Mr. Frank Mathewson lived in Sardinia, a town on the Cattaraugus Creek in Erie County of western New York State.
This historic town, about 41 miles southwest of Buffalo and not far from Lake Erie, was founded by settlers from Vermont in the early years of the 19th century.
Today, the town has several dozen historic structures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardinia,_New_York
In October of 1907, Frank was celebrating a birthday.
For the occasion, he received a Birthday postcard from an unknown friend.
The postcard was mailed from Springville, a village within the town of Concord in Erie County, New York.
Springville has been an important business center of southern Erie County – the village has preserved the depot of the defunct “Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railroad”.
Sardinia is about 9 miles northeast of Springville.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springville,_New_York
The face of the postcard is framed by a gilt border around an elaborate design of arabesque curlicues and a variety of purple and pink blossoms.
In the middle of the display is a message in a printed script:
The face of the postcard is framed by a gilt border around an elaborate design of arabesque curlicues and a variety of purple and pink blossoms.
In the middle of the display is a message in a printed script:
“Best Wishes
For a Happy Birthday”
The graphic designer is not identified, nor is the publisher.
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On the reverse, we can see that the postcard was printed in Europe.
The space for a message, however, is left blank.
Alas, there is no indication of the sender’s identity.
We may suppose that Frank was well-acquainted with the person who wrote from Springville.
Frank seems to have been delighted by the birthday greeting; he preserved the postcard in very good condition throughout his life.
