The Busy Street, Beloit, Wis.

Mailed 9 Oct. 1909 from Beloit. From Mrs Mary Maltby to Mrs John Wells, Fontana.

The picture

A crowded downtown street corner: a large multi-story building with two tiers of open wooden porches/balconies on the left, a streetcar coming toward the viewer at center on curving tracks, a dense crowd of people in light summer clothing, horse-drawn carriages at left, a church spire and a tower at the far end of the street.

• Printed caption: THE BUSY STREET, BELOIT, WIS.
• Publisher: […]. C. [illegible] CO. PUB. MI[…]WAUKEE, NO. 4394 (red, lower right; most likely E. C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, but the name is not legible in this scan)
• Number: 4394
• Printing: colored halftone · color
• Condition: corner wear lower left; the scan shows horizontal color banding across the picture (scan or print artifact)

The back

• Layout: divided back (message at left, address at right)
• Printed: Post Card · This Space for Address only
• Stamp: 1c, green, Franklin
• Postmark: BELOIT / OCT 9 / 11-45A / 19 09 / WIS. (machine cancel with flag killer (flag with stars and wavy stripes))
• Condition: toning; a soiled patch at the upper left; the left edge of the message space is cut off in the scan

Exact copy

Line for line as written. [?] follows an uncertain word; [illegible] marks one that cannot be read; ~~ ~~ is crossed out, ^ ^ written above the line, […] runs off the card.

Message (back of the card, left half, message space; the first letters of several lines are cut off at the left edge of the scan):

Beloit Wis.,
Oct 9 1909
Dear Josie & Al.[?]
It has been a long time
since I heard from [you?]
I have wondered, how you
[b]oth were so many times.
[I] would like so much to see
you. write me when it
[w]ill be convenient for
[m]e to come. & will try
[t]o see you, write me
[s]oon as you can, how
[i]s John? my address
is 534 - Bluff. St.
good by.
Mrs Mary Maltby.

Address:

Mrs John Wells
Fontana.
Walworth Co.
Wis.

Reading version

The message joined into sentences, the spelling lightly modernized only where it helps; uncertain words keep their marks.

Beloit, Wis., Oct 9 1909. Dear Josie and Al.[?] It has been a long time since I heard from [you?]. I have wondered how you both were so many times. I would like so much to see you. Write me when it will be convenient for me to come, and will try to see you. Write me soon as you can. How is John? My address is 534 Bluff St. Good by. Mrs Mary Maltby.

Who

• Mrs John Wells — recipient, Fontana, Walworth Co., Wis.
• Josie — addressed in the greeting
• Al.[?] — addressed in the greeting
• John — mentioned in the message ('how is John?')
• Mrs Mary Maltby — sender, 534 Bluff St., Beloit, Wis.

When

How	Date	Basis
filename	1909-10-09	the date in the scan's file name
postmark	1909-10-09	postmark, as read: the day the card was mailed, not the day the picture was made
written	Oct 9 1909	a date written by the sender
card-features	after 1907-03-01	divided back: allowed in the US from 1 Mar. 1907

The readings

Part	Status	Readers
caption	all agree	claude, gemini, gpt
postmark	majority	claude, gemini, gpt
address	majority	claude, gemini, gpt
message	crux (1 word still in question)	claude, gemini, gpt
signature	in message	claude, gemini, gpt

Uncertain readings:

• message, line 5, last word: [you?] (or from) — the end of the line runs under the postmark; only 'fro[…]' is visible
• publisher imprint: […]. C. [illegible] CO. (or E. C. KROPP CO.) — the red imprint is small and blurred by the color banding

Reader's note: The sender gives her own Beloit street address: 534 Bluff St.

Scans: 1909-10-09 - The Busy Street, Beloit, Wis. - 01.png and 1909-10-09 - The Busy Street, Beloit, Wis. - 02.png (sha256 bf4aaf2c058d…, d0708b7ddc05…). Media: front — the scan, byte for byte; back — the scan, byte for byte