Ride A Burro at the Seaside – England (1907)

This English postcard was mailed to Miss Mary Hall in Marlboro, Connecticut on March 26, 1907.

(Marlboro is actually the small town of Marlborough in the rural interior of central Connecticut, first settled by Europeans in 1648.)

Mary Hall was living in the household of M.M. Hall, who (I assume) was a parent.

The postcard, mailed from New Albany, Indiana, bears a hand-colored photograph of burros for rent at an unknown seaside location.

(New Albany is a city on the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky)

There is no signature of the sender, so we cannot know what kind of relationship existed with Mary.

The “undivided back” suggests the postcard was printed circa 1905.

The scene is English; the postcard was printed in England by the noted firm of Raphael Tuck.

In the photograph, the burros appear to wait patiently; one hopes that they were well-treated and shown affection.

The cost for the donkey ride is sixpence an hour.

I liked this well-made postcard, although the sad history of the carriage horses in New York City creates a feeling of apprehension whenever I consider enterprises that depend upon animals for hire.

One hopes that the burros enjoyed their role in providing happiness to children and that Miss Mary was delighted by her postcard.