Postcard History
First Sunday Mystery Card
July 2021
[Editor’s note: Here at the Postcard History office the debate continues to rage. The question under consideration is, “Should we know the answer before we publish a mystery postcard?”
In the first series of mystery postcards (October 2020 to March 2021), three answers were known before publication, three were not.
If you missed the answers when they were announced, we are pleased to repeat the announcement as we begin a new series of mysteries.]
October 2020
This unknown walk-over bridge stayed the longest mystery of the series – until June 2021. It crosses the Ulster and Delaware railroad in New York State.
November 2020
The Kansas Governor’s Mansion, circa 1908 was identified immediately. We hope Tommy’s grandmother like her grandson’s joke.
December 2020
This mis-captioned street scene remained a mystery for just a week. The bank on the corner helped identify its location in Connecticut.
January 2021
The location of this split-rock was known before publication, but our readers found it within a few days. The rock attracts tourists to Lake George, New York.
March 2021
This mystery card received a great response. Percy De Wolfe was a long-time Klondike mail-carrier.
Feburary 2021
The Glen Theater postcard of the opening-night audience was found in just four days. Renamed the Foothill Theatre, it still operates in Oakland, California.
The New New New Mystery Mystery
The first of our new series of mysteries is a real-photo postcard from a small city in the Saxony region of Germany. Gristede, it is dated 1921. It shows what appears to be a twenty- to twenty-five-foot tall lifting apparatus equipped with a chain-hoist. The picture of what must be assumed to be the crew that operates the contraption is posed. There are no less than twenty-seven men and one young boy in the photo. Are you wondering; is that the boss, off to the right in the black topcoat?
What is this team of men doing?
Send your answer to editor@postcardhistory.net.
You are welcome to make comments as usual, but please don’t spoil the challenge for others by answering the mystery in the comments section.
I prefer the mystery card challenges in which the answer is unknown to the editors. Such cards as the Lake George split rock and the Klondike view could have been incorporated into the contest quizzes that appear from time to time in Postcard History.