This vintage real photo postcard features a studio portrait of a pretty young woman wearing an adorable hat. The woman’s name is embossed above her image on the card. Her name was “Mabele Fishwick”. The 1900 US census reveals that Mabele was 15 years-old, born in 1884, and lived with her parents and 13 year-old brother in Cincinnati. In 1908 she married Clarence H. Hinsdale. The couple’s marriage ended in divorce. She married again in 1922 to Hewett Griggs Robertson. During World War I, Mabele worked with the Red Cross and then went to Washington DC to work for the government (Civilian Personel Army Ordnance”. During that time, Mabele was on a flight from Washington DC to Dayton, Ohio. Due to gale force winds, the plane, carrying nine passengers, had to make an emergency landing in a farmer’s field. In an interview with a reporter, Mabele said that pilots needed to be more careful where they choose to land. She explained that the Pennsylvania farmer who owned the field, charged the pilot $250.00 for “parking priviliges” and charged each occupant of the plane 50 cents for walking across his property. Mabele’s portrait was taken by Rensler’s studio, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The advertising on the reverse of the postcard indicates that the studio had more than one location in Cincinnati as well as a location in Cleveland, Ohio. According to one historical Cincinnati blog, Rensler’s was one of the few photo studios in Cincinnati that accepted African American clients. The studio operated for 83 years and shut down in 1989. I have seen a number of photographs by this studio and many are excellent. The AZO stamp box on this card indicates that the postcard dates back to between 1918 and 1930. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 