Mr. Clarence Shaffer lived in Waymart, a small borough in the Pocono Mountains of Wayne County in northeast Pennsylvania.
In the 19th century, Waymart was a station on the long Delaware & Hudson Canal Company Gravity Railroad that carried coal from Carbondale to canal boats on the D & H Canal port at Honesdale.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_and_Hudson_Gravity_Railroad
The station at Waymart is the only surviving depot of the railroad system – it is preserved as a museum.
In November of 1908, Clarence received an art postcard from Mrs. M.
The postcard was mailed from Scranton, the city and county seat of Lackawanna County in northeast Pennsylvania.
The largest and most prosperous of Pennsylvania’s “coal towns”, Scranton was a center of Industry, mining and railroading through the early 20th century.
Waymart is about 24 miles northeast of Scranton.
It appears that Clarence lived at home or with a relative – the postcard is addressed “c/o Wm. Shaffer”.
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The face of the postcard is a lovely painting of a winter landscape beside a mountain lake.
In the foreground, some stalks protrude through the snow-covered bank.
A handful of slender trees show a few remaining leaves against the sky.
The only signs of life are birds that peck on the ground or wheel over the lake.
One large black bird has perched on a bare tree limb.
The print is embossed, which adds some depth to the artwork.
The postcard was published by the English firm of Raphael Tuck & Sons in the picture series “O’er Hill and Dale”; the postcard was “Printed in Saxony”.
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On the reverse, there is no message except the signature of the sender.
(There are some faded, streaky lines which might have been additional words- the postcard seems to have suffered moisture damage at some time)
Nevertheless, Clarence preserved the postcard throughout his life.
