Good Luck, Soldier Boy

A soldier stops in a small town in 1917 and gives his address to young woman. She sends him a card. Does he write back? Do they ever meet again? I guess we'll never know.

The message to Sergeant Johnson reads:

Dear Friend

Will drop you a card guess you remember handing me your address in Rockingham

hope you are well and having a nice time my address is 

Bessie Giles Rockingham, N.C.

Hearst Newspapers Free Postcard Supplement

If you subscribed or bought a Hearst Sunday newspaper on December 27, 1903, you would have received this free postcard supplement. Then you could have cut them apart and mailed them off to friends and relatives telling them how much you loved the Christmas gifts they sent you.

They were printed on regular paper, not card stock, but the postal service was so gentle back then that I'm sure they arrived in good shape. I have more of these from 1903 and 1904, but Hearst made them as late as 1907. Here's the back side of the cards.

G.A. Heyne, Druggist - Syracuse, New York

Here's a trade card, probably from the 1880s, from Syracuse, New York. Why the druggist would use a chef with a lobster on his card is a mystery to me, but it's a captivating picture.

In 1894 the State Department of Health of New York issued a report on the quality of diluted sulfuric acid from various druggists. G.A. Heyne received a rating of fair.