Real photo postcard of C. C. Cobb’s millinery department in York, Nebraska. Glass counters fill the foreground, with additional cabinets along the walls and across the rear. Hats stand above the counters or sit closely arranged behind glass, their broad brims and tall crowns decorated with flowers, ribbons, and feathers.
A wooden-floored aisle leads between the cases toward the back of the department. Boxes are stacked above the rear cabinets, and electric bulbs hang from exposed ceiling wiring. No staff or customers are visible; the photograph concentrates on the merchandise and its display.
White lettering in the negative identifies “C. C. COBB.” and the “MILLINARY: Dpt.” at “YORK: NEB.” The accompanying date reads “3. [?]. 11.”, indicating March 1911; the day is not securely legible. The caption’s spelling of “MILLINARY” is retained in the transcription.
The divided postcard back has an AZO stamp box and remains unmailed. Pencil annotations appear at the upper left and lower right, but neither side credits a photographer or publisher. AZO identifies the photographic paper, not the maker of the view.
- Title on card
- C. C. COBB. / "MILLINARY: Dpt." / YORK: NEB. / 3. [?]. 11. (inscribed)
- Medium
- RPPC
- Subject
- Nebraska, Occupational
- Dimensions
- 5.45 × 3.42 in (138.3 × 86.9 mm)
- Condition
- Some handling soil on the reverse; the photograph is otherwise clean and the card sound, with no major tears or losses visible.
- Catalogue no.
- MRPPC3441
Catalogue details
Location
York, Nebraska · York, Nebraska, United States
Photographed subject · Locality (town) · 80% confidence
the card names only the town. Looked up as "York, Nebraska" → York, York, NE 68467, USA. Order tried: caption-town: "York, Nebraska" → city ✓; Live research: The supplied front reading explicitly identifies the depicted business as C. C. Cobb’s millinery department and gives the unambiguous town caption “YORK: NEB.” Independent period advertising corroborates the identification: the February 5, 1907 Sandburr contains an advertisement for “The C. C. COBB COMPANY,” confirmed visually in the scanned page despite faulty OCR. ([york.edu](https://www.york.edu/about/archives/sandburr-files/1907_vol_7_5_feb_5_1907.pdf)) The March 24, 1921 issue advertises Cobb’s millinery, apparel and dry goods and identifies it as a York store. ([york.edu](https://www.york.edu/about/archives/sandburr-files/1921_vol_21_9_march_24_1921.pdf)) These sources support the named business and merchandise shown, but do not establish the photographed department’s March 1911 street address or building footprint. Accordin
Source: Card caption (town only)
