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The home provides excellent architectural detail, including patterned wood shingles, ornamental porch trim, decorative spindle railings, latticework, tall windows, and a neighboring residence visible at the right. The people are dressed in period clothing, with the man wearing a dark suit and mustache and the women and child wearing long dresses.
The reverse contains a handwritten family message discussing the house and the people pictured. The writer identifies the individuals as “Henry, Harold, myself & Eunice,” although the exact relationship of the names to the people pictured is uncertain. The postcard was mailed to Mrs. Jennie Taylor in Ely, Crafton, Pennsylvania and bears a September 18, 1911 Schenectady, New York postmark with an original green one-cent Benjamin Franklin stamp.
An appealing piece of early 20th-century social history combining family genealogy, Victorian residential architecture, period clothing, postal history, and an identified New York origin.
Message / Correspondence Summary
The handwritten message appears to read approximately:
“Dear Cousin,
Would have written before but have been very sick. Had acute indigestion and hemorrhage of the stomach. Am feeling better now and will write you more when I feel stronger. Glad to hear from you. Best.”
The writer also identifies the people pictured approximately as:
“Henry, Harold, myself & Eunice.”
Some words are difficult to read because of the handwriting.
Item Specifics
- Type: Real Photo Postcard (RPPC)
- Subject: Family on Victorian House Porch
- Location: Schenectady, New York
- Theme: Family, Genealogy, Victorian Architecture, Houses, People
- Features: Real Photo, Divided Back, Handwritten Message, Posted
- Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
- Era: Real Photo Postcard Era
- Date: 1911
- Postmark: September 18, 1911
- People Pictured: One Man, Two Women, and One Young Girl
- Architecture: Victorian-Era Home, Decorative Porch and Wood Shingles
- Stamp: One-Cent Green Benjamin Franklin
- Postage Condition: Posted
- Country/Region: United States
- State: New York
- Color: Black and White / Sepia
