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1911 RPPC Van’s Bakery W.M. Speck Dewey Oklahoma Circus Poster
Lot is for RPPC only; others pictures are research items from the web and not included.
Original Real Photo Postcard depicting Van’s Bakery and adjoining storefronts in Dewey, Oklahoma, Spring 1911, with visible Cole & Rogers Railroad Shows advertising poster for Saturday May 20. A sharply detailed commercial streetscape capturing identifiable proprietors, adjacent businesses, and documented traveling circus promotion in a rapidly developing early oil-era town.
IMAGE / OBJECT DETAILS – COMPLETE INVENTORY
Brick commercial block with decorative brick corbel banding beneath the roofline.
Three primary storefront bays visible:
Left storefront:
• Large display window with interior shelving and merchandise visible
• Printed window poster reading: “Cole and Rogers Railroad Shows – Saturday May 20”
• Wooden framed door with glass panel standing open
• Interior counter and shelving faintly visible
Center storefront:
• Over-door wood sign reading “Van’s Bakery”
• Painted window lettering “Bakery”
• Smaller hanging sign reading “Laundry Office”
• Painted window lettering “Ice Cream & Cold Drinks”
• Glass entry door centered beneath signage
• Interior display racks faintly visible through glass
Right storefront:
• Painted window lettering reading “W. M. Speck’s Meat Market”
• Butcher counter and interior shelving faintly visible
• Adjacent partial sign at far right edge (likely grocery signage continuation)
People:
• One adult woman standing at bakery entrance, wearing high-collared blouse and long dark skirt, period hairstyle consistent with 1905–1912
• Two adult men wearing white aprons (likely proprietor and assistant/baker), standing in doorway
• Young girl visible at far right sidewalk edge wearing light dress and hat
• All posed formally facing camera
Street Environment:
• Unpaved dirt street
• Wooden utility pole in foreground
• Three cylindrical metal containers or milk cans/barrels at curb
• Boardwalk-style sidewalk
• Early 20th century glass storefront configuration
• Painted commercial window signage
• Advertising poster integrated into shop window
• Multi-business commercial block construction (possibly the 1909 James building)
Back of Card:
• Standard divided back
• “Post Card” printed at top
• “Correspondence Here” and “Name and Address Here” layout
• Stamp box printed “Place a 1 Cent Stamp Here”
• AZO stamp box marking indicating 1904–1918 era real photo production
HISTORICAL & LOCAL CONTEXT
Dewey, Oklahoma was an emerging oil-boom and railroad town in Washington County during the early 1910s. Commercial storefronts such as Van’s Bakery and W. M. Speck’s Meat Market served a growing population tied to petroleum development and regional rail traffic.
The visible poster advertises the Cole and Rogers Combined Shows, later known as the Cole and Rogers Railroad Shows, a traveling circus touring the American West and Midwest in the 1910s. The clearly legible “Saturday May 20” date corresponds to documented Spring 1911 touring schedules in Oklahoma, firmly anchoring this image to a specific event window.
Traveling circuses were major civic events in towns like Dewey, complementing rodeos and entertainment such as the later Dewey Roundup (established 1916). Dewey was also associated with early Western entertainment figures including Tom Mix during this era.
Van’s Bakery was established in Dewey by Charles H. Van Alstine (1841–1917) in the early 1900s. By 1911 the business was associated with the Mead family. The individuals standing in the doorway are very likely proprietors or family members of the bakery.
W. M. Speck (1850–1923) operated a mercantile and grocery/meat business in Dewey during this period. Period records place his business on East Eighth Street near the railroad corridor. This photograph captures his storefront signage clearly reading “W. M. Speck’s Meat Market.”
The image documents:
• Named, identifiable local businesses
• A specific traveling railroad circus engagement
• Commercial architecture of a documented 1909-era building
• Early 1910s Main Street economic life in northeastern Oklahoma
Street-level Oklahoma commercial views with readable signage and event advertising from 1911 are scarce.
POSTAL / DOCUMENTARY DETAILS
Unused real photo postcard.
No postmark.
No stamp.
Divided back format.
AZO photographic paper stamp box (1904–1918 production window).
Period correct for Spring 1911 image.
CORRESPONDENCE / CONTENT DETAILS
No correspondence.
Blank address panel.
FORMAT & AUTHENTICITY
Original period real photo postcard.
Silver gelatin photographic print on AZO paper stock.
Early 20th century production.
Not a reproduction.
CONDITION: VG
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬.
KEYWORDS
Dewey Oklahoma 1911 RPPC Van’s Bakery W M Speck Meat Market Cole Rogers Railroad Shows circus poster Saturday May 20 East Eighth Street Washington County oil boom town commercial brick block James building Americana Main Street bakery ice cream cold drinks meat market grocery early railroad touring show Western ephemera real photo postcard AZO divided back Oklahoma history
