Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Photos, Post Cards, Etcetera



I was mainly motivated to buy this real photo postcard by the "POST CARD" box on the lower right side of the image. However, there is a wealth of other details in the image to enjoy and speculate about. Most likely, this young lady was intending to show off her living quarters and possessions to friends or relatives who did not live nearby. She appears to be both a postcard collector and a doll lover.

Starting at the top, there is a Fremont pennant. Several states have towns named Fremont, but South Dakota does not. The closest is Fremont, Nebraska. The pennant looks like an old college pennant to me, and there was a Fremont College & Business Institute in Fremont, Nebraska until 1919 (source: http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/wc_users/homepages/staff/brownr/NebraskaCC.htm )

I couldn't find anything resembling the two parasols hanging upside down from the curtain rod. They look too small to be functional, so most likely are just decorative. They could be souvenirs or something intended for home decor. The clock on the table reads 9:40. This would have to be morning, because the lighting is pretty good. The dress and shoes suggest that the weather is warm.

In the detail below, there is a better view of the things the lady is holding and the desk behind her. She is holding a couple of photos in her right hand and a long narrow "mystery" item in the left. I can see folds in the item, but can't tell whether it is paper or fabric. The desk holds an assortment of books and papers (and possibly more photos). Behind the desk is a panoramic photo.



Here is a closeup of the photos in the lady's hand. There are two figures in the top photo, but it is not clear where they are or what they are doing. I am guessing they could be farmers standing on top of a hay wagon.


Here is a closeup of the panorama. I started speculating a couple of days after my original post that the panorama could be a threshing harvest scene. The image isn't clear enough to tell, but I am showing some known threshing scenes that I found online for comparison.




THRESHING SCENES

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2012646379/

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVciU5Rqkrhm9jJEeS78USiSeToQVDf8MNqAFpMQaXUN5wad7CbXrq1Alt_Wu-ziw7QxV16mvhdgMN8-c3DdH4EzOZ1qW9jxU_DmwMpalPt_7-mpc9W6sbhw7qIJh6sPDiakOM-kt8A_4/s1600/panoramaThreshing.jpg



The back of the card indicates that it is from Cora in South Dakota, 1918. I can't decipher the middle word, nor can I tell whether it is part of her name or a location. Above that, there is some pencil writing that has been erased. It  appears to say: To Mary Ella and her mother. Perhaps Cora decided not to send this card.

The words at the top of the card have been added for the benefit of postcard collectors. "DELTIOLOGY" is the study and collection of postcards. "Trimmed" indicates that the card has been trimmed--not a good thing to do to postcards!



Addendum: Soon after I published this post, I received a comment with the following information:
The woman is Cora Mable Wince born 04 Feb 1890 in Iowa City, Wright, Iowa, USA. Her father was Valentine Sherman Wince b. 1865-d.1956 and her mother was Ruth Elizabeth James b. 1870-d. 1956. in 1905 the family resided in Farragut, Fremont, Iowa. In 1910 the family resided in Fisher, Fremont, Iowa and in 1910 they resided in Jackson, Harrison, Iowa. Cora was the second of 11 children. She had 5 Sisters and 5 Brothers. Cora was a school teacher and taught at the Whittier School in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, South Dakota in the 1920's. She was married to Moses Manon Wallace in Vermillion, Clay, South Dakota on 12 Mar 1921. Moses was born 05 August 1888 in Mondamin, Harrison, Iowa and died 04 Jul 1965 in Rogers, Benton, Arkansas. By 1930, they moved to Walnut, Benton, Arkansas, USA and lived out their remaining years in the Benton County, Arkansas area. Cora died ?? June 1980 in Bentonville, Benton, Arkansas.

For More Vintage Images

http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2014/01/sepia-saturday-210-11-january-2014.html

19 comments:

  1. Fascinating! Maybe the photos the lady is holding are also postcards?

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    1. I wondered about that, and they could be, but the curliness suggested lighter weight paper to me.

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  2. That photo/postcard is full to the brim with ideas. Probably should have been a Sepia Sat. prompt all on its own! :)) In the middle of all the possibilities, however, you've linked old pictures and books (in the desk) so - good sleuthing. I wonder what those tiny umbrellas were for or from?

