PORTRAIT OF COLGATE UNIVERSITY FRATERNITY MEMBERS IN FRONT OF THEIR FRAT HOUSE (1906)

This vintage real photo postcard features a photograph of fraternity brothers posing in front of their fraternity house. I have been unable to identify the specific fraternity that these boys represent. There are some clues that might help another researcher to uncover the name of the fraternity. The banner held by a boy in the second row identifies the university as Colgate, located in Hamilton, New York. There are four pillows that may be revealing. The pillow on the end, reports the year as 1906. The other three pillows are held by boys in the front row. Each pillow has a letter; which I assume is written in Greek. One of the pillow’s letters is impossible to read. Investigation reveals that historically, Colgate had many student organizations. The school was founded in 1819 and the institution’s rich history of student societies include Literary Societies, Greek Fraternities, Honor Societies, and even secret societies. This postcard has been postmarked twice. The card was processed in both Norwich and Hamilton, New York. The postmark was stamped in 1906. The postcard is addressed to Miss Abigail Post (1885-?). The 1900 US census reveals that she was the daughter of a farmer and the 1910 US Census lists her as a public school teacher. In 1913, she married Thomas Ray Gorton.

Published in: on March 28, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PRETTY GYPSY GIRL LOOKING OVER HER NEIGHBOR’S FENCE

This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young girl who is dressed like a gypsy. I would guess that she is in her teenage years. The girl is leaning on, and looking over a wooden fence. She is wearing a lot of jewelry including a bracelet, beads, and a thin chain with a heart shaped charm. I am unsure, but it appears that she is wearing a long necklace with cherries hanging from it. It is also possible the “cherries” are actually pins on her dress. The young lady is very fashionable. Note the fabric sash around her waist. This image was photographed by the Wilson Studio in Astoria, Oregon. Note the imprint on the front of the card with the Wilson Studio credit. The postcard has an Astoria postmark stamped in 1922. The Swedish Finn Historical Society’s website includes a 2016 publication with an article about photographer, Fred C. Wilson. He was born in Astoria in 1888. His parents immigrated from Finland and they settled in Astoria in 1881. Fred became a successful photographer and won many honors. As a young man he was involved in sports, including baseball, football, and golf. He also played in community bands. In 1909 Wilson bought the Carter Photographic Studio. He had previously worked with photographer A. A. Saari. In 1913 he married Agnes Karinen. Fred died in 1943.

SOLD

Published in: on March 19, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF A LOVELY AFRICAN AMERICAN COUPLE POSING ON THEIR FRONT PORCH

This vintage real photo postcard features a lovely African American couple posing on the porch of their house. Both the man and woman are well dressed and displaying a serious expression. An inscription on the reverse of the postcard indicates that the couple are “Mr. and Mrs. Johnson”. The “AZO” stamp box reveals that this photo was photographed sometime between 1904 and 1918. Finding vintage real photo postcard portraits of African Americans is an uncommon experience.

Published in: on March 7, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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TWO YOUNG HISPANIC SIBLINGS IN NATIVE CLOTHING

This vintage real photo postcard features two young siblings wearing local garb pose for their portrait at an unidentified photography studio. These children are very adorable. The older child is taking a protective position next to her younger sibling. Judging by the card on the younger child’s hat, the kids are dressed for a religious ceremony. This photograph is probably from the 1940’s. The reverse of the photograph indicates that the image was once a resident of a photo album.

 

 

 

 

 

Published in: on February 26, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  

A PORTRAIT OF A FATHER AND HIS DAUGHTER

This vintage postcard features a portrait of a father and his teenage daughter. Both are wearing wide brimmed hats. The daughter’s hat is a straw hat. She is holding gloves. It has occurred to me that this photograph may actually be showing a husband and his very young wife. The nature of their actual relationship will remain a mystery. The “AZO” stamp box reveals that this postcard portrait was taken sometime between 1904 and 1918.

Published in: on February 20, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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BETTY BRONSON: BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS BEST KNOWN FOR PLAYING PETER PAN IN THE 1924 SILENT FILM

POSTCARD 1

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POSTCARD 2   (SOLD)

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Postcard 3  (SOLD)

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This vintage real photo postcard features American actress Betty Bronson (1906-1971).She began her career in silent films and later appeared in sound films and television. This postcard was published by Ross Verlag and is part of a series (1095/1). At the time when this postcard was released, Miss Bronson was working for Paramount Film. She appears to be quite young when she sat for this portrait. She moved to California as a teenager determined to start an film acting career. She landed a bit part at age 16 and a year later she was interviewed by the author of  Peter Pan (J M Barrie) and chosen to play the lead role in the film version which was released in 1924. Gaining this part was quite an accomplishment considering more seasoned actresses including Gloria Swanson and Mary Pickford sought the role. She became became lifelong friends with two members of the Peter Pan cast (Mary Brian and Esther Ralson). Miss Bronson had major roles in the silent films Ben Hur (1925) and a Kiss for Cinderella (1925). Betty Bronson made a successful transition into talkies. She co-starred with Al Jolson in the sound film, The Singing Fool (1928). In 1933 she took about a four year break from actingto marry a wealthy North Carolinian named Ludwig Lauerhass. While she was filming Peter Pan, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. developed a crush on her. The IMDb reports that Bronson had 41 film and television appearances during her career (1922-1971). Included in her television career were roles in Run For Your Life and My Three Sons. Overall, it is reported that Betty Bronson never lived up to her original promise. She was expected to be a major competitor to Mary Pickford but it is thought that her roles after Peter Pan were not effective vehicles to showcase her talent and to help her rise to superstardom. The YouTube clip below shows Miss Bronson in her role as Peter Pan.                                                                                                             The second postcard offers another portrait of Betty Bronson. The postcard was published by Ross Verlag and has the logo of Paramount Pictures. This postcard shows her in a movie role but the movie title is unidentified.

