Hanging the Moon

Pam’s Pictorama Post: We are mooning around today here at Pictorama and of course Deitch Studio is a good place for it as no one does it better than Kim in my opinion. That old man on the moon – Kim makes him toothy and gives him carbuncles and craters for an extra moon-y surface to his bald head. There was a time when I might have said that the Man on the Moon best defined Kim’s work – along with the time clock with a face standing over him for starters. And I generally ask Kim for a moon face (and snow) in our holiday cards.

*A good ‘ole Kim Deitch moon in this eye popping pic of a cartoon mural!*

Postcards, photography, cartoons – all in love with the man on the moon and hanging with him. My collection has a few choice photo postcards of people sitting on the moon (I’d have more if they weren’t so expensive!) and of course even just a few posts back there were kittens in a balloon flying toward the moon. A few images from my collection are below. (The post about the photo of Kim and Simon shown below can be found here.)

(The card above was from a previous postcard sale and was in a January post which can be found here.)

As much as we crave sunlight there is something about being out under the rays of a bright full or roaring orange harvest moon that makes us kick up our heels in a totally different way – not to mention the romantic interludes it inspires. I remember reading a passage in a novel about roaming through backyards and streets in the suburbs late at night under a bright full moon. Having grown up in suburbia it brought such a specific image to my mind that stayed with me. And where I grew up it would have also been the moon on the water too, always reflected on the river in our backyard. Stephen Millhauser writes very compellingly about having a different life by night – I may be thinking of him. (His novella, Enchanted Night is a good place to start with his books.)

*Available in paperback in a number of places online.*

I fell hard for this postcard immediately. I found it last weekend at the postcard show and the dealer told me it is a part of a series. Although I found another copy of this card in a collection online, I was unable to find others from a series. I will be keeping a sharp eye out however.

*An early Deitch Studio holiday card production with moon, stars instead of snow. I like those too.*

It would appear that these youngsters are constructing this natty moon fellow, placing his hat, glasses (those are a nice touch!), giving him a pipe, and one doing something with his mustache – applying it? There is a tiny paint can next to him. Obviously a ladder is necessary to do this work. The boys are all wearing overalls in different colors and reach sports red shoes.

The thing about this image is this amazing flying contraption the boys are in. When you look carefully it is a flying boat – something akin to a rowboat with wings, a kite-tail and strange wheels – for use on land? Another look and you realize that there is something coming off the flying machine to the back of the moon – it appears it is actually propping it up in the softly star studded sky. The painting boy, tucked in the seat of this machine, has a tiny ship’s wheel in front of him to steer. How all three would fit is also a further question for our imagination.

*Kim and Simon posing for a moon seat photo as tiny tots!*

Lastly this machine hangs over the endless sea – like it is taking place somewhere at the ends of the world, which is likely is. Waves appear to gently lap but of course space and scale are left entirely to our imagination. I must say the artist had a wonderful vision and got to run with it on this one.

This card was never mailed although the back has indications that it was pasted into something. The maker’s mark is postcard druik u. Verlag von B. Dondort, G m.b.H. Frankfurt a/m which doesn’t seem to lead to much of anything.

It is seldom that an image makes me as dreamy as this one does. It gives a new visual to the idea of thinking that your loved one has indeed hung the moon for you. A cheerful thought on a rainy Sunday here in New York City and at Deitch Studio.

Beauty

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: Yesterday’s postcard show did not disappoint, and Kim and I wiled away an hour or two perusing the wares. This is a single day show and therefore a bit smaller and folks say they don’t bring as much stock but we made out just fine. We will wait for Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6 for that. Meanwhile I present one of my purchases which caught my eye, however it is more fun now that I have transcribed the message on the back. The message is for a new kitty, named Beauty, that has clearly joined the family.

It would appear that these cats are ice skating – and this Mom (?) cat is putting a skate on the young cat (boy? it has a blue bow) although there is only one, which she has just placed on his foot. (Where is the other skate?) The chair is somewhat mysteriously placed out on the ice, another cat skating with what appears to be a cane in the background. In the foreground there is a black kitty, who looks like my Blackie with just some white on his neck, also standing with a cane. (Do cats need canes to stand like humans? Is this something we should know if we want them to become bipeds?)

