Thursday, January 17, 2019

Mystery RPPC: Feeding a chipmunk at Yellowstone


This real photo postcard is a thematic companion to the snapshot I showcased a year ago of Dorothy Deemer and the chipmunks. This again looks like a chipmunk; I don't think the tail is bushy enough for it to be a squirrel. That fact that the photo is so bright doesn't help with animal identification.

Here's what we know...

  • A woman with high boots and a beaded necklace is feeding a chipmunk.
  • The name "GRANT BRAWN" is embossed on the bottom of the card.1
  • Only two things are written on the back of the RPPC: YELLOWSTONE and a year that's either 1927 or 1929, depending how you wish to decipher the handwriting. It would be presumptuous to say those words were written at the time the card was printed. They might just represent later guesses by a previous owner of the postcard.
  • The AZO stamp box, with black squares in all four corners, dates the card to between 1925 and 1949 (which isn't super helpful).

And that's all. No additional clues.

Footnote
1. In a desperate attempt to find anything on a "Grant Brawn" that might be relevant, I instead found this short news item in the September 4, 1933, edition of The Capital Journal of Salem, Oregon:
CAUSED ALARM
Merced, Cal. (UP) — Merced thought for a few minutes it had a nudist colony. An excited woman telphoned police there was one. The "colony," polic [sic] found, was just one terribly embarrassed hobo, whose clothing had been stolen while he slept in a boxcar. The officers fitted him out with overalls and shoes.

1 comment:

  1. My name is Robert Brawn and I currently reside in Eugene Oregon. It is my understanding that "Grant Brawn" is a relative of mine through my Father (Richard)'s Father Sumner Brawn. My family is out of Yoncalla Oregon but my grandfather's family had a large presence in Portland as well. If you would like to know more, I can be reached at alyxyn@peak.org and can forward your information to my parents who would know more.

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