This vintage real photo postcard (RPPC) features a smiling couple posing in a photographic studio’s faux garden. Note the leaves affixed to the wall behind them. This couple seems very happy together but they apparently didn’t maintain their marital harmony because they ultimately got divorced. One hopes that the whip that the woman is holding had nothing to do with their marital discord. The woman’s name in this photograph is Grace McBurney. Her name is written on the reverse of the postcard, undoubtedly by one of her relatives. Research reveals that Grace R. McBurney (1893-1969) was born in Oregon and married at the age of 19 to William H. McBurney who worked as a “typewriter representative”, which I assume means he sold typewriters. The couple had at least five children: Virginia D.(born around 1914), Marguerite F. (1919-1999), Wilma (born around 1920), William (1923-1981), and Carl Morton (1928-2007). Perusal of US census data reveals that the couple were divorced sometime between 1930 and 1940. It appears that Grace lived her entire adult life in Portland, Oregon. She is buried in Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland. Preliminary research yielded little information about her husband. This photo postcard was produced by the Mazrograph Studio in Portland. Mazrograph was the process Calvert used to produce the photo postcards quickly. The studio’s stamp can be seen on the reverse of the postcard. The stamp also mentions that the photo production process took only ten minutes.The postcard paper was produced by Cyko sometime between 1906 and 1915. Charles E. (Cal) Calvert operated his studio at Sixth and Ankeny from 1906 through 1930. In 1907, with the opening of Council Crest Amusement Park, he operated a studio and postcard stand on it’s grounds. He also ran a studio at the Washington Street entrance to Portland’s City Park in 1910. Cal was known for his use of rustic props and for his creativity. One of his sets involved subjects appearing as if they were flying an airplane over the city of Portland. A postcard employing this setting is part of a collection at the Portland Art Museum. This RPPC was taken in a “10 Minute Photo Gallery”. The reverse of the card advertises “Cal Calvert, Postcard Man”. As a side note, there was also a Calvert’s Studio across from Oregon City’s Southern Pacific Depot but it was run by Harry Calvert and his wife Alvilda. Harry was not related to Cal Calvert. Harry’s studio operated from 1915 through 1925. This vintage real photo postcard is in very good condition (see scans).
This cabinet card is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $22.00 or best offer.
Interested collectors may view the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/336044527284
This vintage photograph features an attractive and well dressed young couple. Perhaps this photo is a wedding picture. The couple are wearing formal clothing and the woman is flashing a ring on the ring finger of her left hand. The gentleman is wearing a wide collar as well as cuff links. The woman has what appears to be a tied loose cord hanging loosely from her waist. I wonder what the purpose is of the cord. Is it just for fashion sake? The woman is also wearing a pince nez, a style of glasses popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The glasses stay on the wearers face by pinching the bridge of their nose. The glasses have no earpieces. An inscription, lightly written in pencil on the reverse of the photograph provides us with some information about the photograph. The photo was taken in 1903 or 1904. The studio was located in West Point, Mississippi. It is situated in the Northeast section of the state. In 1909, President William Taft visited West Point, Mississippi and made some remarks as he stood on the platform of the last train car. SOLD
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