This comic postcard, showing the stages of life identified by the articles of clothing on a clothesline, was copyrighted in 1905 by the Bicknell Manufacturing Company of Portland, Maine.
In August of 1905, the postcard was mailed to Mr. J.J. Weis, Jr. (or Weir) of Cleveland.
Mailed from Sandusky, a city on Lake Erie in north central Ohio, the postcard shows marks and foxing that confirms the early date of printing.
It is possible that Mr. Weis had become engaged to be married or was a newly-wedded husband.
The sender (known only by initials) writes on the face, “Take your pick” – referring to the complications of life that are named beneath the sketches of various arrays of clothing.
One hopes that J.J. was amused by the comic sequence and was not dissuaded from future life stages.
