“Engage to Kiss” – Wellsville, Ohio (1912)

Miss Clara McElroy lived in Wellsville, a village on the Ohio River in east-central Ohio

This village was once an important shipping center for railroad cars and river barges, and it boasted a large pottery works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellsville,_Ohio

In August of 1912, Clara received a comic postcard with a romantic theme.

The postcard was mailed from East Liverpool, a city on the Ohio River, less than five miles northeast of Wellsville.

East Liverpool, at the intersection of the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, had the nation’s largest pottery factories, but was also developing steel cable manufacturing in 1912.

(In 1934, Federal agents shot and killed the bank robber, “Pretty Boy Floyd”, in an exchange of gunfire in a field outside of East Liverpool.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Liverpool,_Ohio

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The face of the postcard displays a drawing of the head of a young woman.

Around the lovely face is an elaborate line decoration and a small cupid with a quiver of arrows.

In bold letters at the top of the illustration, we read – “Advice To Girls”;

A block of text communicates the advice:

“Never kiss a man unless you are engaged to him.

If you want to kiss someone else, get engaged to him, too.”

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On the reverse, we learn that the postcard was mailed by a a friend from church.

(I cannot distinguish the initials that identify the sender.)

He writer addresses Clara as “Kiddo” and begins the message by asking, “How you be (sic)?”

It appears that Clara was absent from church as the friend demands, “Where was (sic) you last night?” – and adds,”I didn’t see you at church”.

Clara is told, “I will have to give you a spanking”.

It may be that Clara was pursuing some recreation, as our writer remarks – “Hope you enjoyed your boat ride”.

The message is signed, “I remain, as ever, your friend and brother in Christ”.

I interpret the romantic “advice” as a part of the sender’s attempt to communicate a playful and lighthearted tone.

We have no other information about the correspondents, their relationship, their Church, or their subsequent adventures in life.

But we do know that Clara preserved the postcard throughout her life.

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