This vintage real photo postcard features the Robbins General Store in Middleville, New Jersey. The store also served as the town’s post office and as an Esso gas station. Note the two gas pumps in front of the building. A sign indicates that the price of gas was 25 cents a gallon for regular, and 28 cents per gallon for premium. There is an Esso credit card advertising sign on a pole next to the pumps. Some of the store’s merchandise can be seen on the front porch. The items for sale include lawnmowers, garbage cans, and a wagon. The store is housed in a two story wooden structure. I wonder how the second floor was utilized. A man is posed on the porch. He is likely the proprietor of the store (Mr. Robbins?). Victor M. Robbins became the postmaster of Middleville in 1914. Victor had acquired the store in 1903. The store’s building is thought to have been built before 1837. Victor was the postmaster until 1955. Victor was succeeded by his son, Donald A. Robbins who operated the store and post office until 1987. The father and son duo ran the post office for a cumulative 73 years. The Robbins store later housed the “Robin’s General Store and Country Kitchen” which existed in Middleville until at least 2016. This postcard was published in the 1950’s by the Artvue Post Card Company. The firm was located on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The company was formed in 1948 and produced black & white postcards in the 1950’s despite the popularity of color postcards during that time. The company’s “claim to fame” was that it published postcards picturing plaques of the players that were enshrined in Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. They produced the cards from about 1951 through 1963. SOLD
This vintage postcard is unusual (uncommon). It features two female dancers, I believe they are performing a type of ballet. The dancer that is holding up the other dancer has very muscular legs. Is she a he? An inscription on the reverse of the card appears to say “Jennoff”. I was hoping that the name “Jennoff” would lead me to more information about this postcard. It failed to do so. The story behind this Italian vintage postcard, intrigues me. (SOLD)
This vintage real photo postcard features three adorable little girls dressed in lacy colorful dresses and wearing flowers in their hair. The postcard was published by ABN and dates back to circa 1909. The postcard has a French stamp and a postmark from Ardeche, a department in southeast, France. The postcard in in very good condition (see scans).
This vintage real photo postcard features five well dressed citizens being photographed by the Elite Studio, located on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The gents and ladies look like they wandered off the set of “Boardwalk Empire”. Note the hats worn by this gathering of older adults. The 1919 Boyd’s Atlantic City Directory reports that the Elite Studio was operated by photographers Erna Hoefle and Ferdinand U. Latimer. Erna is a female name. Women operating photo studios during this era was not very common. This postcard has an Artura stamp box which indicates that the card was published sometime between 1908 and 1924. This vintage postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).
This vintage real photo postcard features boxer Jack Walker (Leone Jacovacci). His story is fascinating. He was born in Pomba (Belgian Congo) in 1902. His father was an Italian agronomist and his mother was Congolese. At age three, his father took him away from his mother and went to Italy where he left Jack to be raised by grandparents. Jack’s dad returned to the Congo. The child was a victim of racism in Italy so at sixteen years of age, he went to work as a “cabin boy” on a British ship. After arriving in England, he changed his name to John Douglas Walker, thinking the English name would help him be more socially accepted. He enlisted and served in the British army. Upon discharge, he learned to box in England and began his fighting career. During his boxing career he weighed about 150 pounds and his height was 5″ 10″. His final record as a fighter was 21 Wins, 22 Losses, and 5 Ties. His official record is thought to be incomplete. He began boxing in 1920 and his career ended in 1932. His fights were in Europe. He fought in England, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Austria, Denmark, and Spain. He fought using Italian citizenship and became the Middleweight Champion of Europe. Despite a number of successes in the ring, Jack never was accepted in Italy the way he would have liked. The racist and fascist society did not allow him to really feel like a full Italian citizen or enjoy the fruits of his boxing successes. After ending his boxing career, he became a wrestler for a few years and moved to France. He was trapped there through World War II. His companion, Berthe Salmon, changed her last name to avoid being identified as Jewish. Berthe gave birth to their only child, a daughter. Post war, he worked for the United Nations and assisted refugees. Later he was employed as a bit player in the Italian film industry. In his old age, he worked as an apartment doorman and janitor. Walker died in Milan, Italy in 1983. This postcard was published by Dix, a company located in Paris. Apparently, they published a series of portraits of boxers of the day. The Cabinet Card Gallery has another postcard from the series (Pierre Calloir: French Bantam Weight). SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman and her black cat. She appears to be in her teenage years. Note her coy smile. Her cat is certainly photogenic. This French postcard is dated 1925 and was published by Alfred Noyer. Noyer was well known and acclaimed for his work photographing nude, or partially clad, beautiful women. His Paris studio operated between 1910 and the 1940’s. This postcard is in very good condition (see scans).
This vintage real photo postcard features a well dressed father and presumably, his daughter. The child rests her hand on the shoulder of her father. Judging by her expression, physical contact with her father appears to have given her a sense of security and confidence. The young girl’s hat may indicate her nationality or ethnicity. The only clue that I have about that matter is that the card was purchased from a collector in Greece. This postcard is in very good condition (see scans).
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 