Lot #739: Vintage 1911 Washington USA Postcard - "Chehalis River, Centralia, Washington" - "Kern Variety Store, Centralia" - USA 1¢ "Franklin" Stamp

One Vintage 1911 Washington USA Postcard, used, showing lake view at "Chehalis River, Centralia, Washington". This coloured postcard is labelled as "Published by Kern Variety Store, Centralia, Wash." The Postcard has a divided back. Includes One Green USA One-Cent "Benjamin Franklin" Stamp. Postmarked May 1911 at Ethel, Washington, USA. Cryptic Ink message in bold hand: "I arrived home safe in body but shattered otherwise. Oh! Oh! Oh!". Like the "Souvenir of Markham" card offered in Lot #733, this was a local merchant view for the Publisher "Kern Variety Store" Local variety or "five-and-dime" stores in the early 1910s frequently commissioned their own postcards to sell to residents and travelers. These cards are often rarer than those from national publishers because the print runs were much smaller, tailored specifically to the local Centralia market. Since it was published by a local variety store, it was likely printed by one of the large Chicago or New York lithographers who specialized in coloring black-and-white photos for small-town clients The Chehalis River is the lifeblood of that region in Washington State. Postmark: Ethel, Washington was a small post office; finding a clear May 1911 postmark from such a specific rural location adds value for collectors of "Small Town" postal history. . Dimensions: 9 mm x 14 mm Pickup category timeslot {A}