Streetcar Sunday - Celeron Park

Celeron Park was an amusement park in Jamestown, New York. Early on, streetcars were instrumental in creating viable communities outside of cities, because they ensured that residents could easily travel  from their homes in the suburbs to their jobs in the city. But that meant that on weekends the streetcars would sit idle - unless of course they could transport people to amusement parks such as Celeron Park. This arrangement was great for streetcar operators and for residents.

The card probably dates from about 1910, but the message was written much later, in 1966. It's amusing to see a communication like this sent by mail. Now, of course, it would be an email, a text message, or a phone call.  The sender has obviously advertised something for sale and received a card from a prospective buyer. Now he is writing back trying to determine what the prospective buyer wants. Then, the prospective buyer has to write back again...and finally he will get the goods. It's hard to imagine that long-distance telephone rates were once prohibitive enough that it really made more sense to communicate by mail.

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Strange Mutoscope Cards

These are relatively strange Mutoscope cards, in that their allure is less obvious than other more typical examples, which often depict women with skirts flying up in the air. Since I already explained what Mutoscope cards are in a previous post, I won't do it again. If you didn't read it (or can't remember), you should really check out this previous post.

Cape Town, South Africa

This card showing Cape Town, South Africa at the foot of Table Mountain was sent in May, 1905. The short message on the front says:

Good Morning!

Alf Comstock

Here's another view of South Africa, circa 1905