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The Village Smithy (Longfellow poem illustration), Bangor, ME, 1913

Subjects
Forests & TreesWorkers & Occupations
Card type
Printed photo
Date
c. 1913 (Golden Age)
Front of The Village Smithy (Longfellow poem illustration), Bangor, ME, 1913, Mrs Parker Clough, ME, USA, c. 1913 printed photo postcard
Front
Back of The Village Smithy (Longfellow poem illustration), Bangor, ME, 1913, Mrs Parker Clough, ME, USA, c. 1913 printed photo postcard
Back

About this postcard

An illustration for Longfellow's poem shows a village smithy beneath a broad spreading chestnut tree, with a figure and a small outbuilding at the left. The opening stanza is printed with the image, beginning "Under a spreading chestnut tree / The village smithy stands." Longfellow's poem, commonly titled "The Village Blacksmith" and printed here as "The Village Smithy," made the blacksmith a familiar symbol of honest labor. By the early 1900s the blacksmith was already becoming a nostalgic figure as factories and automobiles reshaped ordinary work.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pencil

Dear ma:- Am having a fine time, enjoying every minute. We are at the convention now. Bessie + Erma are with us, we have not done any trading yet. Every thing is beautiful [illegible] my cold is all right.

The Village Smithy Under a spreading chestnut tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands. Longfellow.
PostmarkedBangor, ME, October 31, 1913, 19:30
Stamp
Addressed to
Mrs Parker Clough

Ellsworth Falls, ME

Postcard record

Postmarked, Bangor, ME
ConditionGood
Place addressedMrs Parker Clough, Ellsworth Falls, ME
Stamp1c George Washington, green, issued 1909
NotesRed decorative wavy border around the card; halftone print; light staining and surface wear on the right side. Postmark: BANGOR ME OCT 31 7:30 PM 1913. Divided-back card on cream stock, matte halftone print (not linen/glossy); pencil message written sideways along the left edge; light soiling and a pencil dealer mark ("112 / 2.00") at top.

Cite this card

The Village Smithy (Longfellow poem illustration), Bangor, ME, 1913, postcard, c. 1913. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/the-village-smithy-longfellow-poem-illustration-bangor-me-19. Accessed November 2, 2026.