We have seen other postcard stories related to the uneasy relationships that sometimes existed between horse-powered vehicles and the “new” automobile.
This postcard image is especially interesting because it also shows the primitive conditions of many roadways in the early 20th century.
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Mrs. Edward Jones lived in Haddonfield, a borough in Camden County of southwest New Jersey.
This area was first settled by English Quakers in 1682 – the original Lenape inhabitants had abandoned the area many years earlier.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haddonfield,_New_Jersey
In May of 1911, Mrs. Jones received a postcard from Alice.
Alice mailed the postcard from Atlantic City, the very popular ocean-side resort and amusement center on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey.
The face of the postcard is comic drawing of a horse-drawn cart slowly crossing a plank bridge.
The cart is driven by an older man, smoking a pipe and accompanied by a small dog.
We sense that the car is not hurrying, despite the auto close behind.
A party of four, the women veiled against the dust and wind, are touring in an open automobile.
That the car is impatiently “riding” the back of the cart suggests that the young crow may be expressing their frustration.
It seems that the driver of the auto may also be employing the horn.
A caption explains, “Toot ‘N” Be Darned”.
There is a copyright notice and a publisher’s name in a shadowy block on the lower left of the face – but I have not deciphered the dim letters.
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On the reverse, Alice announces that “I arrived here yesterday about 4 P.M.”
Fortunately, Alice was “Not as tired as I expected”.
Today, Alice has “just returned from a chair ride”.
(We have seen two other postcard stories related to the “rolling chairs” that were provided to patrons of hotels on the Boardwalk.
The daily “Parade of Rolling Chairs” was a much-photographed feature of Atlantic City.)
In conclusion, Alice reports, “We like it here very much.”
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Mrs. James seems to have appreciated the comic postcard as it was preserved in good condition throughout her life.
The quality of the paper and of the printing is not the finest, however, and I made some digital repairs to the face.
