Monday, April 12, 2010

Nix on the Married Life

I wish this picture was a little clearer, because I would love to take a closer look at some of the details on the furnishings. What's up with that ceiling trim?
The message says:
Brother + Sister. We are coming out to the Farm Thursday and will be down and stay all night with you if we can find where you live.
GEB
Wait a minute, you don't know where your brother and sister live? How does that happen? In any case, the mailman was probably unable to deliver the card, since it is marked "not known." I wonder where they spent the night.

8 comments:

  1. Could it be "brother and sister" in a religious or fraternal sense rather than members of the same family? Whatever the explanation, it is certainly a fascinating card.

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  2. Christine, This is one with a story for sure! Love the one cent stamp. Could "Elmira" be a reference to a group as Alan has suggested? And how did it get to the correct address with so little info? Plus the image is filled with drama - the dad is looking straight at the camera with an expression that suggests frustration, perhaps anger? Really enjoyed this!

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  3. How strange that the writer says they'll "stay all night." What, they usually stay only a part of it?

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  4. Alan, I think you may be right, because if brother and sister is meant in a religious sense, then it explains why brother and sister (presumably adults) are living together.

    Amy, I don't think the card ever made it to the addressee. Elmira is the name of the town in upstate New York. It's where Mark Twain spent his summers.

    Robert, you're right...another oddity.

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  5. I think it's a warning for guys to send guys. Get married? This is what you get. It the same vein of all those silly romantic photograph cards that were some reason so popular.

    The stuff hanging down near the ceiling I think is to hide the fact the walls don't go all the way up. I imagine it was a set that was built and used for several different shots. The fella looks to have been cut out and placed on the background because his hair looks a bit too angular. I'm imagining this set like the ones they used line up outside to shoot silent movies. Of course, I'm probably wrong.

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  6. T&L,
    I like the idea that it could have been a silent movie set. I tried to look at his hair more closely, but it is all so murky. It's a mystery.

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  7. Wow, lot's of speculation on this one... Brother and sister could have just lived together as farmers in those days, typical extended family household- the farm may have belonged to parents that has passed on. One of them may also have been an 'in-law'. And I'm guessing that 'stay all night if we can find you' is just a joke of some sort.

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  8. I am convinced after reading these last couple of cards that people led more adventurous lives on a daily basis. No one really knew what was going to happen from one moment to the next.
    & yes that trim is pretty ornate.

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