Postcard of soldiers inspecting horses: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This real photo postcard depicts a black and white image of men inspecting horses. The photograph is taken from behind the horses. They are all lined up in a row and most of the men are standing in between them. Just right of center, a young boy is standing behind a horse and is looking at the camera. Two houses, several tents and tall trees are visible in the background. On the back of the postcard the word [POST CARD] is printed at the top. The words [CORRESPONDENCE HERE] and [NAME AND ADDRESS HERE] divide the back into two sections. Handwritten text on the left reads [This one does nt / require an envelop. / I [illegible] its very / good of the Colored / troops taken while grooming / their horses / Don't you miss me? / I hope Cora is n't so tired / out she can't continue making / good things for you to eat.]. The name [Nellison] is handwritten in the margin. Handwritten text on the right reads [Henry R. Dort / Roxbury St / Keene / N.H.]. The green postage stamp in the top right corner features an image of Benjamin Franklin. At the top center a black stamp reads [WINCHENDON / OCT 2 / 7- AM / 10 09 / MASS.].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: October 1909
• Published by: Unidentified
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Henry R. Dort, American, 1857 - 1927
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: photographic postcards
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper with ink
• Dimensions: H x W: 3 7/16 × 5 3/8 in. (8.7 × 13.7 cm)
• Place used: Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American West
• Topic: Correspondence
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2014.37.35.14
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.