CDV: (1895-1897) Girl with her Bicycle

I apologize, this photograph has been sitting in my draft posts for about a year. It is of a teenage girl around late 1800's. I love her puffed sleeves, it gives me Anne of Green Gables vibes. (Anne so wanted a dress with puffed sleeves!)

Speaking of which, did anyone see the Netflix series Anne with an E? I'm super disappointed it was canceled in Season 3, it was such a good show with great actors! The girl who played Anne, (Amybeth Mcnulty) was the entire essence of who Anne of Green Gables was! It was a Anne for this century covering multiple issues: bullying, abuse, racism, feminism, LGBT+, etc. I'm a sucker for any historical drama and I'm really sad it was canceled. (Maybe, sign the petition fans have created to bring the show back!)

I purchased this CDV off eBay from a seller in England. There was no info on the back, but her clothing suggests late 1800's, possibly 1895-1897. Her outfit is actually made for cycling! I recently obtained a reprint of the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co catalog and I've scanned a few pages from that (below) showing all the bicycle equipment you could buy in 1897. 


Outfits for cycling. Gentlemen had their own outfits, with knicker shorts. The bicycle suit for ladies had a skirt that was shorter than the dresses they would wear every day.

A few of the ladies bicycles for sale in the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co catalog. 

The lamp on the bicycle in the photograph is a carbide lamp. You can see some similar ones for sale in the 1897 catalog, it was fueled with acetylene gas. A few models (above) in the Sears catalog were fueled by kerosene. 
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RPPC: Pets in the early 1900's.

Please see my previous post Pets in the 19th Century for even more photographs!

These are both antique photo postcards (RPPC) from around the early to mid 1900's that were each purchased at separate times. Both postcards were blank on the back so I have no way of properly identifying the people in them. It's lovely to see pets were cherished members of the family even 100 years ago. 

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1911 Postcard: Lorraine Venus Austwick

Long time, no post. I hope everyone is holding up during the whirlwind of a year 2020 has been so far.
This is another antique photo postcard (RPPC) I purchased on eBay recently, of a little girl dressed up as leaves for a school program. The postcard says:

Jan 29, 1911
Dear friend Laura, I send this card for Lorraine, she was in a (intramural? instrumental?) and had to play just as the leaves came down, and she wanted you to have one but they are not very good.
Say, Mrs Tompson told me you sent for us to come visit there, but I moved and so did she and neither one got the letter or card in time. I am 2745 Gladys Ave near California, Van Buren so come and see me if you come to the city. Minnie A.

I love when there's just enough info on antique postcards or photographs that you're able to identify the people on them. I did some research online and was able to figure out Minnie A, the author of the postcard was Minnie Austwick, and her daughter was Lorraine Venus Austwick. They lived in Chicago at the time the postcard was written and Lorraine would have been around 7-8 years old in 1911.


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