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  3. I am a Genealogist from Tennessee and from the information you provided from this postcard, I was able to identify the person in this photo card. The woman is Cora Mable Wince born 04 Feb 1890 in Iowa City, Wright, Iowa, USA. Her father was Valentine Sherman Wince b. 1865-d.1956 and her mother was Ruth Elizabeth James b. 1870-d. 1956. in 1905 the family resided in Farragut, Fremont, Iowa. In 1910 the family resided in Fisher, Fremont, Iowa and in 1910 they resided in Jackson, Harrison, Iowa. Cora was the second of 11 children. She had 5 Sisters and 5 Brothers. Cora was a school teacher and taught at the Whittier School in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, South Dakota in the 1920's. She was married to Moses Manon Wallace in Vermillion, Clay, South Dakota on 12 Mar 1921. Moses was born 05 August 1888 in Mondamin, Harrison, Iowa and died 04 Jul 1965 in Rogers, Benton, Arkansas. By 1930, they moved to Walnut, Benton, Arkansas, USA and lived out their remaining years in the Benton County, Arkansas area. Cora died ?? June 1980 in Bentonville, Benton, Arkansas.

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  4. Old pictures always contain challenges. And you really explored all the possibilities this card provided. Great job! Your post also shows the power of internet. Without it identifying Cora would probably have been a whole lot more difficult.

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  5. Those parasols look ridiculous (from a design POV), but I love this photo card with all its quirky details.

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  6. What a strange photo, and so full of detail to home in on. You did well to gather all that information.

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  7. I shall have to study my (few) old postcards in more detail now I have seen what you have done to discover so much detail. That the lady has been identified by someone else shows the power of the internet.

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  8. Lovely post and so glad someone on the net could fill in who she was. I'm intrigued by the unanswered questions...thinking the multi-folded pale streaming thing in her left hand could have been a banner, or perhaps very light weight paper, either light weight cloth like silk, or tissue, and was caught in a wisp of wind in order for it to move out of focus. Perhaps it was a prize she won, since that is where her eye is focused in the photo.

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  9. This is such a great photo that before I read the comments I went looking for Cora too. And I found the same information. Someone on Ancestry.com has posted a nice photo of Cora age 60+ with her husband and her smile is instantly recognizable. I'm not sure that the time is morning, as the oil lamp appears to be glowing and the curtains have a dark backlight that would be more white if it was daylight. The best photo puzzles have these same extra details

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    1. There are two curtain rods. I think there is a shorter darker hanging with fringe (visible at the sides) behind the white lacy curtain. Maybe the lamp is glowing to provide a little extra light.

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  10. The thing hanging down looks knitted to me -- some kind of fashion accessory? Great post, great photo...

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  11. An excellent example of all the thoughts that can emerge and all that can be revealed by carefully looking at old photos

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  12. A wonderful postcard with all its details explained, also everything about this young lady and her family. I guess that does not happen to often? My mother collected postcards, they were mainly from Bohemia, quite romantic.As a child I was intrigued with them. Unfortunately when my mother died they were discarded with many other interesting things she collected.

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  13. Great post. It's hard to say if they are post cards in her hand or just photos, I'd almost say they are just photographs, but in any case your photo is very interesting.

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  14. With your analysis and the additional info from CMW what a perfect portrait of a life in Iowa. Rows of threshing machines seem a popular subject in those days for postcards (and I love them) but great detective work in seeing what it was. My interest was peeked by the desk tidy, pity we don't have 3D:-)

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  15. Backgrounds in old photos are always fascinating and I try to keep that in mind before I delete all those digital snapshots I'm not happy with today. I'm wondering if your 'threshing machine' is in fact a line of railway trucks loaded with cars.

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  16. What an interesting photo. There's so much going on you don't know where to look first. I was thinking that the paper (?) she's holding in her left hand might be some kind of continuing story - you know, the kind one person starts and then others add to. After a while you have a very long page. But if it's fabric, than I have no idea what it might be.
    Great post. great sleuthing.
    Nancy
    Ladies of the Grove

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