PORTRAIT OF A FOOTBALL TEAM (1916 REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

rugby

This vintage real photo postcard features a portrait of a football team. The player in the center of the front row is holding a ball which announces that the team is CHS and the year of the photo is 1916. It is likely that the HS part of CHS stands for “high school”. The previous owner of this image reported that it was found with a group of many other photographs and that many of it’s companions were from either Michigan or North Dakota. The three coaches and their players look very much like the way a high school football team looks today. A fashion update may be necessary but the players intensity and pride is evident in photos from the past and the present. This image is notable for it’s excellent clarity. The postcard was printed on AZO paper issued sometime between 1904 and 1918.   SOLD

rugby 1

Published in: on December 2, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
Tags: , , ,

PRETTY WOMAN AND A BUCKET: IT MUST BE LAUNDRY DAY (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

pail

A pretty young woman squats down and leans over a bucket as she does her wash. Is she washing her laundry or is she performing some other household task? What do you think? She appears very focused on her work and is wearing an apron to protect her clothing from soiling. The woman and the location that this photograph was taken are unidentified. This vintage real photo postcard is an interesting and unusual image.

 

Published in: on November 30, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
Tags: ,

BEAUTIFUL PORTRAIT OF A MENNONITE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

 

lost rooms 5

This vintage real photo postcard features an image that encourages conjecture. Therefore, I will conjecture. I believe that the photograph presents a mother and daughter (they display a family resemblance)  posing outside their front door just past their wood porch. Mom is sitting on a chair and her daughter affectionately rests her right hand on her mother’s shoulder. Note that the daughter is standing on and the mother is sitting on a pretty rug. They apparently brought the rug from inside the house for the purpose of being used in the photograph. Judging by the pair’s clothing, I believe that they are Mennonites. The stamp box on the reverse of the postcard indicates that it is printed on AZO paper which was issued between 1904 and 1918.  (SOLD)

Published in: on November 29, 2015 at 9:01 am  Comments (2)  
Tags: ,

TWO YOUNG WOMEN WITH BIG HATS (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

hats

This vintage real photo postcard provides a view of fashion sometime slightly after 1900. The ladies clearly dressed up for their visit to the photo gallery.  Note the women’s wonderful large hats. Be sure to take notice of the large pins extending from the hat on the right. This postcard is printed on AZO paper issued between 1904 and 1918.

hats 1

Published in: on November 25, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

THE MERCHANT OF THE MASKS (REAL PHOTO FRENCH POSTCARD BY ALBERT BERGERET)

masks

This spectacular vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman posed as a seller of theatrical masks.  Note the detail of the facial features of each mask. The masks are absolutely beautiful, as is their purveyor. This RPPC was produced by celebrated French artist Albert Bergeret (1859-1932) and published in Nancy, France. Included in Bergeret’s body of work is his series “Women of the Future”. In 1902 he designed a series of postcards depicting women at work in traditionally male professions. Seen below are some examples of these cards. We see a journalist and a soldier. Other cards included a physician, lawyer, and a military general. Bergeret was no feminist. In fact, many of his depictions in the series involved women in skimpy clothing. The pictures were more like pin-ups than a call for equal employment rights for women. Bergeret was a successful businessman. His studio became the leading postcard producer in France. In 1900 he produced 25 million cards and by 1903 he published 75 million postcards. He knew how to grow a business.

women-future3                                                                                                                                                        WOMEN OF THE FUTURE   femmes_avenir_08_sous_off                                                                                                                                                          WOMEN OF THE FUTURE

masks 1

REVERSE OF THE MERCHANT OF THE MASKS POSTCARD

Published in: on November 19, 2015 at 1:40 pm  Comments (1)  
Tags: , , , ,

PRETTY WOMAN WITH A TERRIFIC SMILE (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

WATTEAU4

This vintage real photo postcard features a very pretty woman with a wonderful smile and luminous eyes. She is beautifully dressed and adorned by a necklace and flowers. Note her attracive and very detailed headpiece. The image is colored (hand tinted) and numbered (23) so is obviously part of a series. The name “Watteau” is scripted on the bottom right hand corner of the postcard. My preliminary research could not ascertain whether “Watteau” is the name of the beautiful model seen in this image or if it’s the name of the photographer. My hunch is that it is the name of the model. The reverse of this RPPC is blank, save lines for an address. Therefore, the publisher of this postcard is unknown.  (SOLD)

 

Published in: on November 16, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
Tags: ,

