A Range of Stoves

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt shows a country store interior with a pot-bellied stove. In addition to heating, people also used wood-fired stoves for cooking. Sometimes they were simple and other times they were extremely ornate.

Garland stoves have been around for a long time. In fact I remember considering one when I was shopping for ranges years ago. As far as I know, Garland only produces commercial ranges now.

This is one of my favorite advertising cards, although it's difficult to show with scanned images.
It starts out as a triangle like this.

 And then unfolds to find the children doing unspeakable things. The maid runs to alert their mother.

When she come back with the mother, the children are sweetly reading their books by the fire. But where is the cat?

In any case, it's an amazing stove. Not surprisingly, people still collect these even if they don't use them for heat. 

The Michigan Stove Co. had been making Garland stoves had been around since 1864, but they were originally unveiled at the 1893 World's Fair. In 1925 The Michigan Stove Co. merged with Detroit Stove Works, makers of "Jewel" Stoves and Ranges. Here's a trade card of theirs showing no stoves at all, but a blissed out girl on a shopping trip. She looks to me as if she's waiting for a train.

 

The Jewell stove name may be in quotation marks to distinguish it from another company, makers of the Jewett Range.

Sherman S. Jewett (1818-1897) was better known for his civic involvement and philanthropy than his stove business. You can read more about him here.

Be sure to check out Sepia Saturday this week, with many posts inspired by a single photograph.

Tuberculosis of the Head

Martha sent this card to her grandmother in May of 1909 from Davenport, New York. At that time her grandmother would have been 73 years old. When Fannie Utter was born in 1836, Andrew Jackson was president, the battle of the Alamo has just been fought, and there were 24 states in the United States. By the time Fannie died in 1915, she had lived through the Civil War, Lincoln's assassination, the invention of the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, moving pictures, and many other historic events. If she had only lived an additional 5 years, she would have been able to vote.

Fannie must have been delighted to get such a beautiful card, but the message probably had her deeply worried.

Dear Grandma

Thanks for the card you sent me I am feeling fine for me and working as hard as ever

Milo is sick again

The Dr. told him Monday he had symptoms of Tuberculosis of the head Wouldn't that be terrible if he has it

you must write a letter soon

from Martha

Oh, I do hope that Milo didn't have tuberculosis of the head. Tuberculosis was one of the leading causes of death at that time.

Did You Really Say That?

This card shows a scruffy, ink-stained photo of L'arc de Triomphe in Paris, not worth posting if it weren't for the message on the back.

The message from Minnie to Seargeant Richard Davis, a patient at the U.S. Army Base Hospital #1  reads:

9-30-18

This arch is but 2 blocks from our hotel I do hope you will get to see Paris for it is a most beautiful city. Although I hate to admit it, I do think it is much prettier than New York. Hope you are still with us so I may see you again.

Sincerely Minnie

I'm afraid I don't know if Minnie was able to see him again or not.