PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAIL CARRIER IN BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

This vintage real photo postcard features what appears to be a young mail carrier or delivery boy. He is carrying a tied packet of envelopes and he is wearing a uniform. A patch on his sleeve reads LMB 117. This image is a bit of a mystery. Is this teenage boy a mail carrier or a student? What does LMB signify? What is the meaning of what the boy is wearing on his head (flower wreath)? There are more questions than answers provided by this photograph. The photo was taken at the Lonyai studio in Bucharest, Romania. The stamp box on the reverse of this postcard indicates that the paper was produced by K Ltd, likely between 1918 and 1936. It is probable that it was produced sometime in the 1930’s. This interesting image has excellent clarity.                  ADDENDUM: A viewer of this photograph has painted a more accurate picture of what is occurring in the photo. “This boy is being an award winner of his class at the school. That package under his arm didn’t contain envelopes, but books. The page on the top is a diploma. One more thing: that wreath symbolize the laurels with which the Roman emperors adorned their foreheads when they turned victorious from the wars…The best pupil at learning was of course victorious…”.

 

MAILMAN DELIVERS BABY IN BANGOR, MAINE

This unique cabinet card features a mailman delivering a baby. Alright, he’s not delivering the baby using traditional child birth techniques. He is delivering the baby from his mail pouch. The mailman is dressed in his full uniform and he has a relatively serious expression on his face as he poses for the photographer. The baby’s facial expression can best be described as “sour”. The cameraman is Frank C. Weston, located at 2 Smith Block,  of Bangor, Maine. Weston was a native of Maine who established himself as a photographer in the late 1870’s. His prices were “dictated by a spirit of moderation”, and he was the preferred photographer among the African American community of Bangor.

Published in: on February 22, 2011 at 12:01 am  Comments (5)  
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