Parlour music ?

I’ve been introducing a few more pictures into the random slideshow at the top right of the screen, and I thought it might be interesting to comment on any that I have some information on.   Sadly I don’t have the original, and if either the eBay seller or buyer of this postcard would like to contact me, I’ll gladly acknowledge their ownership.

This is a vintage Photo Postcard – of the Allen Family from West Virginia.  It was quite fashionable in the early 1900′s, on both sides of the Atlantic, to have family pictures printed onto postcards – so that the recipient had both words and a picture.  Almost a fore-runner of multimedia

The 1920 Census of Graham, WV, lists a Leonidas Allen, with his wife Helen Allen and their children Clara Allen and twins Anna Allen and Ada Allen.

I can only assume that the twins Anna and Ada are shown here on piano and drums, with father Leonidas on cornet, and sister Clara Allen on tenor sax.  I’d like to think that it’s a C-Melody, but the proportions look more tenor’ish.  Click on the picture for a bigger version with more detail.

A great photographic record of early 1900′s instruments, including  a beautiful upright grand piano, xylophone, drums, saxophone, cornet, tambourine, triangle, parlor guitar, and violin/fiddle. From the quality of the picture, and the light, I assume it was taken outside ?

On the reverse of the postcard, addressed to Emma Watts in Mason City, WV, was written – “Hello Emma, I like my dresses just fine. Here are our pictures. How is little Grace? Well that’s all. From Anna and Ada Allen“  The seller quoted that “the AZO stamp box dates to 1904-1918″.  What a lovely little time capsule, thanks to the original eBay seller for those interesting details – as a genealogist I can appreciate them.  I have a couple of picture-postcards of my own ancestors, sadly there seems not a musician amongst them…  Maybe I get my talent from my tin-whistle playing paternal Grandpa, who sadly died just before I was born