OK, maybe I shouldn't assume she's a witch. Maybe she's just a daffy old lady wearing colorful clothes who went out to sweep the dirt road in front her house and is raising a finger for a passing ESPN College GameDay cameraman.
Unfortunately, no publisher is listed on front or back of this Hallowe'en postcard, which was mailed in October 1911 and also features an alarmed black cat, an owl, a bunch of carved pumpkins in a field and a starry night. Does anyone have any ideas about what her raised index finger really means? She could be pointing upward to something that we can't see, perhaps flying witches or Rodan or an alien mothership. She could be indicating that she, herself, plans to ride upward on her broom in a few moments. Or she could be testing the wind direction in preparation for such flight. So many possibilities...
This postcard was mailed to Miss Ruth Miller in Erie, Illinois. It's a tiny settlement in the northwest corner of the state that had about 800 residents in 1910 and has about twice that number now.
The note states:
Dear Ruth.Albany must be Albany, Illinois, which is also located in northwestern Illinois, about 12 miles northwest of Erie. That's not too daunting of a distance, even for 1911. I hope Ruth went for a visit eventually.
Don't you ever come to Albany anymore? I haven't seen you for such a long time. Can't you come in and see my? [sic] I'll take you over to school with me. Sounds interesting doesn't it? Haha.
Lovingly, Lida.
Other vintage Halloween postcards
- The Witch's Dance
- Girl with head inside pumpkin
- Witch hugging black cat and sitting atop huge pumpkin
- Pumpkin thief chased by a "ghost"
- The Witch (Julius Bien)
- Run, little boys, run! Run from the Pumpkin Man!
- Running away from the ghosts
- Kind witch and little pumpkinheads
- Little boy beings scared by trees with faces
- Two cute kids sitting atop a smiling pumpkin
It's funny how Lida was ahead of her time, in moving on from "lol" to the recently hipper "Haha". ;)
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