Mr. George Rauth sold clothes and/or did tailoring at his business, 113 North George Street in York, PA.

Mr. Robert Conner of 59 South Pine Street in York had ordered a coat and vest from Mr. Rauth.

On July 18, 1907, Mr. Rauth sent a postcard to Mr. Conner inviting him to come to the shop for a fitting.

This bit of business correspondence is touching in its formal and respectful tone.

The postcard was one of the early postcards sold by the US Postal Service.

The card is printed with a stamp honoring the late President, William McKinley, who was assassinated at the Buffalo Exhibition in 1901.

One wonders, at times, at the curious chances that preserve bits of historical ephemera.

Why does a record of this ordinary commercial transaction survive when events of greater personal or social significance pass unrecorded?

However, If Mr. Conner treated his business reminders in the same way I manage dry-cleaning receipts, it is entirely possible that this postcard was left in a pocket, drawer, or pile of papers for a hundred years.

One hopes that the coat and vest fitted perfectly in the middle of July, 1907.