Lou's Boy, Arnold

A real photo postcard showing a young boy seated above a harnessed team, holding the reins and looking toward the camera. He wears a cap, buttoned jacket, trousers, and boots. Wooden crates are stacked at angles behind his seat, rising well above the wagon sides. The horses stand on rough ground before low-roofed buildings, with a narrow gabled structure projecting above the roofline.

A clearly legible pencil inscription on the reverse reads “Lou's Boy, Arnold.” Neither the photographer nor the buildings are identified. The card was mailed from Liberty, Nebraska, the likely home of the boy and his team.

The divided-back postcard was mailed with a green one-cent Franklin stamp and a Liberty, Nebr. cancellation reading FEB · 2 PM · 1912. It is addressed to Mrs. L. M. Sypher, York, Nebraska. The only message is the identification itself. The photograph necessarily predates or coincides with the 1912 mailing, but its precise date is unknown.

There is dark mottled discoloration along the upper edge, with a shallow edge loss just right of center, a few green and blue surface marks, and a small pale abrasion over the left-hand horse. Otherwise sound, with the boy, team, and wagon load clearly visible.