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Feeding the swans, Jamaica Plain, Mass., 1939

Subjects
BirdsChildrenPublic Parks & Commons
Card type
Lithograph
Date
c. 1939 (Linen)
Front of Feeding the swans, Jamaica Plain, Mass., 1939, c. 1939 lithograph postcard
Front
Back of Feeding the swans, Jamaica Plain, Mass., 1939, c. 1939 lithograph postcard
Back

About this postcard

Children and a few adults stand along the gravel edge of a wooded pond, tossing food to a flock of white swans; strollers, a bicyclist, and a bench sitter appear on the path behind. The caption places the scene at Jamaica Plain, a Boston neighborhood that surrounds Jamaica Pond, the largest freshwater body in the city and a key link in the Emerald Necklace park system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. In the early twentieth century the pond was a popular promenade and a familiar place to feed waterfowl. The sender's note names swans, geese, and ducks, the mixed waterfowl such park outings drew.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Molly thinks you would enjoy going to the park and feed- ing the swans, geese and ducks with her. She is hoping to see you be- fore the winter comes on and freezes them out. With love from cousin Molly

PublisherRobbins Bros.
Feeding the Swans at Jamaica Plain, Mass.
PostmarkedBoston, MA
Stamp
Addressed to
Charlotte M. Hassett

44 Sparhawk Street Amesbury, MA

Postcard record

PostmarkedBoston, MA
PublisherRobbins Bros.
ConditionVery good
Place addressedCharlotte M. Hassett, 44 Sparhawk Street, Amesbury, MA
Place depictedJamaica Plain, MA
receivedBoston, MA
Stamp1c George Washington, green, perforated on all sides
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1907, perforated on all sides
NotesThin white border; grainy stippled color lithograph texture; small publisher monogram in lower-left corner. Postmark: BOSTON MASS. SEP 1 9-30 AM / JAMAICA PLAIN STATION (machine cancel); receiving mark: REC'D BOSTON, MASS. SEP 2 1939. Divided-back era, purple ink postal notation "This is the mail for which you sent postage" across the address side, light edge wear and toning.

Cite this card

Feeding the swans, Jamaica Plain, Mass., 1939, postcard, c. 1939. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/feeding-the-swans-jamaica-plain-mass-1939. Accessed November 2, 2026.