Master Horace Rutherford was a boy growing up in Jamison, a village in Bucks County of southeast Pennsylvania.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamison,_Pennsylvania

In February of 1910, Horace received a Valentine postcard from an unknown correspondent who lived at an undecipherable town elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

The verse on the face claims that the sender is a “maid” – which may be true.

The postcard was mailed on February 12 and received in Jamison on February 14.

The face of the postcard is a framed verse, the border composed of hearts and love-knots.

The verse extols “a maid demure and sweet” and notes the outstanding qualities of a girl who keeps a neat house and a provides a ready breakfast.

We have seen postcard stories that celebrate self-sufficiency and a sense of adventure in women, but this postcard story praises only the appearance, pleasing disposition, and home-making skills of a desirable girl.

Horace preserved the postcard in good condition throughout his life.

Perhaps by the 1920’s, when he may have been looking to marry, Horace considered other attractive qualities that women were exhibiting.