Mr. Gerald Lovejoy lived in Jamestown, a city between Lake Erie and the Allegheny National Forest in Chautauqua County of southwest New York State.
Originally a village around a mill, Jamestown was an industrial powerhouse in the early 20th century – home to the Crescent Tool Company and numerous furniture factories.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown,_New_York
In May of 1907, Gerald received a postcard from an “unknown friend”.
The postcard was mailed from Jamestown, so we might assume that the sender saw Mr. Lovejoy with some frequency.
These anonymous postcards are not unusual -although it is hard to believe that any person who sent a postcard signed “Guess”, “Guess Who”, or some other teasing alias was ever a mystery to the recipient.
+ + + + + +
The face of the postcard shows the moment that a woman, presumably the wife of the businessman, barges into the office where an older man gives “dictation” to a young secretary perched on his knee.
The visit seems certainly to be a surprise; the white-haired boss appears to be in the middle of an amusing tale.
He gestures with an upraised hand, as the secretary smiles and touches his chin affectionately.
The wife, wearing a sensible hat and carrying a purse, raises a fist as she enters the scene.
An upright typewriter waits quietly at an unused desk.
On the margin, the words of the popular tune of the late 19th century are printed:
“There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27ll_Be_a_Hot_Time_in_the_Old_Town_Tonight
+ + + + + + +
The image was copyright in 1905 by the studio of J. Murray Jordan of Philadelphia.
One trained as a physician, Jordan embarked on the “new” professions of photographer and publisher.
He was the author of significant books of travel photography from many parts of the world, but he became popular with his own line of humorous postcards.
In earlier years, we have seen the postcard stories: “Let’s Live in Clover”, “The Patient Is Improving”, “When Your Heels Hit Hard”.
Our mystery sender scrawled initials on the face to identify to Mr. Lovejoy the participants in this tryst – but I made digital corrections to a copy of the image.
+ + + + + +
On the reverse, the message extends this challenge:
“From an unknown friend
Yours, without a name,
You can guess if you can.”
Mr. Lovejoy seemed to appreciate the joke; he preserved the postcard in decent condition throughout his life.
