Frank C Bach Mandolin Orchestra Wisconsin School of Music 1901 to 1909 Teaching Mandolin Violin Guitar

Bach's Mandolin Orchestra
by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com



Frank C. Bach was instructor of violin, mandolin, and guitar at the Wisconsin School of Music, 433 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin, in 1910 when this advertising postcard was sent to one Miss Mae Maurer of Arcadia, Wisconsin. As times were different in 1910, sending a postcard to Miss Maurer in Arcadia meant that no address was necessary. The postcard was mailed with the usual once cent stamp with an nice flag cancel.

We don't hear much about mandolin now, but at one time the instrument was prominent enough to have its own instructor at the Wisconsin School of Music. That was also the time when telephone numbers in Madison, Wisconsin, now in the 21st century with a population moving toward a quarter of a million people , were a mere three digits long.

Very little is reported about Mr. Frank C. Bach, yet I did find in a Wisconsin Alumni publication dated October 1901 that Mr. Bach had recently been named teacher of mandolin, and in another publication noted later that his career with the Wisconsin School of Music ended in 1909.

From the internet information on old telephone directories I discovered that Frank had at least two wives, for in 1902 his wife's name was Daisy, but in 1907 it had changed to Theresa M. In a biennial report to the Regents of the University of Wisconsin, there is reported a reshaping of the school of music with the goal of raising the standards of education to be in better comparision with other music school both nationally and internationally, which led to the release from teaching duties for Mr. Bach at the end of the 1909 collegiate year.

Yet the postcard presented here has a postmark of November 21, 1910. Perhaps Mr. Bach was now an affiliated instructor? Or, perhaps the sender still had cards to use. We don't know. We also don't know who sent the card to Miss Maurer, other than the person was in the mandolin orchestra, because of one brief sentence, What do you think of us? Lastly, as to which person in the photograph is Frank C. Bach, I cannot tell.

This postcard is currently in auction on QualityMusicandBooks.com.
LINK to this article's text in Adobe PDF format for download.

Uncle Henry Elias and Horse RPPC Real Photo Postcard

Uncle Henry Elias and Horse

AZO Stamp Box Dating 1904-1918

Photo Enhanced to Show Features

 



Who Was Uncle Henry?

Horses that were put to good use on farms were a valuable asset to the business of agriculture even for years after time-saving machinery was available.  This postcard, with identifying Uncle Henry Elias and horse, written long after the actual photo was taken because of the kind of ink used, is the reason the horse's name is not known.  Even so, the horse was important enough to the family or Uncle Henry for this photograph to be taken. Who knows? Maybe the horse was for sale? 

Although we don't know more about Henry Elias other than his name, we can see from the picture that he had a mustache and overbite, and that perhaps the photo was taken in the early morning due to the foggy mist in the background--but more likely the light area is due to overexposure.  By using editing the features of Uncle Henry and the horse can be enhanced to see the detail better.

This postcard has been sold.

Postcard Talk Morris Illinois 1903 McNeil Refugator Shot Himself Did a Clean Job

History Documented in Postcards from the Past

by Mary Katherine May
of www.QualityMusicAndBooks

This past weekend I was out perusing the antique stores in Anoka, Minnesota. Jam-packed to the point of usually allowing only one person being able to pass through an aisle at a time, there I stood examining postcards. It is absolutely true that it takes me much longer to go through old postcards than most collectors, because I am generally looking at the written message and postmark date first, and the image or photograph and condition second.

Originating in Morrison, ILL on September 2 at 9:30 AM,
I cannot be certain that the year was 1903.

The posted message I offer here today originated in Morrison, Illinois, on September 2nd, possibly in 1903. The last number is only a partial. Due to part of the back address on this undivided back postcard being partially scribbled out with pencil, I can glean only that the recipient was a woman (Miss), and that she lived at 839 North 2 St. West, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. On the front, where the message on an undivided back postcard had to be written, we discover that Floyd was writing to his sister, though still no name.

The postcard itself would be interesting because it shows a large amount of lumber being floated down the Mississippi River. This is called a "log raft." The information about the actual postcard is as follows.

No 8. Log Raft on the Mississippi River, Clinton, Iowa.
C.D. Hurd, Publisher, Books and Stationery. Made in Germany.
(back) 84878; This Side Is for the Address.

The initial message, on the side of the front is fairly short.

Dear Sister--Mother received letter we are all well, hope you are the same. will answer your letter in a day or so. Floyd

What makes this particular postcard so exciting is the LATE BREAKING NEWS--almost like a new flash on television today.

McNeil Refugator(?) book keeper shot himself. did a clean job.

I am assuming that this happened in Morrison, IL, and that Floyd was adding something that his sister would want to know. We don't know if McNeil, who did a clean job, at the point of writing was alive or dead, and if alive whether or not he survived. What we do know is that it was important to both sender and receiver of this card.