Original antique Birthday Greetings postcard, postally used from the small community of Henrietta, Blair County, Pennsylvania.
The front features an attractive early 20th-century birthday design with a large blue vase or urn filled with flowers, a small pastoral landscape inset, floral decoration, and the greeting:
“Bright Birthday Wishes / Many Happy Returns”
The reverse is the real attraction for postal-history collectors. It bears a readable circular:
HENRIETTA / PA.
postmark, with a November date. The year appears to be 1911 based on the manuscript notation on the card and the period of the stamp/card.
The card is franked with a 1¢ green Benjamin Franklin stamp and addressed to Miss Lena Stange, Blair Co., Pa.
Henrietta was a small community and postal point in Blair County, Pennsylvania. Its post office opened in 1872 and closed in 1935, making Henrietta a Discontinued Post Office (DPO) cancel today.
Henrietta had additional historical importance as a railroad location. Blair County historical references identify it as a former post office and railroad station in North Woodbury Township, at the end of the Morrison's Cove Branch Railroad.
A contemporary Blair County history identifies D. D. Morrell as Henrietta's postmaster and ticket agent from 1872 to 1898, with J. Elvin Hagey succeeding him.
That makes this a nice little piece of Blair County postal and local history, particularly for collectors of Pennsylvania DPO cancels.
Post Office: Henrietta, Pennsylvania
County: Blair County
Postmark: HENRIETTA / PA.
Date: November, circa 1911
Post Office Operation: 1872–1935
Status: DPO – Discontinued Post Office
Stamp: 1¢ Benjamin Franklin
Destination: Blair County, Pennsylvania
Recipient: Miss Lena Stange
Usage: Genuine period postal use
Henrietta was sufficiently small that historical sources describe it specifically as both a former post office and railroad station. The post office's relatively limited 63-year lifespan gives the cancel considerably more interest than a common large-city Pennsylvania postmark.
Type: Printed Postcard
Occasion: Birthday
Era: Divided Back Era
Approximate Date: 1911
Postmarked: Yes
Postmark Location: Henrietta, Pennsylvania
County: Blair County
DPO: Yes
Post Office Dates: 1872–1935
Country: United States
State: Pennsylvania
Theme: Birthday, Flowers, Postal History, Pennsylvania
Subject: Birthday Greetings
Stamp: 1¢ Benjamin Franklin
Features: Embossed details, floral design, landscape vignette, handwritten message
Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
Number of Items: 1
Good antique used condition with age-related wear.
Front retains attractive colors with visible floral and landscape details. There is noticeable edge and corner wear, including some surface loss/chipping near the upper-right edge. Reverse exhibits toning, postal handling wear, handwriting, and some staining/discoloration consistent with age.
The Henrietta, Pennsylvania postmark remains identifiable, which is the primary collecting feature of this example.
Please examine photographs carefully for exact condition.
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