Youngster looks like the one I am calling Mom and has a matching tabby stripe to his fur. The skater in the background also appears to have stripes but is at a distance and somewhat indistinct. The weird sea green ice (which makes them appear to be actually standing and seated on water) goes to an only slightly lighter background. Dad pokes out of the frame and Mom perches right on it.

*Back of card – very embossed indeed! Makes it a bit hard to read at first.*

This card is embossed, creating a very three-dimensional effect, and around the edge is some snow decoration, also embossed. The postcard was made in Germany, however no artist is identified with it. Youngster is eager to get skating I’d say.

*We stopped for lunch at a place called Bagel Pub.*

I didn’t understand the message at first as it took some decoding. Despite the neat script the back of the card is pitted with the embossing making it hard to read. Anyway, it reads as follows, October 2d 1910. Well, my one eared Beauty how are you? Snoozing in your mother’s big chair I presume. Be good to little Georgie and never scratch him. Hope you will live many years. Auntie B. It was mailed to, Beauty Dunham, 782 Commercial S, East Weymouth, Mass. and just in case below that, To Georgie Dunham. It’s nice that she dated it because the postmark does not show the year, although October 3 and 6 AM show, as does New Jersey, but only Brio…? shows on the postmark for location which I cannot figure out. And gosh, what happened to one of Beauty’s ears?

Spotted this interesting building – the old bit in front seems to have actual gas lamps. The ancient building on the other side is interesting too. This is 13th Street, I think between 7th and 6th, southside of the street.

Meanwhile, Kim had his maiden voyage on the subway, his first long trip out since surgery. I think a change of scenery swept away any cabin fever he had, although admittedly he has been deep into his work so I am not sure how much he was suffering from his time at home as a result. However, all is onward and upward here at Deitch Studio.

Way Up!

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Today is Metropolitan Postcard Club Show Day! Yay for new postcards for Pictorama! We herald that event with a postcard from the last show, purchased for it’s kitten collage-ness.

Photos of kittens floating in balloons is a sort of sub-genre of early 20th century photography and this is a late example – almost a tribute to those. This card was mailed from Kingston, New York on July 27, 1944. (As an aside, I had cousins who lived near Kingston, New York and was probably visiting them thirty years later.) So it is later than most of my collection but is reminiscent of those earlier cards. (You can check out some of those posts here and here.)

In the Kills refers to the upstate area full of small water bodies (kille is Dutch for waterway) and those areas such as Fishkill, Peekskill and Catakill (the last being where those cousins resided) named thusly.

These cats are a further play on words with the broader Catskill area. The postcard play on words was popular and I have future posts devoted to more of these as of course cat cards are like nip to me. We have two fluffy kits in a basket with a “balloon” that looks like maybe it is a fishnet stocking or real fish netting around a ball, which is probably then held by a string of fishline we cannot see. An ever so slightly cross-eyed moon face looks on – the yellow is a nice contrast in this otherwise almost dark and stormy card. I gather these kits are making their journey at night.

*Pams-Pictorama.com collection – very similar!*

The back of this card is printed in an unusually legible hand. It says, Dear Very Dear Elinor Hello; Sweetness. How be you, and the partner – O.K. I hope – the same here – in this grand restful place – I am getting along famously – take a walk most every day – and am receiving excellent care – in the intervals – lots of love from your old man – brother. AL. It is addressed to, Mrs. R.H. Robinson, 155 Clymer Street, Brooklyn, 11, New York.

The ingenuity of cards like this interest me. I am always looking at them and thinking about which two of the seven I could convince to sit in a basket (none) and tie a little ball to it, etc. I am sure it was a day’s work that was harder than it may look. Meanwhile, this one has these collage elements of the moon and background layered in. It is though, remarkably similar to the earlier one I show here.

Meanwhile, Kim and I are off to the West Village soon to see what irresistible cat cards are in store for me today. Wish me happy collecting! It is bright and sunny here in New York and having a spring swing back toward warm today. Kim is braving downtown for the first time since his back surgery – getting a bit of cabin fever I think doing nothing these days really but working on hard his next book. We’ll get him some air and a change of scenery. More to come!

