Mrs. Hiram Breese lived in Elm Valley, now a census-designated place within the town of Andover in Allegany County of south-central New York.
The community is very close to the border of Pennsylvania, and was once served by the Erie Railroad.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andover,_New_York
In June of 1909, Mrs. Breese received a postcard from am acquaintance (possibly, “M. E.” or “Mr. E.”).
The postcard was mailed from Wellsville, the largest town in the County – part of which was absorbed within the adjacent town of Andover.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellsville,_New_York
Wellsville still has a Post Office (established in 1835), but the Post Office in Elm Valley (established in 1852) was closed in 1910.
Elm Valley is about 5 miles northeast of Wellsville.
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The face of the postcard is shadowy photograph of a lane between beside a house that is enclosed within a low stone wall.
Evening shadows obscure many details of the tree-shaded property.
The image is titled, “The Twilight Hour”, and the golden gleams in the lower sky foreshadow the setting of the sun.
A wreath of dogwood blossoms frames the scene.
The postcard was published by Philco Publishing Company of London.
Google Note:
The Philco Publishing Co. was a London-based postcard and paper goods publisher active from around 1904 to 1934.
I presume that the postcard was printed in England.
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On the reverse, the sender begins the message with “Hello there”.
A brusque and truncated style communicates – “Sorry cannot come up tomorrow too busy.”
Mrs. Breese may have a visit as the message continues, “May come up Sunday Eve.”
The next phrase suggests that there could be a commercial relationship between the correspondents – “Can get along for butter until then unless you have to come down.”
The terseness of the message is ambiguous – it could suggest either a relationship of such closeness and regularity that no elaboration is needed or an impersonal weekly order of household staples.
Mrs. Beerse preserved the postcard in good condition throughout her life.
One hopes that the correspondents met on Sunday and that the writer never suffered a lack of butter.
