This postcard was not mailed and, thus, has no personal stories attached to it.
On the face, we see a young couple in casual dress sitting on a suspended scaffold.
The young man is holding a paint brush – with which he appears to have completed writing on a stucco wall.
The words, in red paint, declare: “We are painting this Town red”.
The slang expression, “paint the town” or “paint the town red”, refers to revelry or merry-making, often of a rowdy nature.
Although the first example of the phrase in print is a US magazine of 1884, the expression may have been in use for a much longer period of time.
https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-5465,00.html
Here, the carousing pair have written together the words “we are” – whether from inattention or due to high spirits.
The publisher, and the patented “Theochrom” process, are noted on the reverse.
These marks enable us to fix a date of printing near 1912.
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This is not the only example of a Theochrom postcard that we have seen:
“The Broom Against Business” (1912), “I am Coming Home” (1910), and “Taking the Day Off” (1909) were shared in earlier stories.
Each of these postcards note a publisher “Th. E. L.” – which is Theodor Eismann of Leipzig, Germany.
The outbreak of World War I in Europe ended the importation to the US of Eismann’s postcard scenes of love, nostalgia, and humor.
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The collector who preserved this postcard in decent condition may have been amused by the painting pair or, perhaps, hoped to use the postcard in connection to a spree that never arose.
