Apparently cats were causing trouble long before the internet documented it.
The front reads:
AN AFTERNOON CALL
Six little kitty-cats came to make a call
On Tabby and her daughter, inside the garden wall;
Five climbed the fence just as any kitty ought
One tried the gate but her tail got caught.
Which, frankly, is a complete story. We have visitors, poor decision-making and consequences.
But the back is what makes this one especially good.
This postcard was actually mailed in November 1909, addressed to a young “Master Franklin” at 884 Mozart Street in Chicago. The handwritten message begins “Dear Frank” and contains a little bit of everyday family correspondence before being signed Henry. Some of the century-old cursive is difficult to decipher, so I'm leaving the rest of their business between Frank and Henry rather than inventing a family scandal where there may not be one.
The Chicago postmark appears to read November 24, 1909, the day before Thanksgiving that year. The original U.S. postage stamp remains attached.
The card was published by Prince Pub. Co., Lancaster Ave., Buffalo, N.Y.
It's exactly the sort of little surviving piece of ordinary life I love finding. Someone picked out the cat postcard, wrote to Frank, dropped it in the mail, and more than a century later we're still here wondering what happened to the kitty who couldn't manage the gate.
Condition
Antique pre-owned condition with expected age-related toning, staining, surface wear, softened corners and edge wear. Original handwriting, postal cancellation and postage stamp remain on the reverse. There is additional postal ink/marking across the address area. Please review photographs carefully for condition.
Haunted Relic Disclaimer
No known haunting attached to this one. Although six cats arrived for an afternoon visit in 1909 and nobody bothered to tell us whether they ever left.
