Two harnessed horses stand before a light-colored mail wagon with an enclosed cab and large spoked wheels. A figure is faintly visible inside the cab. Bare trees fill the background, with part of a frame building at the right edge.
The handwritten caption along the lower edge reads “Route 1. Wahoo Neb.” The reverse supplies unusually direct confirmation of the subject: the writer introduces the photograph as a picture of “our mail wagon.” The numeral identifies the delivery route, not a publisher’s view number.
Addressed to Miss Helen Fletcher in Bellevue, Nebraska, the card bears a Wahoo cancellation dated June 1, 1911, and a green one-cent Franklin stamp. The personal message discusses a club meeting, an invitation to a school picnic, and an anticipated visit. It closes with love from an aunt whose initials appear to be E.M.C.
The photograph is on divided-back AZO postcard stock. Initials at the lower right of the image appear to correspond to the letter’s signature, but do not establish a photographic credit. The photographer, person in the wagon, and precise location along the route remain unidentified.
- Title on card
- Route 1. Wahoo Neb. (inscribed)
- Medium
- RPPC
- Subject
- Nebraska, Occupational, Outdoor Scene
- Dimensions
- 5.43 × 3.4 in (138.0 × 86.3 mm)
- Condition
- Small surface losses at the upper corners and a small dark spot near the nearer horse’s head; otherwise sound.
- Provenance
- Mailed from Wahoo, Nebraska, on June 1, 1911, to Miss Helen Fletcher in Bellevue, Nebraska.
- Catalogue no.
- MRPPC3472
Catalogue details
Location
Wahoo Route 1 mail-delivery locality, Wahoo, Nebraska · Wahoo, Nebraska, United States
Photographed subject · Locality (town) · 92% confidence
The supplied front caption, “Route 1. Wahoo Neb.,” explicitly identifies the wagon’s locality; the reverse statement “our mail wagon” confirms its subject. This identification does not rely on the postmark, recipient’s Bellevue address, or a photographer’s studio. Independent period evidence supports the route designation: the 1907 Saunders County Plat Book’s Center precinct farmers’ directory lists numerous “Wahoo 1” postal addresses, including John Albert and Frank Benes. This corroborates the named route, but does not identify the photographed property. ([negenweb.net](https://negenweb.net/NESaunders/1907plat/nms-center.html)) The Library of Congress catalogs the original 1907 atlas, including its township maps and farmers’ directory. ([loc.gov](https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4193sm.gla00023/?sp=70&utm_source=openai)) USPS historical records independently date Wahoo’s first rural delivery service to November 15, 1902, consistent with the postcard’s 1911 date. ([about.usps.com](https:
Source: 1907 Saunders County Plat Book — Center Precinct Farmers’ Directory