Family

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Today’s is a recently acquired photo postcard – it showed up in the mail last night as a matter of fact. I bought it off eBay on a whim and am more charmed by it in person. This photo today would probably be photo shopped or fully AI generated which makes its skill – and its imperfect bits – that much more endearing.

Seven cats are lined up here – several are looking at a spot in front of them and we assume the person behind the camera has something to capture their gaze that way. Almost all of them are very fluffy indeed, and the dark haired one on the left could almost make another cat with that enormous tail. It says a family group and I wonder if it is mom and dad on either end and this variety of kits betweenn. There is one tabby, third from the right who doesn’t fit the family fur, short-haired or so it would appear.

If we assume that mom and dad are on either end, there is a dead ringer for each of them in the pile – the white kit all the way left and the one next to it. The others are a bit more of a wild mix and I really like the one who wouldn’t sit and has his or her back up a bit. Dad just has an insane amount of fluff and both are well brushed and maintained.

Everyone is seated on a garden bench with painted some sort of boxes acting as end tables. There is a nice cushion on the bench being enjoyed by the cats – no idea how they got the cats on the end to pose so perfectly. There are cushions on the ground in front of the bench, covered in a sort of oriental rug pattern. I wonder if those cushions are for the back of the bench but didn’t work for the photo. We can’t see much of a garden behind them, but we get glimpse of the flowering shrubs behind them.

This card is undated and was never sent. It appears to be American made but there is no maker credit on the back.

As the mom of seven cats myself (the Jersey Five and NY kitties) I have to admit that I do not have a single photo of all of them in one frame. I actually only seem to have four of the Jersey Five together, let alone along with Cookie and Blackie. So hats off to this ambitious photographer and cat parents somewhere and back in time.

Kitten Card

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Today I have plucked this hand-colored card out of the pile. It was used as a birthday card and it certainly is cheerful enough to make a good one. Kitten pictures are like dopamine hits and during stressful times if I can, I find watching videos of them or looking at pictures of them very soothing. Given the feline nature of Pictorama this is probably not surprising.

Meanwhile, I have seven cats, no shortage here, and yet looking at more cats still appeals to me, although I do recognize that I do not need to acquire any at the moment. (I’m not sure I documented the sudden acquisition of five cats when my mother died, although longstanding readers probably figured it out. For new readers, that is how I went from always having two to having seven more or less overnight. It’s a lot of cats.) All that to say I am cheerfully contributing to your dopamine acquisition online today, a bit of cat fluff to cheer your weekend, (another) rainy one if you are in Manhattan. (Not to mention to help get with the time change – that certainly snuck up on me.)

This young woman might be from the early 1920’s to as late as the 1930’s when we take her clothes and hair (careful marcel wave) into account. She holds two very likely little suspects, a tabby (always a good look on those) with his small paws wrapped around her arm, and fluffy white one with spots, the true color of which is hard to peg.

The kittens are small enough to be easily subdued by the young woman holding them. Her dress has a wild print and has been painted in this interesting orange, red stripe running down the front and a sort of Keith Haring-esque pattern. She sports a bracelet which appears to be silver and has a charm hanging off of it. Her ruffled cuffs and collar have been left a bright white. There are some sort of illegible decorations down the front of her dress and artificial looking ropes of flowers are color sketched in behind her. If she wasn’t such a pretty woman, she would recede behind all this visual noise, however she holds her own.

Inked on the back in neat script is says, Dear Kathie, Wishing you many happy returns of the day. From Lily & John. However, there is no postmark, it must have been handed to her or on gift perhaps.

Given my affection for such antique missives, it probably isn’t surprising that I am still a sender of cards. Although the circle is smaller than it used to be, physical cards still go out for birthdays and for some, Valentines, Easter and for a large group (as you have seen) Christmas. Are the best of my cards being saved to turn up in the future? It’s hard to say, but I believe the folks I send them to seem to appreciate the physical reminder that I am thinking of them and have chosen a card for them. (And who doesn’t love a bit of unexpected mail that isn’t a bill?) However, it is undeniably an anachronism, albeit one I hold dear. So this is a cat card for all of you today – I will say that personally I needed a cat pic today and this one has done just fine.

Any Luck?

