D. Hillson was a prolific postcard illustrator of the early 20th century; hundreds of his drawings are still available for purchase from purveyors of vintage postcards.
(It is difficult to find any biographical information about Hillson because search engines require you to wade through pages of commercial links related to the artist.)
In 1907, Hillson copyrighted a series of black and white illustrations on the theme of flirtation and romance.
These sketches of handsome faces in splendid attire foreshadow the great advertisements of the 1920’s.
We may assume that, at some point in the age-old drama of flirtation or seduction, there is a period of “Guessing”.
It is not clear if the postcard invites us to ascertain the disposition of the young lady or if we are observing our heroine weighing the solicitation of some mysterious “other”.
The postcard was mailed to Mr. Clarence Bartlett, living on North 21st Street in Philadelphia.
B.W. mailed the postcard from Cambridge, Maryland in October of 1907.
Cambridge is one of the oldest cities on the eastern shore of Maryland.
It was an early site of tobacco plantations and a center of the slave trade.
Historic protests for Civil Rights occurred there during the 1960’s.
Unfortunately, we do not know anything about the romantic life of Mr. Bartlett. We hope that he was not long suspended in a period of “guessing”.
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