissing is one of a series of at least three (we see two others online at the moment.) But this is a funny one for the wording – murmured phrases by a couple in love:

“I can’t tell why but I do – do somthing doing all the time, you are my own arn’t you dearie. Put the lights out.”

Addressed to:   “Miss Myrtle Miller, Dunkirk, Ind.”  And the sender wrote something also a little mysterious:

“A.L. won’t say a word. It’s all O.K. though Sat. Night. H.”

Divided Back, used postcard. Postmarked November 20, 1908 from Dunkirk, Indiana.

Price:  $7.00

How About This One?

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The addressee, Charlotte R. Mount, was found on the 1910 Federal Census for Southampton, Long Island, New York. Bridgehampton is located in the town of Southampton. (Ahhh, The Hamptons – never got that till just now, duhh!) But, this is a cute card with nice colors and gold-tone highlighting, showing a gentleman trying to persuade a lady to come along with him. She’s smiling back at him while a pleased cupid looks on from the background. The sender wrote an appropriate and funny caption,  “how about this one”  and signed their initials,  “L.W.S.”

The 1910 census shows:  Theodore H. Mount, born about 1838 in South Carolina, working as a farmer; his wife Catherine L., born about 1845 in New York, working from home as a laundress; and their grown children T. Herbert Mount, born about 1866 in New York, doing day labor; and Charlotte R. Mount, born about 1887 in New York, no occupation listed.

Divided back, unused with writing, embossed postcard. Publisher unknown. Series or number 1013.

$10.00

Source:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Southampton, Suffolk, New York; Roll: T624_1082; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 1390; FHL microfilm: 1375095. (Ancestry.com)

For Lousia From Lucreta And Edia

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It’s funny that this postcard with the trademark below, comes right after the prior post. Same theme – a child standing on a flat-surfaced rock reaching to put a postcard in the mailbox. Different mailbox style, and this one shows a little girl, and she is facing the opposite way as the little boy, but still!

Gottschalk tm  Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis publisher trademark.

This card was found in Salinas, California, so it’s possible that the Lousia, Lucreta and Edia were from this area (but I didn’t see any matches from a quick online search.) At first glance, I must admit, I thought the names were misspelled, as in written hastily and wouldn’t it be Louisa and Lucretia?, but no, there are plenty of entries under these spellings. The postcard appears to be an artist-signed work, with initials  “M.G.”  and shows a countryside scene of a graceful young woman, holding a basket, standing in front of some blue hydrangeas, on a little path next to a river that is reflecting green and gold. A red heart bearing the inscription  “To my Valentine”  appears at the top right. A very similarly styled valentine postcard by this publisher, dated 1909, shows up online right now (on Vintagepostals.com) but for me, the artist’s name remains a mystery. I don’t see anything specific to tie these initials in with Manni Grosze, who is known for his silhouettes and whose full signature appears on his work or for another with initals MG (also silhouettes) attributed to Marte Graf.

Divided back, embossed, unused with writing. Artist signed with initials M.G. Publisher:  Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis. Number or series 2019. Printed in Germany. Circa 1909.

Price:  $8.00

All A-Tiptoe

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Undivided back, artist-signed, used postcard. Postmarked February 13, 1905 from Santa Barbara, California. Artist:  Elizabeth Curtis. Publisher:  Raphael Tuck & Sons Co., Ltd., New York. Copyright 1903.

Price:  $15.00

“All a-tiptoe I will be

Until my Valentine I see.”

Here’s a beautiful E. Curtis, (Elizabeth Curtis) artist-signed postcard published by Raphael Tuck & Sons. The artwork is actually a little cut off at the bottom, but it shows a little boy in red-striped winter hat and blue scarf, with a mailbag on his shoulder, on tip-toe reaching to the mailbox. The composition is lovely with another mailbag illustrated at the top right, open and with letters falling. The card is addressed to:

“Miss Helen Huggins, 2313 Channing Way, Berkeley, Cal.”

Helen Huggins would have been about five or six years old when she received this postcard. She can be found on the 1920 Federal Census for Berkeley, at the address on the postcard, born in California, about 1899. She is with her parents, Charles W. Huggins, born Minnesota, about 1861, working as a civil engineer for the city, and Pearl O. Huggins, born Missouri, about 1871; and younger sister, Bernice Huggins, born California, about 1903. Boarding with the family is Euphemia A. Black, born California, about 1881, occupation Housekeeper.

Source:  Year: 1920; Census Place: Berkeley, Alameda, California; Roll: T625_93; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 184; Image: 113. (Ancestry.com.)