I recently found this beautiful real photo postcard of four women and a man posing for a photographer while sitting in a buckboard.
As you can see, they may be siblings; all five have very similar facial features, but there is no identifying information on the front or back of this card. The postcard back has a "Velox" stamp block, and I would date the photograph to about 1908.
A sign on the building behind the wagon says, "The Sun Press." There is also lettering on the building at the upper right. This lettering is blurred and hard to read, but the lower line clearly reads, "Opera House." So, I had a few clues to use to identify the town. Unfortunately, searching for "The Sun Press" online did not pay off. One "Sun" newspaper was found in Cleveland, but this photo didn't look like Cleveland.
Here are two scans of the details, blown up and manipulated in Photoshop to the best of my ability. It took quite a bit of trial and error to decipher the name of the opera house, but it appeared to be J. Janecek, and that was the clue that opened things up.
I searched the internet again and found a reference to Julius Cahn's Theatrical Guide 1897, which listed Janecek Theatre, J. Janecek, mgr., in Schuyler, Colfax Co. Nebraska. The guide also listed the local newspapers as "Sun," "Quill," and "Herald." In addition, Pettengill's Newspaper Directory and Advertisers' Handbook for 1878 lists the "Nebraska, Colfax Co. Schuyler Sun."
So, part of the mystery is solved. But who are these handsome siblings? How did their lives turn out? If you can identify them or if you find another breadcrumb left on this trail, please let us know.
See the additional comment below, courtesy of dmz.
My great grandfather's Opera House (bkgd) - torn down in 1962, acc'd to family history - his son Jerry-Jaroslav Janecek ran the operation for many years. Sorry, the ladies and gentleman on the buckboard are unknown to me. The 'Sun Press' building looks to be the American Legion Hall located at 12th & C St (SW corner)
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