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: It’s a Wain wannabe card again today. While Mainzer has the most Pictorama posts (one of those can be read here) dedicated to his pursuit of the Louis Wain feline illustrator fame, today’s card is a very fair competitor in this race.

This card reminds me of where I used to go running along the river here in Manhattan and where often in the warmer seasons there would be folks fishing – some looking quite business like about it and others more at their leisure. Although I haven’t done a lot of it myself, I grew up around fishing and long-time Pictorama readers might remember that my maternal grandfather repaired outboard motors and made lead sinkers – weights for bottom fishing. There was a time when I would clean fresh caught fish in the backyard – making me very popular with the cats – and although I guess muscle memory would take over I have no desire to gut fish these days.

It’s a sunny day in the cat neighborhood here and our protagonists are an orange striped fellow wearing a sporty sort of huntsman’s hat and City kitty, tricked out in a bowler, bowtie and carrying walking stick. Fishing cat has a tin of bait and a straw bag to hold his catch; his line is bobbing in the water and the look he gives the other kitty distinctly lacks welcome – annoyed that his fishing is being interrupted.

Tiny boats are way off in the distance on the water, including way that appears to be steaming along at the very tip of the horizon. Gulls have been sketched in, wheeling above in a sky with puffy clouds and there is some pretense at water current. A cheerful blue border puts the finishing touch on this as a summery scene.

Meanwhile, our town puss has a genial look with his white collar and paws that could almost pass for white cuffs too. He is clearly the one inquiring, Had any luck? His hat is set straight on his head (no wise guy this one) and I like the way he fills the space – it is a dynamic composition even if a bit awkward. His stick points one way and the fishing pole another. It might be fair to say that neither of these cats is very firmly installed on the ground below him – they both float a bit in space despite a light shadow cast by each.

The image is signed VR and a quick search turns up Cornelis Van Vredenburgh as a Dutch cat card artist with that signature. Clearly riding the wave of Wain and active during part of the same early 20th century period Van Vredenburgh has a less ironic and sometimes sweeter attitude. Nor does he find his way into the psychedelic realm of Wain’s latter period. I show a Wain beach scene from my collection for comparison. (The post can be read here.)

*Pam-Pictorama.com Collection from a 2018 post.*

Evidently cat cards were a sideline for VR who signed his full name to his Impressionist landscape oil paintings (example below) for which he is perhaps better known although these cards are sought after today as well.

*Landscape by Cornelis Van Vredenburgh* *– found online. It is possible to buy prints of some of his non-feline work.*

This card was mailed from Luzern, Switzerland in 1913, not sure how to read the month and the day. In a light blue ink it reads, Luzern, Aug 1 I leave for Mayence then a boat ride down the River Rine, EGA and mailed to Master Jamie Thayer, Farmington, New Hampshire, USA. In pencil and likely a more contemporary note, it says in caps, VIOLET ROBERTS. The publisher is The Photochrom Co., L1D, London, Tunbridge Wells and it is the Celesque Series. Photochrom was a significant publisher of postcards (they started with Christmas cards) which were characterized but a tri-color Swiss photochrom process.

It is snowing – yet again – as I close this post. Luckily I think today we will get away without any real accumulation. However, not a wonder as this snowing winter makes its way into March that I needed to pull a sunny summer’s day card out of the pile this morning.

Red Hot

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: I believe in my last post I opined a bit on the advent of more coming snow – here on the East Coast it has been a winter of record snow delivery. As promised 19 more inches of the stuff was delivered in a twelve-hour period. Blackie, ever the card, decided to begin projectile vomiting at 4am that morning, which continued into the afternoon. I have a theory that the boy wants me to have every possible experience as a client at the animal hospital where I work and thereby aide my fundraising prowess a notch.

*Pretty good snowman this week, in front of a diner on First Avenue.*

I watched him carefully and luckily by afternoon (the mounting snow had not stopped or even slowed) he rallied and held food down and continued to. However, he did make a visit to the local vet as a result later in the week for his trouble. As a diabetic cat we need to keep an eye on swings in his fructose levels. Shown below, he is enduring having his blood checked. Poor little man! His sugar, while a bit high, is now stable and his insulin remains the same.

