This seems like a good postcard at the end of the work week (for some) here at 5 p.m. on a Friday. And a good pick to cap off the trio of vintage postcards from the past 24 hours.
The comic illustration is captioned "I'm off" and someone has added "for home" after the word "off."
The text written sideways on the card states: "leave here in a few minutes for home. Excuse this kind of a card but it's all I have with me now. C."
Unfortunately, the postmark on the back of the card is unreadable, so I can't determine what the city or the date is. The card is addressed simply to:
Yes, that was once perfectly sufficient for a mailing address! There are Nelsonvilles in New York, Ohio and Wisconsin. Some Google searches make me think it's likely that this Bertha resided in Nelsonville, Ohio, a coal-mining town that was once nicknamed "Little City of Black Diamonds" and is the birthplace of actress Sarah Jessica Parker.Miss Bertha Howard
Nelsonville
This card was manufactured by the Detroit firm of Ely, Boynton, and Ely ("E.B.&E."), which was only in operation from 1903 to 1908 -- helping you to place the age of this card. Source: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/archivesphotos/results/item.do?itemId=P0030721
ReplyDeleteEB&E produced all manner of cards, buttons, and other advertising paraphernalia, some of it considered insensitive by modern standards -- for example, see p. 550 of this book: https://books.google.com/books?id=9WvhAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA314&lpg=PA314&dq=Ely,+Boynton,+and+Ely&source=bl&ots=ctwEbH8xOT&sig=qr639oBj_dsRXI8OCXufJg5EC5E&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjMwICP_uLRAhWCgFQKHSktA1gQ6AEIKzAE#v=onepage&q=Ely%2C%20Boynton%2C%20and%20Ely&f=false
Edward A. Ely passed away in December of 1905, likely contributing to the untimely demise of the firm. Source: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/118649219/