Saskatchewan

An early Saskatoon real photo card, postmarked June 4, 1906 and addressed to MIss Ella MIghton, Muir, Ont., but with no message (as it's an undivided back card). This shows a ferry crossing the South Saskatchewan River.

Another in the "Government Agent" series, this one happily has a postmark: Oxford, May 9, 1906. Very often these cards weren't actually mailed. The card is addressed to Miss A. A. Pasten, Carlingford, Sidcup and has the message: "Thank you so much for your kind invite. Shan't be able to accept now as I am off to Canada for a 3 months trip the end of the month - Else I had hoped to descend upon you for a night or two! Love from H.G.L."

This is almost certainly a C.S. Co. card, although it is marked only with the distributor initials "L.R. 1475". Souch's C.S. Co. booklet records an "L.R." in Moose Jaw and while card 1475 is not recorded, card 1476 *is* in the list and is also an "L.R." from Moose Jaw. Presumably "L.R." is "Lewis Rice". The postcard has a Moose Jaw & Calgary R.P.O. postmark dated June 9, 1909 and is addressed to someone whose name looks like Mr. Lee Silliman Jr. of Toulon, Illinois, which is over by the Iowa border. It reads: "Moose Jaw - Dear Nephew, I remember once upon a [time] you wrote me a letter and I will now send you a card from the fields of Canada. There is just lots of beautiful prairie and it looks like a good chance for a young man to raise wheat in [?] a good time, Your aunt, Sarah."

This unused multiview is divided back and produced by the Albertype Co. of Brooklyn, N.Y. It appears to be a U.S. card. The lower image is identified as a "Porter Photo".

This postcard is unused but is addressed to Vinnie Binkley, Brookville, Ohio. On the front is a faint stamp: "B. F. Kiester, Dist. Mgr., 102 Salem Ave. Dayton, O." This card is #2 in a series of immigration-promoting cards issued (one assumes) by a land company.

One of the less interesting looking "Government Agent" cards, showing the successful farm of Benjamin Holden at Indian Head, circa 1905. The card is unused.

Lithographed card by Lewis Rice of Moose Jaw, Sask., with 1909 copyright date. Same image as used on his 'ploughing and disking and breaking' card, but in much better condition.

One of two 1909 cards by Lewis Rice of Moose Jaw, Sask. Very nice image of horses in the rolling countryside out there. Unused.

This card contains the strip of ~10 photos of "cowboys and Indians" shown separately. The strip is credited to the Valentine & Sons United Publishing Co. Ltd. of Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver but the rest of the card appears to be from the U.K. Valentine's. It is described as a "Mailing Card" and was printed in Great Britain. It was mailed at Battleford, Sask. on December 9, 1924 (I believe) to Mmiss Margaret Moss, 43 Queens Rd., Northampton, England and a "From" line on the opposite half of the back is filled in with the name "E. B. Snedker". The card has an instruction I haven't seen before which is that the "letter" half of the back can only contain the name and address of the sender -- "If any other writing, Two Cent Stamp is required." Perhaps this was an English requirement in the 1920s. The verse on the front is the opening lines of the rarely-heard second verse of O Canada! (the national anthem). This version of the Saskatchewan card (i.e. with the cowboys and Indians strip) is not listed by Smith as part of Series 24 Valentine & Sons (see p. 246 of Vol. II of his patriotics book).

This strip (which has one or two more images at the top end that couldn't be scanned) appears from under the Saskatchewan crest on the "Greetings from Canada" card.

This photo postcard of the Alameda Hotel in Alameda, Sask. (presumably) presents a bit of a puzzle, since it has the appearance of being a Winnipeg Photo Co. card but is credited to Western Art Gallery of Oxbow, Sask. A great view. Hotel inscribed with the year "1909" indicating that it was almost new at the time of the photo.

This was actually sent from Brantford, Ont., home of Stedmans, so perhaps they sold random cards locally. This one shows a rather unusual looking Methodist Church at Tisdale, Saskatchewan. The date on the card is December 12, 1907 and it was addressed to Miss Bessie Risk, 1526 3rd Ave., Fairview, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Posted at Swift Current, May 26, 1908, this has a W.M.T.O. monogram in a circle on the back, which I suspect stands for William MacFarlane, Toronto, Ontario.

Unused Warwick Bros. & Rutter card no. 1935.

December 30, 1907 letter from a Sara Dodds to Mrs. W. H. McLean, Minnedosa, Man., conveying the usual vague New Year's greetings.

Interesting farm implement advertising card, unused, with the following printed on the back: "Compliments of Gas Traction Company. First and Largest Builder in the World of Four-Cylinder Farm Tractors. Minneapolis, Minn., U.S.A. Canadian Office: Winnipeg, Man."

Postmarked in August 1912 at Eyebrow, Saskatchewan and addressed to Mrs. A. Hailstone, Carling, Ontario (Parry Sound District). A branch of the Northern Bank is at right. The card appears to be in the Winnipeg Photo Co. series but is not marked as such. It is numbered 699. It is attributed to W. H. Hunter. The Central Drug Hall appears in the centre of the photo, so it is possible that W. H. Hunter could have been the proprietor of that shop.