Mr. Art Nelson lived in Fond du Lac, the city at the southern tip of Lake Winnebago in eastern Wisconsin.

In February of 1910, Art received a comic postcard from his pal, Jim, who wrote from Marshfield, Wisconsin.

Marshfield is a city in central Wisconsin.  It was overlooked during the years in which the lumber industry developed many towns, but grew up around a supply depot for the Wisconsin Central Railway.

The comic postcard features the drawing of a young child in “onesies” stumbling upon a canoodling sibling in a dark room.

The amorous couple seems to be disturbed in the middle of their passionate embrace; the child seems surprised, also.

The original artwork was copyrighted in 1909 by J. O. Cardinell and entitled, “Blackmail”.

On the face, Jim asks, “Ever caught like this?”

Jim answers his own question by adding, “Now, don’t say no.”

On the reverse, Jim acknowledges the exchange of “postals”, and laments that he does not see Art when Art visits the area.

Jim asks about Art’s girl, and reports, “all is fine up here.”

One hopes that Art and Jim were not unduly burdened by guilty secrets discovered by their siblings, and that the two remained pals and correspondents for many years.