Postcard to Miss Clara Swayze, 1906
In 1906, the United States was roughly midway through its Progressive Era. We had a progressive as President; Theodore Roosevelt, trains crisscrossed the country, and the Panama Canal was in the midst of construction.
Postcards were also going through changes. Five years prior, in 1901, Postcards were no longer required to state “Private Mailing Card” and the simpler “postcard” took it’s place. However, as you can see from this postard to Miss Clara Swayze, only addresses were allowed on the back of cards. This is referred to as the “undivided back” period. And, may I say, I think it’s absolutely adorable that postcards have historical ‘eras’ like paintings, or Taylor Swift.
The Front of the postcard (below) says the following:
1-11-1906
Brx Social, Elmer
That’s it. There’s no stamp, and no address. So, it’s unclear if the card was kept by Clara as a memento, if it was given to a mutual friend to give to Clara, or my personal favorite, if this was a sort of exchanging of information between Clara and Elmer. Perhaps they met at the social and planned to get in touch with each other again. Maybe they went on dates, maybe they remained friends. Maybe they never saw each other again.
What is clear is that I couldn’t pin down Clara Swayze. I found a few, but I’m not confident I found her, if you catch my drift. The lack of text and information makes this card an enigma — but an enigma that allows my imagination to thrive.
Another interesting note: The card has a sort of glue glitter detailing along some of the crisp lines. I have a few like this — perhaps five total. My instinct is that this has been added after the fact, maybe by a grandchild. However, I’m certainly not positive either.I’m unsure if they came from the same sale (as I bought the postcards in a lot) or if this was a style of the time. I’d love to know if any of you have information on the mysterious glitter glue.
Front of Postcard: Rotunda, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
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