This postcard was not mailed; it appears to have been a gift between friends.
We can be reasonably certain of the date, however, as the postcard relates to the US Presidential election of 1908.
We have seen at least one other postcard related to a political contest: “Political Possums for Elizabeth” (1909).
Interestingly, the “possums” in that postcard are Willian Howard Taft and James Sherman who are headed to their inauguration in Washington DC in early 1909.
Thus, we have postcards supporting two parties in the election of 1908.
The digital archives of Cornell University contain other postcards supporting the candidacy of Bryan in 1908.
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:10637924
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The face of this postcard shows a medallion photograph of “W. J. Bryan for President” and of “J. W. Kern for Vice-President”.
This was the third, and last, time that William Jennings Bryan campaigned for the Presidency; he had run previously on the Democratic Party ticket in 1896 and 1900.
The importance of Bryan’s perennial appeal is difficult to summarize in a postcard story.
Called “The Great Commoner” for his fervent belief in the collective wisdom of the common man, Bryan was a powerful voice against “eastern moneyed interests”.
https://www.270towin.com/1908-election
The words often used to describe his platform (such as, “agrarian”, “populist”, “anti-Imperialist”), have somewhat different meanings in the 21st century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Jennings_Bryan
Bryan also exercised his oratorical gifts in some issues that were not strictly economic or political – he was prominent in the effort to forbid the teaching of Evolution in the “Scopes Trial” of 1921.
John Worth Kern was a lawyer and Senator from the “swing-state” of Indiana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W._Kern
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On the reverse, there are no full names nor a complete address.
We find a hand-written note: “From Norristown, Pa”.
Norristown, a borough on the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County of southeast Pennsylvania was a prosperous center of industry, commerce, government, and finance in the years before World War II.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norristown,_Pennsylvania
On the “Address” side of the reverse, we read: “To Emerson from Cousin Snyder”.
(It is possible that this is “Corson Snyder” – I have not yet attempted to find a person by that name.)
Emerson saved the bit of political promotion throughout his life.
