Grand Ave., Beloit, Wis.

Mailed 4 Aug. 1914 from Beloit. From B. L.[?] R. to Mrs. Gus. Zick, Clinton.

The picture

A single-truck streetcar comes up a paved commercial street toward the viewer under its trolley wire; ornate Italianate stone business blocks with awnings line the left side; a red-brick building with a 'HENRY & HOLAHAN' rooftop sign closes the view; a 'GOLDEN EAGLE' sign and a bank sign with a clock hang at right.

• Printed caption: Grand Ave., Beloit, Wis.
• Printing: colored halftone · color
• Lettering in the picture: JEWELER (sign, left); HENRY & HOLAHAN (rooftop sign); GOLDEN EAGLE (projecting sign, right); THE [illegible] [illegible] BANK (projecting sign with a clock, right)
• Condition: wear and small losses along the right edge and upper left corner; light creasing

The back

• Layout: divided back (message at left, address at right)
• Printed: Post Card · ADDRESS · Plate 283.
• Stamp: 1c, green, Washington
• Postmark: BELOIT / AUG 4 / 12 M / 1914 / WIS. (machine cancel with wavy-line killer)
• Condition: toning and foxing; a small crease or crack at the lower right corner

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, lines running from top to bottom, first line nearest the divider; the first word runs through the postmark, written sideways: written with the card turned, reading downward; turn the card 90 degrees counter-clockwise to read):

Monday[?] afternoon.
Born Aug 2-
a son at
815 Highland
All doing nicely.
B. L.[?] R.

Address:

Mrs. Gus. Zick,
Clinton
Wis.

A later hand (faint red or pink pencil figures, two lines; probably dealer prices, below the address, left of centre): 17.50[?] / 2.50[?]

Reading version

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

Monday[?] afternoon. Born Aug 2, a son, at 815 Highland. All doing nicely. B. L.[?] R.

Who

• Mrs. Gus. Zick — recipient, Clinton, Wis.
• B. L.[?] R. — sender
• a son (unnamed), born Aug 2 — person in the message, 815 Highland

When

How	Date	Basis
filename	1914-08-12	the date in the scan's file name
postmark	1914-08-04	postmark, as read: the day the card was mailed, not the day the picture was made
written	Monday[?] afternoon	a date written by the sender
card-features	after 1907-03-01	divided back: allowed in the US from 1 Mar. 1907

• ⚠ file name says 1914-08-12, postmark reads 1914-08-04

The readings

Part	Status	Readers
caption	all agree	claude, gemini, gpt
postmark	majority	claude, gemini, gpt
address	majority	claude, gemini, gpt
message	majority	claude, gemini, gpt
signature	in message	claude, gemini

Uncertain readings:

• message, line 1: Monday (or Wednesday) — the middle letters run under the postmark ring
• signature, middle initial: L (or J, S) — a tall looped stroke without a clear crossbar
• address, line 1: Zick (or Jick) — the capital is a looped Z-like form with a descender
• later hand: 17.50 / 2.50 (or 1.50 / 2.50) — very faint pink pencil

Reader's note: A birth announcement: a son born August 2 at 815 Highland (town not written; the card was mailed at Beloit). The postmark reads AUG 4, 12 M (noon) 1914; the scan's file name gives 08-12, apparently from reading the hour 12 as the day.

Scans: 1914-08-12 Grand Ave., Beloit, WIs. - 01.png and 1914-08-12 Grand Ave., Beloit, WIs. - 02.png (sha256 c5c5502fe011…, a8bb0b718129…). Media: front — the scanner's white edge trimmed: kept pixels [0, 0, 1087, 702]; back — the scanner's white edge trimmed: kept pixels [0, 0, 1087, 702]