ROMANTIC SCENE FROM THE PLAY “HAVANA” (1908): VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD

theater

This vintage real photo postcard captures a scene from the the stage production of “Havana” which appeared in 1908 at the Gaiety Theatre in London. The play ran for 221 performances before going on the road around England. The show later played in Berlin, Philadelphia and New York City (The Casino Theatre). Interestingly, future star, Gladys Cooper appeared in the chorus. The play’s plot was that Evie Greene was the daughter of a cigar store owner who also happened to be the mayor of Havana. She was promised to her cousin in marriage but was in love with an English yachtsman (McKay). To complicate matters, the McKay was suspected of being a revolutionary. The actors in this image are Evie Greene and Leonard McKay. Edith Elizabeth (“Evie”) Greene (1875-1917) was an English actress and singer who played in Edwardian Musical Comedies in London and on Broadway. She was quite beautiful and was often photographed. She was most known for starring in the international hit musical “Florodora” (1899). She sang in the cast album of the show which was historic because it was the world’s first original cast album. This postcard was published by Rotary Photo as part of a series (no. 7431 F). It was printed in England. The photograph itself is by “Play Pictorial”. “Play Pictorial” was an English theatre magazine published in London between 1902 and 1939. The publication provided a pictorial presentation of West End theatrical productions with each issue focusing on just one play.  (SOLD)

theater 1

Published in: on November 13, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

SYBIL ARUNDALE: BEAUTIFUL THEATER ACTRESS (VINTAGE POSTCARD)

ACTRESS ONE

This item is a vintage postcard featuring the very attractive theater actress Sybil Arundale (1879-1965). Her stage roles included a number of Shakespeare plays. Her sister Grace was also an actress. The postcard was produced by Philco Publishing Company in London, England. It is number 3005 in a series. The photographer was Alexander Bassano (1829-1913) who was a leading royal and high society photographer located in London.   SOLD

ACTRESS TWO

Published in: on October 30, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
Tags: , , , , , , ,

TWO MEN MANNING THE DEEP FRYER AND DOING SOME SERIOUS COOKING (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

deep fry

This vintage real photo postcard is truly unusual. The postcard features two male cooks manning a deep fryer. They are holding cooking utensils including spatulas. Note that they are wearing aprons that are so dirty that they were probably hoping that there would be no surprise visits from the health department department. Check out the broom leaning against the bricks to the left of the men.The previous owner of this postcard contends that the men in this image are cooking for a fish fry. That theory is likely accurate. The stamp box on this postcard indicates that is was produced between 1904 and 1920.  (SOLD)

deep fry 2

Published in: on October 24, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

IMAGE AND STORY: YOUNG SOLDIER COMES HOME FROM WORLD WAR I (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

african american man 2

On November 11th, 1918, World War I came to an end. It was a joyous time and soldiers and sailors from all the fighting nations were able to return home to their loved ones. This real photo postcard provides a visual image of that time in history. We see two ships speeding home on a a rough ocean. The postcard shows an American soldier who is portrayed as being on one of these ships. Note the American flag in the background as well as the flags on each ship. This was truly a patriotic time. On the reverse of the postcard is a most interesting message. On 12/13/18, about a month after the war’s end, Richard M. Daebelliehn (1889-1964) wrote a message to his wife. I will decipher it the best that I can as it is not totally legible. “Dear Wife, I will wire you just as soon as I hit USA and will have you meet me. You can be expecting a telegram from me”. He signed his name and followed it with an alphabet soup of letters, “HQ (headquarters) M.O.R.S. (?) A. E. F. (American Expeditionary Force) France. It also appears that the word “Cook” appears before his name. Daebelliehn sent this postcard to his wife who was living in Davenport, Iowa. Research reveals that his wife’s name was Grace Luttsia Anderson. The 1920 US census reports that the couple had two children, Dorothea (age 9), and Robert (age 7). The census, as well as many city directories, indicate that Richard was a butcher (meat cutter) for many years. In fact, he owned his own business. Knowing that Richard was a butcher before the war likely explains why he was a cook in the military. Richard and his family lived in Rock Island, Illinois at the time of the census. I wish I could say that after Richard was reunited with his family that they lived happily together for many years. However, Grace died in September of 1921 in Springfield, Illinois. Richard remarried (Margaret Daebelliehn) sometime before 1930. This postcard was produced by Furia, a French postcard company. The postcard certainly is a relic of history with an image on one side and a story on the other side.

african american man 3

Published in: on October 20, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (7)  
Tags: , , , , ,
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »