This comic postcard has some uncomfortable “edges” for contemporary readers.

The face of the postcard depicts an older woman with an array of items related to beauty – false teeth, face powder, rouge, etc.

Entitled, “Has Been”, the legend suggests that there is little attractiveness or value to the subject.

At a time when there were fewer opportunities for women to achieve independence and self-sufficiency, the humor may seem a little cruel.

The postcard was mailed to Marie Chalender of Cookstown, New Jersey.

Cookstown is an unincorporated community in west-central New Jersey; it adjoins the sprawling Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookstown,_New_Jersey

Miss Chalender, like several other collectors we met in postcard stories, was a young woman who received a very large number of postcards related to loved, courtship, and marriage.

I have almost a dozen postcards sent to Marie, and there are dozens of others still available from dealers in vintage paper.

It seems likely that the sender, who is unidentified, thought that this postcard was a very funny image to send to a young woman.

Marie seems to have pasted the postcard into an album, as the reverse is marred by large spots where adhesive was applied.

One hopes that Marie, and her friends and admirers, enjoyed their youth in the early 20th century.