*Poor Blackie, in the temporary cone of shame at the vet so he doesn’t nip during the blood draw.*

However, this weekend has dawned sunny, some fog burning off after a nice (comparatively) warm front moved in. Our snow has been reduced to manageable piles – although I just saw that we need to expect a bit more tomorrow. Meanwhile, I have chosen this odd but compelling postcard above to help plant my mental seeds for spring as I am ready for it this year.

*Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.* *(Although admittedly MIA!)*

I am deeply fond of cyanotypes and I own a few. One post covers a several of mine but also mentions a lovely book of cyanotypes from a collection called Ipswich Days. (You can read the post here.) In the process of writing this, I forgot that I had the one shown above (which I wrote briefly about here back in 2014 although the post is more about the odd toy shown). It seems I thought I may have given it away which helps to explain my memory loss concerning it.

I looked into the process a bit this morning and frankly have not come up with a better definition than pink or red cyanotype – although again, this is a mass produced card, not a real single photo image. I did find this startlingly beautiful pink and blue cyanotype card, for sale on eBay for $35 at the time of writing. I also found the other pink card which seems to be the same process as mine and is also French, a New Year’s card. (It is a different postcard publisher however.)

*A wowza, but not in Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.*

My card has a slightly iridescent and surreal look through a flower to the image of a woman holding a similar flower, a Gerber daisy comes to mind. She’s an early 20th century beauty from what we can see of her and it is a trippy spring she seems to foretell. Some sort of a dark leafy branch is in the foreground of the image giving it more depth, as do the shadows under the “flower”.

*Looks like the same process but a different French company produced it. Not in Pams-Pictorama.com Collection either.*

As mentioned above, the marking on my card (front and back) is PC Paris, however the company is WS Diamant G.E.F. which is a German company, the initials probably referring to a process copyright. PC Paris (probably short for Photo-Ciné Paris in this case) was a major distributor of real photo postcards in the 1910’s-’30’s. I gather from my research that some of their line were the more risqué postcards of French fame. Ooo-la-la as they say!

Not surprisingly, our 2026 groundhog forecaster warned of a late spring. (I worry he was subsequently buried under snow here in the tri-state area. I hope he is napping) The farmer’s almanac tells us it will be a very warm one once it gets here – weather whiplash once again. Orwasher’s, our bread and baked goods purveyor of old New York fame, has begun a Purim push of treats (a previous post devoted to homemade hamantaschen can be found here) so I guess Easter isn’t too far off either. I saw (bright pink!) hydrangea for sale at the deli yesterday and I know my dahlias await planting in late April. The magnolia, cherry trees and peonies will be the first out however and I can’t wait to see them this year.

More Mooning

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: As I write New York City is descending, once again, into a snowy abyss – they are saying a blizzard, but of course that remains to be seen. The weather folks are saying as much as 24 inches – and that Central Park is only set up to measure to 18! We had a blizzard about a decade ago. I believe at the time my parents, still living on the waterfront in New Jersey, were my main concern and they were indeed without power for days. My mom installed a high-end generator at the house in New Jersey when she bought it which has been a blessing there. However, we are weathering this storm in Manhattan, so we are hoping to not lose power.

At the moment, ahead of the schedule we’d been offered, it is a wet hard snow. Kim and I have things we thought we would do this morning – our weekly trip to Orwasher’s for fresh bread for the week, the drugstore – but if so, we will be out in it for a while alas. After several winters with little or no snow we seem to be hitting a bumper crop and since Mother Nature will do what she will, nothing to do for now but make soup (a batch of an easy potato and leek soup was whipped up yesterday – shout if you want the recipe) and hope for the best.

All the more reason for delving into this very fun Moon Series (it declares in the lower right) card I bought back in the fall. This cheeky couple seems to want to wake the sleeping moon up and she is about to give him a poke with her umbrella. The man is egging her on – poor Mr. Moon! Let him snooze I say – not to mention how grumpy he already looks. I guess if people are going to poke him, he’s grumpy with good reason. This card was never sent and on the back it is noted that it is Valentine’s Series, Printed in Gt. Britain.

