One can find a variety of comic postcards related to the theme of a woman seeking a man.
Some postcard collectors specialize in this genre and display a great variety of images – related to Sadie Hawkins Day, the desperate “old maid”, the aging coquette, the possessive harpy, and other themes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadie_Hawkins_Day
I have never focused on this area of collecting because many of the postcards, although intended to be comic, veer toward misogyny and cruelty.
This postcard is relatively benign in its subject matter; a young girl is alone and wishes to have a lifetime companion.
The image is that of a child – she sucks her thumb holds a stuffed toy.
We have seen numerous other examples of children portraying romantic situations involving adults.
The background of the drawing suggests that this is a comic for adults.
We see a page of “Personals”, a feature of almost every newspaper and magazine of the early 20th century.
It would be rare to find anyone in the early 20th century who had not encountered advertisements for companions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_advertisement
(A companion phenomenon was the growth of the “Advice Column” for those trying to navigate new ways of personal contact.
(“Miss Lonelyhearts” is a fictional character, but there were thousands of real-life counterparts.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advice_column
Here, the legend beneath the drawing does suggest that life is not “worthwhile” without a partner.
The postcard was mailed circa 1918.
The stamp was hand-cancelled without a post office stamp – which usually means that the mailman picked up, stamped, and delivered the postcard on the same delivery route.
We can assume that the postcard was sent by someone who lived near the addressee – Clarence Stoltzfus of Bird-in-Hand, PA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird-in-Hand,_Pennsylvania
We know from other postcard stories that Clarence did some traveling, and that he did marry.
