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Numerical proof of love?
Katheryn McMahon Newton album, an initial chronological and numerical assessment For about five months, I’ve been posting about the cards contained in the album and referring to an eventual chronological assessment. This is–and isn’t–it. It is, because it’s what I’m providing; but it also isn’t, because I don’t promise it addresses all the issues I mentioned in earlier posts. There’s only so much I can do now. I expect this particular album and assortment of cards to play a strong role as I analyze and write about early post cards in bulk and in specific, but at this point I’m still processing cards and getting ideas (and sometimes having those…
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It’s a bouncing baby . . . blog!
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Lonesome in a God-forsaken Hole
Katheryn McMahon Newton album, cards 116-119 A variety of streets and buildings for today. Two of the cards had no messages, but their reverses are nevertheless worth showing alongside the fronts. The cards were sent by different people to different people–at the same address and roughly the same time. I haven’t (yet) done further research into the addresses but it’s quite possible that 1800 State Street, Chicago, was a boarding house or a family lived there who took in a boarder or . . . well, actually, there are quite a few explanations. This will have to wait on some of the external research I’ll do when I write about…
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“same old cold stormy smoke, begrimed + sloppy place it is”
Katheryn McMahon Newton album, cards 107-110 Fred Newton was the product of his time and culture: white, likely of Anglo-American ancestry, and possessed of relative privilege. Based on earlier cards, he had enough station to call on the Governor of Colorado when passing through (though he settled for a few minutes with a private secretary). His attitudes about gender and sex were typical of the time; I’ve already posted about how, from a modern perspective, some of his endearments for Katheryn don’t work for me (maybe they do for others). Given the card he sent Katheryn from Pocatello, Idaho, he was also racist. Here’s the front of the card in…
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Good Company and Weather; Bad Connections and Mail
Katheryn McMahon Newton Album, cards 25-26 This first card is not in particularly good condition. There’s a notable fold down the middle–almost a tear. Most of the cards from the album are in better shape, so my guess is that this card got bent when being mailed from Seattle to Chicago. When it happened doesn’t really matter–it’s unlikely to make a difference in any particular way except that the notable damage would likely reduce the price were it to be sold on it’s own. Then again, as with so many of these cards, their value is not so much in the images as their contents–particularly their collected contents. The image…
