At first glance, I thought that this postcard was related to Thanksgiving – scenes of “early settlers” are common on postcards celebrating that holiday.
This postcard, however, was mailed in June of 1906.
Margaret mailed the postcard to Miss Celia Stewart in Olean, New York.
(We have seen other postcards related to this city in the “Southern Tier” of south-central New York – near the border of Pennsylvania.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olean,_New_York
The postcard was mailed from Marietta, the charming borough on the Susquehanna River in south-central Pennsylvania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marietta,_Pennsylvania
The face of the postcard is a drawing of a young couple in colonial garb.
The young man holds a rifle, the young woman clutches a book – a Bible, Prayer Book, or Psalter.
Both settlers appear to be advancing cautiously; the woman is holding the shoulder of the man.
Beneath the drawing, the title of the work is printed – “Early Settlers”
I could not discern an artist’s signature.
The artwork was copyright in 1900 by the publisher, the Ullman Manufacturing Co. of New York.
The message of the postcard is written on the margin of the face – postal regulations permitted only an address could be written on the reverse.
I removed digitally some significant blemishes on the face.
In her note, Margaret appears to be related or closely connected to Miss Celia.
Margaret writes, “Hope your little nephew is much better”.
It appears that some of Margaret’s family members are new to the city of Olean – Margaret remarks, “Suppose my sister, like John and Paul, will also fall in love with Olean.”
I have not done any research on the correspondents to discover what familial ties may exist between Marietta, PA and Olean, NY.
One hopes that Celia’s nephew is well, that Margaret’s sister did fall in love with Olean, and that Margaret remained a friend and correspondent of Miss Celia.