The man and the woman appear to have been applied onto this Moon picture – not a Moon photo set as we often see. They are in turn of the century dress so this may have been some advance photo printing for the day. You can see this from the surface of the card and how it was printed. It makes me wonder what instruction they were given for posing although they have placed the people just right for the umbrella to be posed to give him a poke! A careful look also shows their feet not quite on anything, although a shadow has been applied to help with the illusion. A poem below reads:

One kiss, my love, nor be so shy,
The prying moon is fast asleep;
Slumber seals his watchful eye;
The blinking little starlets peep
Through the curtain of the sky,
Trying each, in vain, to keep
Open wide in its tiny eye,
One kiss, my love, nor be so shy,
The prying moon is fast asleep

So much for the (poor, beleaguered) Moon who, far from prying, is trying to sleep!

A search online only reveals these images below and for sale on Etsy. There were others and some very similar ones that have been used for contemporary reprints although not necessarily from this very series.

Not in Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.

Looking closely there is an argument for this having been the same photo shoot and that the costumes were retouched with different colors in each – although clearly a different (wide awake and jollier) Moon in these, as well as some nice big fat stars. I am a sucker for these sorts of cards and there were another few in this buy that I have written about recently, one of those was a gift to Kim, and that post can be found here.

It’s perhaps a good day for lollygagging, dreaming and “mooning” about a bit. However, as I write, the prelude precipitation (a heavy, very wet snow) has slowed to a stop, and I think we have a window for our brief interlude outside. Looks like it will be boots, layers under coats and umbrellas all for today and tomorrow. A safe Sunday to all and more from the other side of this storm.

In the Mood for Love?

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: I have a Pre-Valentine’s Day post today to get us all in the high mystic mood for next week – when I will have a super great Deitch Valentine reveal this year. I don’t think I am spoiling the surprise when I say it is the height of hotsy totsy this year.

I admit to having accidentally left Kim to open his Valentine’s Day gift which arrived early last week! It was an early hardcover edition of a book called Lefty of the Big League by Burt L. Standish of the Merriwell book fame. I saw it in a Flat Lay Friday group photo of objects for sale on Instagram and grabbed it up on a whim for Valentine’s Day. Kim is a Merriwell fan and miraculously it seems he has not read this other book by Standish. I was performing well until I handed him the package to open! Alas, timing is everything but the love and the thought were there nonetheless.

Meanwhile, today’s card, purchased back in the fall, is wonderful and wild. This woman is a “spider” who has cast her love net and scored this man who is now quite literally her puppet! He looks to be a well-heeled sort of the day, a watch chain stretching across pronounced ample girth, top hat, glasses rather than monocle although they sit atop his head in a jaunty fashion. He wears a print waistcoat, bow tie and jacket with some sort of other print on his fat legs ending in tiny, shiny shoes.

This fellow is smiling and I might point out that he also has a bottle of champagne in one hand and a full glass in the other – if the strings that bind him are obvious, may I say he does not appear to mind in the least.

The hand-colored beauty who is the woman-in-charge sports a green top, trimmed in red hearts (!) and stripes that really make this card for me. (Can I just say, oh to find such an item at a vintage sale and snatch it up!) A slight blush is added to her cheeks, skin and her curly hair which is highlighted brown – all adding to her winsome appeal and, shall we say, allure.

Our manipulating maiden emerges from this spider’s web (tiny tear to her left so maybe it isn’t the first rodeo for this photo set) with fat cloth hearts pinned on in a circle around her. Aside from the green label of his champagne bottle (borrowed from her shirt) and a bit in the top of his champagne glass, our puppet man is left in black and white, aforementioned strings top and bottom quite visible.

I can only really confirm that this card was sent in 1907 – there are three cancellations, two overlapping and European and I cannot verify the month or day although it might be August. This card (which the internet attributes to being Russian maker – again the cancellations make it a bit hard to see) was sent to a Mademoiselle L. Guilloim… on the Avenue de la Gare, Vielsalm, Luxembourg.

Thanks to several readers I now know I can put the image of the note into Google and get a (very) rough translation:

It is a pleasure, my dear,
for the good wishes you sent me. Like a verse, I thank you for it, and I think of it often. For short nights, I will be accused afterwards. I slept very well, a big thank you that the present during your trip? Please reply. Best regards to all your team.

Maria

Sort of interesting to chose such an extraordinary card with no mention of the image, but it seems Maria had other things on her mind.

