PORTRAIT OF A LOVELY WELL DRESSED COUPLE WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR (PORTLAND, OREGON)

This vintage real photo postcard features a lovely well dressed couple with a sense of humor. The gentleman in the photograph wrote a very funny message on the reverse of the card. The man, Joe, writes that the pair are being photographed on a mountain, twelve hundred feet above Portland, Oregon. He then demonstrated his flair for humor by suggesting to the postcard’s recipient,  “If you have any rats in your smoke house, just put this (photo) in there and I will insure you no more rats will bother”. This postcard was sent to a woman in Latham, Kansas, and was postmarked in Eads, Colorado. The card was written and mailed in 1908. Joe and his “lady friend” were photographed at 10 Minute Photos, by Cal Calvert. The studio was located in Council Crest (Portland, Oregon). Council Crest Park is a city park in southwest Portland. Council Crest is 1071 feet above sea leveland is one of the hightest points in in the Tualatin Mountains. The park offers a great view of Portland. The couple in this photo may have taken a street car to the park. The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company opened a street car route  (Council Crest Line) to the park in 1906. In 1907 the company opened an amusement park at the site. Research found information related to the photographer who took this photograph. Charles E. (Cal) Calvert operated his studio at Sixth & 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 postcard is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2516

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$42.00

Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2516

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$50.00

 

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Published in: on August 31, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (5)  
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SMILING COUPLE POSE IN A FAUX GARDEN: WHY IS THIS WOMAN HOLDING A WHIP? (REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

 

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 Mazeograph Studio in Portland. 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 & 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. 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.

 

Published in: on November 7, 2015 at 12:24 pm  Comments (2)  
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