Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day cards are a thing of the past, though we still celebrate the holiday.

These are both embossed cards, something that you can't really see on the scans, but it creates an uneven writing surface on the back and can make for illegible messages.

The message to Miss Georgie Green in Wayland, New York reads:

"Hello Georgie"

How you was over thare. All well I hope. You probably think I am an awful lyer but I am but I am sure  coming over It has been impossible for me to come before.

ans soon W.S.

This one, to Mrs. B.G. Brown of Norwich, New York is a lot harder to read.

Dear Ella and Bige I joust see your letter you wrote to day found it in Mells pocket - I hope you are both well and will have a nice day to day. Gladys and Bob are  up to Nellie's now Poor Nellie she has her hands full I can tell you and as does May we have moved the central (?)  agen. I bought a place think it would be cheaper  than to rent - come up  you and Bige would like to see you. Ma is well and looks well love, your mother

There Are Clues

There are clues here. I know there are clues that would help identify the location, the time frame, and a number of other details. The problem is that you have to be able to recognize the clues.

Here's what I come up with. The man on the left is Native American; I say that because he appears to be wearing moccasins rather than shoes.  The photograph was taken sometime before 1907, because the back of the card is undivided, meaning that there is only space for an address (no message) on the back. The stamp box design indicates that this real-photo card was probably developed on Eastman Kodak paper circa 1904.

Based on the dress of the man on the right, I would say we are in the western part of the United States, but how far west? I really couldn't say. There are more unanswered questions. What is that box on the wall? Who are these people? What is the pole that the Native American man has across his lap? Although the (presumably) Native American man seems humble and unassuming, the other man's attention is focused entirely on him. Was he someone important? I like to think that he was the Kalispel Chief, Masselow, based on some physical similarities, but who knows. Here's a picture of Chief Masselow from the First People's website. I'm sorry that I can't solve the puzzle of this card, even though I enjoy the mystery. Still, I can't help but think that in the right hands, these questions would find answers. Feel free to add any suggestions or insight you may have.

Here's another lead. Notice that the Native American man has a little bit of facial hair. Contrary to popular belief, Native American, particularly those in the Pacific Northwest, did grow facial hair. The facial hair may help to narrow down the tribe of this individual, because it was certainly not typical of all Native Americans. I think it probably narrows it down to the Pacific  Northwest Indians. This Edward Curtis photo from the Library of Congress shows a Native American (Old Bob from the Karok tribe) with similar facial hair.

Source: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c18587

Here are a couple of close-ups of the men. The resolution of the original is not great, so this is as good as it gets.

The theme for Sepia Saturday this week is scouts. My post has nothing to do with scouts, except for  'scouting for clues'. If you want to see some real scouts, march on over to Sepia Saturday.

What is it about those Mainers?

I've just been reading through an amusing little book of Maine postcards from 1900-1920. The book was compiled by Deborah H. Gould and is entitled: Father is Here...He's as Fat as a Pig. Believe it or not, the title comes from a message on the back of one of the cards.

 
Some of the fronts of the postcards are featured in the book too, but the real focus is on the messages.  The book is tiny, barely larger than a postcard itself, but it is full of great messages:

Monday Morning I am feeling fine expect to get a new leg today.

Everything went fine, except the fire...

Do you remember the fat man we saw out here Aug 2

Sister I did not go to the fair after all. Jimmy brought home some real bananas kinder think he'll die before morning.

I have looked at a lot of postcards and I also tend to focus on the message side, but I have never seen so many unusual, cryptic, and hilarious messages on postcards. I wondered how Deborah was able to find these. She must have spent years going through boxes in antique stores and flea markets.

I also wondered if the unusual nature of the messages had something to do with the fact that they are all from Maine.  I have a number of Maine postcards. Here are a few.

Very few of my Maine postcards have any message at all on the back, including the ones that were sent. None of these do, not even the last one, sent in 1925 to Miss Elizabeth Hall on Great Diamond Isle in Portland, Maine. No message, not even a signature. I know that Mainers have a reputation for saying very little, so I assumed that this might account for the lack of messages.

Maybe the cards with the great messages never make it out of the state. I don't know. I noticed something else about the messages in the book though. Fat is mentioned in a number of the messages, something I found very unusual. I have also never seen haint written on a card, as in Dear Sister I haint heard from you for some time... I think it was a good idea to limit the cards in the book to Maine cards, because you get a sense of the place as well as the era.

If you want to take a closer look at the book or order one for yourself, you can find it here on Amazon.com.