Hey everybody, welcome to Retell Seller, an ephemera podcast where I uncover forgotten stories and the ephemera people leave behind. I’m Angie, a reseller of 10 years, and I’ll share one of those snippets with you. Let’s see what today’s find has to say
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Today we have a postcard where on the front is a photo of three young guys or older kids. They look like teenagers to me. Each is wearing a dark suit, tie, deep collared shirt. One kid is sitting in an ornate chair with the other two standing behind him. They’re both resting one hand on the seated guy’s shoulders.
The stamp has been removed and where it used to be is lighter in color than the rest of the now dingy and stained card. Postmark January 15th, 1914, Chicago, also stamped Canal Station. The handwriting, while for the most part is pretty clear, there are a few words where I cannot tell what they say and have it make sense.
I’d uploaded the postcard to a handwriting website, which helps transcribe. So I thought I’d try it out just to see, but it ended up not being helpful at all. So I’m reading it as I see it. If you wanna check it out to see what you think it says, you can go to retellseller.com. That’s R-E-T-E-L-L seller.com or visit my YouTube. Definitely share if you figured out what the words might say.
This was written on both sides of the card. The first message is under the photo and it says, “What do you think of this bunch? New Year’s Eve accounts for it. Heh heh.”
Here’s how I see it on the other side. Hello, Doc. Received your picture. Here is one we had taken New Year’s Eve. I got a bawled out today for trying to accommodate a guy. If he says any more, I’ll tell him what he can do with his phone. I’ve been working overtime trying to keep my wear up, but no more. Hans. Say, what are you about Toledo again?
The first thing I’m not sure of is when I said, “He he.” H-E H-E H-E is what it looks like. It was on the front of the card when they said New Year’s Eve accounts for it. Hey, hey. Maybe just to say laughingly, “We wouldn’t have gotten our picture taken if it weren’t for New Year’s.”
I’m not sure why the letter A was in front of the word bawled, B-A-W-L-E-D. He says, “A bawled.”
And when I first saw the word, I was thinking crying, which can also mean to cry out at the top of one’s voice, so it would make sense he had gotten into an argument of some sort since he writes, “I’ll tell him what he can do with his phone.”
Also, when he says, “For trying to accommodate a guy,” it could also say gay. The word does have a little extra ink on the U or the A, and I’m not sure which word he meant to say.
I have a few thoughts on what I think of him saying phone. I wanted to make sure it could have been a payphone, and found the first prepay phones were installed in Chicago in 1898. So is this what he’s talking about? The only other thing is he refers to it as his phone, so I’m not sure what that would mean.
Either that or, and I may be reaching, I wondered if he possibly said fare, P-H-A-R-E, as in money. Fare, F-A-R-E. Was he trying to pay for something or get a taxi and he just misspelled it?
When he wrote, “Keep my wear up,” W-E-A-R is how I read it. He’s trying to keep his wear up at work then? Did he want to stay in nice clothing? Was he trying to keep up a happy face, wearing a smile? Or was it a different word entirely?
The sign-off at the end may not be Hans. It looks like it begins with an H, but that’s all I can see is Hans, possibly Harris.
Also, when I read, “Say, what do you about Toledo again?” I’m pretty sure he just skipped the word know, K-N-O-W, so it maybe should have read, “Say, what do you know about Toledo again?” Then it made me think maybe he’s looking for a new place or a new job.
I’m not a handwriting expert, but the way he wrote the letter T is very different in the beginning of the word as opposed to the end. Like the word got or what look very different than taken or today, and that’s how I was able to figure out some of the words.
And towards the end of the message, it looks like he gets a little sloppier in his writing, and that’s exactly how I am when I get to the end of a page.
We don’t know what happened the day he wrote this card. If anything, I can only hope he just maybe got a little upset with someone who may have gotten a little upset with him, and they moved on with the rest of their day It can happen, you know.
But again, I would love to hear your thoughts on what you see on this old postcard’s message from New Year’s 1914.
Thank you for joining me as I shared a snippet of the past. I’d love to know if it connected with you in some way. Did it spark a memory or make you see something differently? If so, consider sharing it. Be sure to check out the show notes for additional info, links, and ways to connect. It’s not nostalgia, it’s human.
Until next time, may you find something worth holding onto
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pinny please
