The German American Collection, The Postcards

So why are there a couple of non photographic postcards in this post? My one exception to my all photos all the time rule; If it's part of a greater collection, it gets a pass. To repeat, a dealer in Florida bought these images at an estate sale. He sold a lot of the pictures separately, and then put the rest up on line in a couple of lots. I tried to get them all, but could only get this one group of pictures. Because there are so many gaps, and very little identifiers, I'm putting up this collection when I get around to it, in a very catch as catch can manner. I call it the German American collection because there was one photo postcard of a wedded couple (Already posted)and the butt end of an old album, both from Germany. When the family who owned these photos came to the United States is a mystery to me. Click on German American in the labels section to bring the whole lot up.

Camp Hancock, Postage Due

Postmarked, "AUGUSTA, GA MAY 20 1:30 PM 1918 HANCOCK BRANCH" Addressed to, "Mr. John Hayes 113 E. Main St., Amsterdam, NY c/0 John Burke" And the message, "Well John we had a great trip down here we left Fort Slocum 10 clock Wed morning on the boat and got in Jersey City at 12 got our lunch and left Jersey City at 2 o'clock by train and got in Camp Hancock 12 o'clock Thursday night. from Coney" One would think that Coney was a lucky young man. World War 1 would end on November 11, 1918, so even if he saw combat, it wouldn't have been much. But then again, on the last day of September 1918 there were two men in the camp infirmary. On October 1, there were 716 cases of Spanish flu in the camp. By October 5, there were 3,000 cases and 52 dead. This card was published by "A. M. SIMON, 32 UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK."

The Postcard Bride

A real photo postcard was just that. Rather than using a commercial printing process, each individual postcard was printed with an enlarger, on light sensitized paper with a stamp box and space for address and message on the back, and then developed in a chemical bath. A number of companies, most notably Kodak, made photo postcard stock, and most professional photo studios, photo finishers, and many home darkrooms kept it on hand. Kodak even made a camera, the A3, that yielded a negative that could be printed without cropping on a standard postcard. (I think it used 620 roll film, but I haven't been able to verify that.) So, I wonder how many copies of this image was ordered by the bride. Did she slip one into the wedding invitation, or with the thank you notes for the wedding gifts? All we can really know is that this particular card was never mailed and no information was recorded on the back. My guess is that it's from the twenties or thirties.

Polarine From Standard Oil

Even though this postcard is of a Detroit city bus, it was mailed from and to Kansas City. The postmarks, for sending and receiving are both "KANSAS CITY NOV 5 1911" The times are "7-PM" and "8-PM" Mailed and sent to the same post office. It's addressed to "Mr Raymon Walker, MC book" No street address or city name, so it might have gone to a box in the building, or it was for counter pick up, or the mail man knew everyone on his route. And the message, "Mr. Walker, Dear friend thank you verry much for your remembrance towards me. Will leave KC November the 6th for Va by the way of Atlanta, Georgia. Your G. McWilliams" Mr Walker, Dear friend, a strange mixture of the formal and familiar. And he misspelled dear friend's first name. Very strange.

Irene White of Plains, Montana

Another real photo postcard. Written on the back, "Miss Irene White, Plains, Mont-P.O. Box 468-24 years old the 23 of Oct. From Joe" Never mailed, no stamp, cancellation or date. In 1905, the town of Horse Plains, dropped the Horse and became just Plains. So after 1905. The very first post on this blog was prints made from glass negatives purchased in Montana. I'd take a look, and so should you.

Missionaries

One of the pleasures of collecting old photographs is...well, guessing. Even when an image is labeled with dates, names, and locations, the best that can be done, even if the image is something that can be researched, is to make an educated guess. When I look at this real photo postcard, I see the wife and son of a missionary. There are a lot of other explanations, but that's what I see.



In the second half of the nineteenth century, the United States joined the British in shipping out young men and their families to convert the heathen, and like the British, had mixed results. A lot of the natives had no desire to be converted, and many simply added Christ to the pantheon of deities they already worshipped.



One of the most noted American missionaries was William Sheppard, often referred to as Black Livingston. Like the Scott, David Livingston, Sheppard, the first African American sent to Africa as a missionary, used his church assignment as a platform to pursue his real interests. During his time in the Congo Free State, he excelled as an explorer, big game hunter, anthropologist, ethnographer, art collector, and on his return trips to the United States, lecturer. And while British diplomat Roger Casement, wrote reports on the genocide in the Congo, the legacy of King Leopold of Belgium, and Mark Twain wrote about it in his book, King Leopold's Soliloquy, it was Sheppard at the risk of his life, who trekked through the Congo and documented the mass murder of Africans, by the Belgians that left so many dead. While we can never know for sure, one figure cited by historians for the final death toll of Leopold's rule is 10,000,000. All for piano keys, jewelry, and pneumatic tires.

Mt. Manitou Scenic Incline Railway

Well, I think I'm going to put up a few postcards over the next couple of days. This one goes with some other incline cards I've posted recently. (Click inclines in the labels section to bring them up.) What fascinated me about this one is that it was postmarked "COLORADO SPRINGS MAY 15, 1940 8;30 AM COLO" Take a close look at the clothes the ladies are wearing. The Mt. Manitou Scenic Railway was opened in 1907 to transport pipes for a local water system and then converted into a tourist route. This picture was clearly taken a lot closer to 1907 than 1940. Before it became a tinted linen postcard, the same image was probably sold as a straight up black & white card. With luck I'll be able to find one for the collection. Addressed to "Mr & Mrs James O. Doranth Jr., 7049 S. E. 35th Ave., Portland, Oregon" The message, "Dear Everybody, We motored today about half way to Denver, had lunch at a roadside inn, took a trip through the Garden of the Gods, visited Manitou Springs, and drank of the waters, had a good dinner, and am now reading the magazines and newspapers. We are here and happy. Love to all, Pops. 5/14/40." The caption, "This incline rises to an altitude of 10,500 feet. It's maximum grade is 68%. The views from a series of unobstructed ridges gradually widen as the car makes the ascent and, on reaching the summit, there is unfolded a magnificent panoramic view of mountain and plain." For the record, my research says that the summit of Mt. Manitou is 8,600 feet. The incline closed in 1990 after the track was blocked by a landslide.