This view of the High School is almost identical to the 1909 "Lyon High School" card. While this card is perhaps a decade newer -- it was used in 1924 -- the photograph apparently dates to the construction of the high school. (The little white spot at the lower left reads "Please Keep Off the Grass" through a magnifying glass.) The publisher's credit that runs vertically up the left edge of the card back says "Pub. by B. H. Grimes Co., Frankfort, Ind." The printing plate shows a flaw, a globby defacement in the upper right. The Grimes "Red Caption" Series The same set of views seems to have been reprinted three times. This set, identified by the red ink used for the captions, seems to have been the first, based on a postmark of 1919 on one of the cards. A "Tresslar" set carries a publisher's credit for the Tresslar 5c and 10c Store and seems to date to the early 1920s. The "Grimes Black Caption" set is credited again to H.B. Grimes, and seems to date later in the 1920s. All three sets of views were printed by the Auburn Post Card Manufacturing Co., Auburn, Ind. and feature the Auburn back design of a quill pen behind the words "Post Card". The views in the three sets include: High School Carnegie Library Cabinet Factory Methodist Church Courthouse (known from an eBay auction, but not yet in the collection) I don't know if all the views appear in all three sets. Dating this set of cards presents problems. If we accept a 1911-1913 date for the Cabinet Factory card (see the discussion on the Tresslar Cabinet Factory card) then these "Red Caption" cards could have been printed about 1911 or after. But the earliest postmark on any of the cards is 1919, which argues for a later publication date. This view of the High School is postmarked from Salem on Aug. 9, 1922, and addressed to Miss Alice Powell, c/o Gibbs Inman Co., Louisville, Ky. The message reads, "Hellow Alice, are you working real hard? Am having a fine time, wish you could have come along. Will see you Monday. Effie." (Apparently Effie worked with Alice at the Gibbs-Inman Printing Co. in Louisville and visited in Washington County every summer. At the same time I bought this card I bought another card from Effie to Alice written during her visit of 1923.) (8/22/04) Home | The 1910s | 1920s