Three More Exaggerated Cards

I am not going to comment much on these three post cards. They are from the Edward H. Mitchell production line of exaggerated scenes on post cards from 1909. The produce in the cars are grapes, pears and strawberries. I will point out that the grape pickers in the top post card are still using horses in the field in 1909. Enjoy the views:

Is that a Secret Code???

Last week's post card featured a very large child standing on a flat car with some Navel Oranges. This week the post card is specializing in large peaches and the price of peaches in 1910. This is a post card from the Edward H. Mitchell production line of exaggerated post card scenes. We can see on the top, front of the card that it came from Oakland.

The back of the post card verifies this; it is postmarked as being mailed from Oakland, California. The message on the back is not in a secret code; it is written upside-down. It is telling the reader that the peaches are just now coming into season (mailed July 8, 1910) and that they are selling for 7 to 10 cents per dozen. It also mentions that the grapes are just starting to come into the stores, too.

Let's Get the Kids Involved!

In our previous postings of Edward Mitchell's exaggerated themed post cards we only had railroad cars and very large fruit. On the picture on today's post card he included a very large child. If you know how big a flat car is, that child is humongous! Good thing those oranges are so big; that kid would eat us out of house and home. But, since the theme is "exaggerated" I guess we are not supposed to care.

One Hundred and Fourteen Years Old

The picture on the front of this post card belongs to a series of over 60 post cards that I call "Exaggerated Themes".

I posted some of them a few years ago, so I thought that I will fill in the blog with a few more in this next series of posts. The post cards were the brain child of Edward H. Mitchell. He was born April 27, 1867 in San Francisco and died from a heart attack in Palo Alto, California on October 24, 1932. Most of his postcards are about the West, he was very prolific, and his cards have great color for the time they were created. There are postcards being republished with other publishing companies that Mitchell owned or was a partner in, Pacific Novelty Co. and Souvenir Publishing Co. Mitchell rode the rails, which makes sense in his era. I am sure that he created many postcards about the railroads in exchange for discounted travel. I believe that is where the saying “The road of a thousand Wonders” which appears on many cards came from. Mitchell also was willing to have artists paint hats on people, he loved hats, and add other eye candy to sell postcards. At one point he was even putting sparkle on cards. All postcards printed after 1908 proudly proclaim 'Printed in the United States' on their backside. Edward H. Mitchell gave up postcard publishing around 1923.

The message on the back of this post card is almost 114 years old. It was mailed on July 20, 1910. It is a letter by Edith to her mother in San Francisco letting her know that Edith had spend some time at one of the baths in Alameda, California (that is east, across the bay from San Francisco).

I found this map from a time period of just after this post card message was written. It includes Sunny Cove Baths on the map; it is the bath that is the second one from the left.

Another Exaggerated Themed Post Card

This is another of Edward H. Mitchell's exaggerated themed post cards. I find it amazing that back in 1909 (the copyright on the post card - upper left-hand corner - is from that year) He could superimpose a picture of some Navel oranges onto a gondola of a Southern Pacific Railroad and have it look pretty realistic. This is already an incentive for someone to buy the post card to send it off to a friend. But, then Mr. Mitchell added the line across the top: "1881 - A CARLOAD OF NAVEL ORANGES FROM ___________". The purchaser could then inform the receiver that the sender was in a particular city. This would really work well if the receiver was not living in California. This particular sender is telling his sister that he is somehow suffering from a facial condition that is making his face fatter and bothersome. To quote him, "every day it bothers me and I look fierce." I wonder if he got stung by a bee or is alergic to Navel oranges???

Anyway, here is the back of the card. It turns 114 years old in three days; very similar to the Edmward H. Mitchell post card that I posted on July 17th.

Don't Let Them Be Forgotten

Here is everything that I know about this post card: It is a Real Photo post card that was published after March 1, 1907 and up to 1909 using AZO paper. Published after March 1, 1907 because there is room for correspondence on the back. One could not write a message on the back of a post card before that date in the United States. Up to 1909 because the stamp box has a diamond in each corner. This was only done on AZO paper from 1907 to 1909. So, basically, all that I know about this post card is what is printed on the back. Having said that, I love the picture on the front.

But, Look! There's a Train. No, Two of Them!!!

The front of this post card is advertising that the Kennedy Valve Manufacturing Company is a part of Elmira, New York. The company's buildings and grounds take up a good percent of the picture. But, there are two trains in the bottom left-hand side of the picture. That is what caught my eye and made me decide to add this to my collection. The Kennedy Valve Company still exists there today: https://www.kennedyvalve.com/ Now... about the trains. Here is a year by year history of the railroad in Elmira. It is taken from this website: https://www.chemunghistory.com/railroads-in-chemung-county A few facts about railroad service in Elmira, New York. ​ 1835 - Construction for the New York and Erie Railroad began in Deposit, NY. It would be 16 more years until the line was completed (all the way to Dunkirk, NY.) October 2, 1849 - the first NY&E train arrived in Elmira. Regular passenger service began 6 days later with two trains each way per day. Also, the Elmira Depot was built. 1850 - Canandaigua & Corning Railroad changed its name to Elmira, Canandaigua & Niagara Falls Railroad. 1854 - Elmira & Williamsport Railroad opened - moving lumber, coal, and iron between Pennsylvania and the Feeder Canal, the Junction Canal, and the railroad in Elmira. 1861 - NY&E changed its name to New York & Erie Railway, then in 1875 it became the New York, Lake Erie, and Western. In 1895 it became the Erie Railroad. 1863 - The Northern Central took over the Elmira & Williamsport line - later became the property of the Pennsylvania Railroad. 1867 - Fire damaged the original Elmira Depot and a new one was built (opened 1868). 1870 - Lehigh Valley Railroad opened an office in Elmira. 1872 - Utica, Horseheads, & Elmira (later the Utica, Ithaca, & Elmira.) Construction between Erin and Van Ettenville necessitated building two curved trestles - the Deep Gorge trestle and the Blockhouse Ravine trestle. 1882 - The New York, Lackawanna & Western was completed to Elmira, soon became the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. 1884 - Elmira, Cortland & Northern service to Syracuse 1913 - New Lackawanna station just west of the original. 1932 - Raising of the Lackawanna tracks through Elmira completed. 1934 - Raising of the Erie tracks through Elmira completed. 1956 - Pennsylvania Railroad ended passenger service. 1957 - Last steam locomotive through Elmira (Pennsylvania Railroad). 1960 - Erie and DL & W merged into the Erie-Lackawanna. 1961 - Last passenger train for the Lehigh Valley. 1970 - Erie-Lackawanna discontinued passenger service. 1976 - Erie-Lackawanna absorbed into Conrail. 1998 - Norfolk-Southern takes over Conrail.

The post card was published by the Baker Brothers, also out of Elmira, New York from 1915 to 1927. The Baker Brothers had been local news dealers since the 1890’s and began publishing postcards of regional views under their name in the early 20th century. Around 1915 they started up the Owen Card Publishing Company that specifically dealt with greeting and holiday cards. These cards were printed on a linen embossed paper and often contained large empty areas, a typical American design. The company later became involved with designing boxes for cards as well.