“We Are Coming For Those Dahlias” – Middletown, PA (1914)

In April of 1914, Elizabeth Caley sent a postcard to Mrs. Ben Caley of Middletown, PA.

One cannot be sure of the relationship between the two women, but I suspect that the writer was the daughter of the recipient.

Elizabeth writes, “we are coming down Wed. for those dahlias”.

I love dahlias, and would gladly make a short journey to obtain some.

The postmark is carelessly applied, so I am unable to determine where the postcard was mailed and how long a journey the dahlia expedition would require.

The postcard features a painting of a dog basking in bright sunlight.

The artist is Edward Landseer who, although not usually considered one of England’s greatest artists, was a master of animal paintings.

Landseer is an example of an artist who achieved mastery of a particular genre of painting; his horses and dogs are remarkably well-executed.

This dog looks contented and comfortable.

(Landseer’s work was often collected by country squires whose horses and hounds were painted by Landseer, but many more people have seen Landseer’s work in Trafalgar Square – he sculpted the lions at the base of the Nelson column.)

One hopes that the Caley family enjoyed the prolific blooms of dahlias through the Summer and Fall of 1914.