Miss Cornelia DeVries lived in Passaic, a densely-populated city north of Newark, New Jersey.
(The first European settlers in Passaic were Dutch traders who founded the community in 1679. In 1909, Passaic was a center of metalworking and textile industries.)
In November of 1909, Cornelia received a postcard from Bertha.
Bertha lived in Rutherford, New Jersey.
(Rutherford is a borough on the ridge above the Meadowlands, about 3 miles south of Passaic. This area was the ancient home of Lenape Native Americans before the arrival of Walling Van Winkle, the first Dutch settler, in 1687.)
The postcard bore a photograph of kittens by an empty bowl and the legend, “More Milk, Please”.
The postcard, published by Valentine, was printed in Great Britain.
It seems that sharing pictures of amusing or adorable cats is a very old practice.
On the reverse, Bertha attempts to set plans for meeting Cornelia, perhaps for Thanksgiving (the plans are for Thursday.)
Cornelia is asked to arrive in the morning or the early afternoon.
Bertha is uncertain “where to go on Thursday”.
Perhaps these are two of the thousands of young shopgirls or office workers who were eking out an independent living in the early 20th century.
If this is Thanksgiving Day, one hopes that the two enjoyed a delightful holiday and found a delicious meal.
(One certainly hopes that they did not have to beg for “more”.)
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