Whoever Mademoiselle G. was, I am very glad she saw fit to keep this card in fairly pristine condition for me to share with you today and wishing you a romantic week leading up to next Saturday.

Whisper and I Shall Hear.

Posted by Pam's Pictorama

Pam’s Pictorama Post: This is a very odd card and while I rarely purchase things on the basis of that, I somehow just needed to see this card and what it was in person. It appears to be a photograph of a painting, and I would guess that it is actually done by painting over a photograph which gives it the almost photo quality it has. Not just a photo but some sort of a mash up of photos I would think. It is on glossy cardstock which is unusual for a card in 1909 in my (let’s face it not insignificant) experience.

I assume given the title of the image that the cat is whispering in the ear of this strange doll. It looks as if it is illustrating a fairy tale none of us are familiar with. If you look at that cat’s expression I would say, cat lover though I am, he’s up to no good. The doll looks inert but there is a frightening bit of a lifelike glimmer in its eyes – he shall hear alright! Very strange and more than a little creepy. They are perched on a rooftop, some snow in evidence, with a night sky and cloud obscuring a full moon behind them. Cats seem to be depicted on rooftops a lot although my personal experience of them does not bear this out. I can’t think of the last time I saw a cat on a roof. You?

The card was printed by the Shamrock Co. Photographic Printers & Publishers London, E.C. According to internet intel, Shamrock was a card printer active in the 1890’s – 1910’s. It was particularly known for producing high-quality religious devotional cards, postcards, and sentimental photographic prints. I could not find any compelling further evidence of their product online to share.

The handwritten message at the top says, Writing Wednesday if at all possible. I was just writing to someone else (hey Wayne!) saying that it seems postcards were frequently used to say that a letter was coming, buying time. Funny that after all these years it is the postcard that has been saved and the letter likely lost. (People do still write letters folks – as I type this out, Kim is at his desk across from me handwriting a letter right now. That lucky recipient is getting a preview of the color sketch of my Valentine – hopefully that reveal next weekend. Kim often writes using xeroxed sketches and other bits for his letters. Lucky recipients! He is a frequent and thoughtful correspondent. I on the other hand, send cards – birthday, condolence and with this job, sadly, frequent condolences for the loss of a beloved pet.)

The postcard is dated by hand, 30.10.09 (a European style of writing the date) but the postmark is obscured so I don’t know where it was sent from. It is simply addressed to Mrs. Herbert, Millertown. Millertown, New York in Dutchess County is the likely destination – even today Wikipedia only puts it at 900 occupants so I can imagine that in 1909 you could address something this way and it might get there. Odds are much better than a fully addressed postcard today I dare say.

*Back of the card which seemed legible at first but actually a bit challenging to decipher.*

The (also unusual) note reads, Mr. E.S. away till afternoon. Case will go next week with (illegible) from attic. Mrs. M. unable to meet – (something) two weeks. Had a splendid trip around, but sat up at Junction on acct it coming from Typhoid region, but only got 5, a-on (?) Had nearly all five day (?) here. Enjoying everything very much. Love (name unclear). It was sent from P. Isld. Not clear where that is – Pennsylvania was suggested by the internet but I do wonder about the reference to Typhoid – yikes! Also, this is sent in October and most of the P. Island’s I can find are summer locales. It was mailed with a penny stamp so I assume this was mailed domestically.

These days I am having my own travails both with US Postal Service and with UPS the company – finding both of them falling down massively on the job. As I worked to (finally) try to close my mother’s estate there are papers that company swear to have sent that never arrive, a Christmas card from North Carolina I fear I will never see and more. Kim had two letters show to their destinations empty – one torn in transit and the other just…empty. Meanwhile, at the building that houses my office they have informed us that mail will no longer be picked up on a regular schedule. We’d long discovered that the mailboxes on the street are an iffy proposition so now it is either the one in our apartment building or all the way to the post office to mail things.

As for UPS I can only vouch for a long series of phone calls to outpost calling centers in India where no one seemed to be able to help me with my package (sitting in Newark) and who kept urging me to go online where an AI assistant could only answer the most routine questions. I will spare you the details, the package eventually returned to sender despite my ongoing efforts, but I do think these issues will start to impact my collecting, much of which has always come from abroad.