    The third postcard is a portrait of Miss Bronson that was published by Iris Verlag as part of a series (#504). Iris Verlag was the most important Austrian publisher of film star postcards. It operated from Vienna during the 1920’s and 1930’s. The film star looks quite beautiful and is wearing a fancy dress, long white gloves, and a tiara. Imbedded in the photo of the actress is a logo for “Fanamet Films”.  Fanamet was an Austrian film distribution company.  (SOLD)

     Postcard 4 features a portrait of Betty Bronson published by Picturegoer as part of Series 88 (no.207b). The company was based in London. Picturegoer was a British fan magazine focussing on contemporary films and the actors and actresses who performed in them. Picturegoer also published postcards. In fact, they produced over 6500 different real photo postcards of 2000 actors and actresses.

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bronson 3 2 POSTCARD 3

Published in: on February 17, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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LOVELY COUPLE IN WINTER CLOTHING AND NICE HATS

A lovely couple poses for their portrait at an unknown studio. This well dressed and attractive couple are flashing wonderful smiles. The woman is dressed for winter. She is wearing boots and a long coat with a fur collar. The “AZO” stamp box indicates that this real photo postcard portrait was taken sometime between 1918 and 1930.  (SOLD)

Published in: on February 7, 2018 at 11:27 am  Comments (2)  

HORSE PULLED TROLLEY AT CAPO’S NORTH BEACH IN ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

This vintage real photo postcard features a horse drawn trolley in St. Augustine, Florida. Printing on the front of the card elaborates with “Rapid Transit at Capo’s North Beach”. Most of us would not think of a single horse pulled trolley as “Rapid Transit”, but compared to walking, the trolley was rapid transit. It wasn’t difficult to find a seat on the trolley when this photograph was taken. It’s only occupants were two passengers and the African American driver. Research revealed the story behind this particular trolley. In 1904, Paul and Ellen Capo built a boat landing on the east shore of the Tolomato (North) River, and used this horse drawn trolley to carry passengers over the dunes, to the beach. Beachgoers could swim in the Atlantic Ocean. The visitors to Capo’s North Beach arrived there via a ferry from downtown St. Augustine. The name of the ferry boat was “Pauline II”. The photographer of this photo postcard was P. A. Wolfe, of St. Augustine. Mr Wolfe was a very talented photographer. Many of his photographs can be seen at the website “Florida Memory” which is operated by the State Library and Archives of Florida. In 1921, he took a series of photographs of President Warren Harding’s visit to St. Augustine. P. A. Wolfe was born in England in 1886. The 1920 US Census reveals that he was married to Ina Wolfe and was working as a photographer in St. Augustine. The “AZO” stamp box on the reverse of this postcard indicates that it was published sometime between 1904 and 1918.   (SOLD)

Published in: on February 5, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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BELGIAN STAGE AND FILM ACTRESS: JANE MARNAC

This vintage real photo postcard features pretty Belgian stage and film actress, Jane Marnac (1892-1976). She appeared in dozens of parts on stage and sang in numerous operettas. She is well known for appearing in “Au temps des valses ” (1930), a play by Noel Coward that played at the Apollo Theater. She is also remembered for her role in “The Darling of Paris” (1931). Wikipedia provides a list of twenty of her play appearances (1912-1938) and notes that it is an incomplete list.  Wikipedia also lists six films (1911-1931) in which Marnac made appearances.  In regard to her personal life, she was born in Brussels, Belgium. She married an English officer in 1927. This postcard was published by K.F. (Kunzli Freres) of Paris, France and is part of a series (no. 2315). The company was one of the largest pioneer postcard publishing houses. The company was established in 1874. It had offices in Zurich and Paris. Beginning 1898, it became known for publishing postcard maps throughout Europe. The photographer who took Miss Marnac’s portrait seen on this postcard, was Leopold Reutlinger.

Published in: on February 4, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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LITTLE GIRL WITH CYMBALS AND LOTS OF PERSONALITY (POSTCARD FROM ANTWERP, BELGIUM)

This vintage postcard features an adorable little girl playing the cymbals. She is wearing a flower wreath in her hair and a wonderful smile. The postcard was published by NPG (“Neue Photographische Gesellschaft”) and is part of a series (no. O 1448). The postcard has a Belgian stamp that was postmarked in 1909.  The postcard is addressed to someone living in Anvers (Antwerp), which is a Flemish city in Belgium.

Published in: on February 2, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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