Looking for a Sweetheart

The message reads:

How would you like to meet John's wife?

John's Wife

John's wife sent this to Celia Finnegan, but didn't get the right address. It seems Miss Finnegan was familiar with John, but not with his wife, or maybe even the fact that he had a wife. I don't know if Celia got the hint, but John's wife certainly seems to have a sense of humor, especially considering the postcard she chose.

Save the French Orphans

This card would serve to acknowledge a contribution made to help support French war orphans of WWI.  The back of the card reads:

" Suffer the little children to come unto Me. "

Dear ______

We have received your contribution, and we are pleased to welcome you as a member _________ of the Nest, for the year 191_.

With thanks,

The Secretary

Before World War I, Liefra (an abbreviation for Liberté-Égalité-Fraternité) was an Utopian, socialist, agricultural community. It's hard to know how long it would have persisted without the advent of WWI. The lack of capital and male farmers departing for the front ensured its demise. After the war, the founder, Paul Passy, transformed it into a refuge for orphaned and abandoned children with the help of the Quakers. At that time it was called le Nid de Liefra, or the Nest of Liefra.

Johannesburg, South Africa

This card shows a view of Pritchard Street in Johannesburg, South Africa, circa 1910. Note the street light in the middle of the road. Johannesburg was a dusty settlement until gold was discovered there in 1886, setting off a massive gold rush and fueling tensions over land ownership between the existing Boer government in Pretoria and the British.  By the turn of the century, Johannesburg had a population of 100,000. It is now one of the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the world, with a population of over 7 million.