Vintage QSL Cards found

[W1UJR]

Here is Lillian Gunther's (W2FQD) QSL from the 1930s, for those so interested. It is dated 1936, and confirms a contact made on 56 Mhz.

73,

Bruce

Great find Bruce!
Now she was a looker, Hiram would have to stand behind me!

Now here is one for you, 3YA, Mary Loomis.
She was not only a ham, but also started her own radio school which prospered in the 1920/30s -->> http://oldqslcards.com/3ya.pdf

[W2XR]

Now here is one for you, 3YA, Mary Loomis.
She was not only a ham, but also started her own radio school which prospered in the 1920/30s -->> http://oldqslcards.com/3ya.pdf

Hi Bruce,

Very impressive, indeed! I think I may have heard of Mary in passing at some point, perhaps on another website.

Not a bad looking woman, either. Notice the attempt for Mary to maintain her feminity;  the powdering of her face, while practicing the radio art that was very much exclusive to men of the era, and largely still is.

There was another famous female radio amateur, in Chicago as I recall, named Alice Bourke. She was W9DXX, and had a magnificent, largely homebrew station with an early HRO receiver. Her photo is shown below, from the W2XR archives of famous women radio operators.

I love these old radio photos. The photos on pre-1960 QSL cards are generally quite interesting.

73,

Bruce

[W1UJR]

Hello again Bruce...yes, she was quite a woman, looks like it wasn't the first time a man stayed home supported by wife, not so common or socially accepted back in the 1920s.

I know the Alice of whom you speak, have seen the QSL card/photo, pretty cool!
I don't have much history on her, so if you dig it, would be neat to add to this discussion of old QSL cards.

Follow up - Cool photo, saw you just posted, think I had her bio somewhere, will have to see if I can dig it up. Quite an impressive station, there must be some history of her.

[W2XR]

And here is my favorite old-time QSL card of all.

I have this one as an original. I first saw it posted a number of years ago on a website related to the early history of radio, and I contacted the owner of the card to see if he was willing to sell it.

He was incredibly gracious, and he ended up giving me this card gratis. He wanted the current holder of the call (me) to have it. His father was the original recipient of this QSL in 1935, and it confirms his reception of W2XR on March 27th, 1935. It is now almost 76 years old.

I had it framed, and it now occupies a special place in my shack.

73,

Bruce

[W2XR]

Hello again Bruce...yes, she was quite a woman, looks like it wasn't the first time a man stayed home supported by wife, not so common or socially accepted back in the 1920s.

I know the Alice of whom you speak, have seen the QSL card/photo, pretty cool!
I don't have much history on her, so if you dig it, would be neat to add to this discussion of old QSL cards.

Follow up - Cool photo, saw you just posted, think I had her bio somewhere, will have to see if I can dig it up. Quite an impressive station, there must be some history of her.

Bruce,

Yes, if you have any information related to Alice, W9DXX, please post it here. I think Stephanie, WX3K was looking for information pertaining to W9DXX, and I believe she would be most interested in seeing this.

I have no further information concerning W9DXX, other than the classic photo I had posted earlier. I'm wondering if she built the gear in that very well appointed shack herself, or if the OM built it.

I do hope these comments vis-a-vis early women radio ops are not being perceived as sexist, particularly by our sister brethren. They are certainly not meant to be construed or intended as such.

73,

Bruce

[W1UJR]

Happy to do so Bruce, and I do recall reading more about her some time in the recent past, can't think of where right now, but will find it.

W8SU has been a wonderful help in the past tracking down info, helped me with the Gross Radio history. I'll check my old emails to see what I can dig up.

It would be ideal to get this info into one location before it is lost to time. You can see even now how scattered it is, a few more decades and its lost. This very thread may serve just that purpose!

Time to hit the hay, 5AM comes pretty early here in Maine! :-)

[W9GT]

It seems like I heard somewhere that there is someone who does research on old call signs by request.  He/she probably has a good supply of old callbooks and magazines, or other resources.  Anyone know about this service and, if so, what is the cost?

In this day of many re-issued call signs, there is probably a lot of interest in this information.

73,  Jack, W9GT

[w1vtp]

It seems like I heard somewhere that there is someone who does research on old call signs by request.  He/she probably has a good supply of old callbooks and magazines, or other resources.  Anyone know about this service and, if so, what is the cost?

In this day of many re-issued call signs, there is probably a lot of interest in this information.

73,  Jack, W9GT

I would love to get ahold of a late 1952 or early '53 that listed me as a WN1VTP,  It was only a few months but it would just be a good feeling to have one.  Even a photocopy of the page would be a thrill

[N0WEK]

I'd like to find some info on my grandfather, George William Finegan, who reportedly was the first licensed amateur in Rochester, NY. He died (1944) before I was born and I really don't have any information on his radio activities. My mother said that his gear was in the attic for years, in storage, but it's all long gone now. He was out back in his shack when my mother was born in 1916. He did a lot of the early X-Ray work too! I don't know if he was active in radio past the 1920s.

Greg

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Wowsers, Greg - now THAT would've been a fun attic to pick through! Not a lot of the old stuff left, but I'd bet there are still a few treasure troves left to be found. Even better when it was a relative like your grandfather.

The original W2XR card is a true piece of radio history. Beyond simply being a neat old QSL card, it represents a historic station and time in the development of television as well as the short-lived high fidelity AM broadcast.

I would love to get ahold of a late 1952 or early '53 that listed me as a WN1VTP,  It was only a few months but it would just be a good feeling to have one.  Even a photocopy of the page would be a thrill

I've got a bunch of the old Fly Horse callbooks Al, blue, green, red....can't recall the years and can't look right now because I have no idea which box they're in! One of my tasks for the coming year is to figure out where to set up a library in this crackerbox of a house, then unpack all of the books, manuals, and so on. If you haven't found someone by the time this happens, maybe I can help you out. Might even be able to accomplish it before NEAR-Fest.

[W2XR]

The original W2XR card is a true piece of radio history. Beyond simply being a neat old QSL card, it represents a historic station and time in the development of television as well as the short-lived high fidelity AM broadcast.

Thank you, Todd.

Perhaps you viewed the card during your last visit to my QTH? It is posted in the same location within the shack as before, right above the photo of our 4-400A haul in Dayton of a few years ago.

I will never forget the generosity of the kind fellow who gifted that card to me.  He was highly pleased that the QSL would be going to the current holder of the call, to someone who could really appreciate it, and most of all, he was sure that his late dad would have appreciated it, too. That card is probably one of my most cherished vintage radio items. I'm glad that I asked if he would be willing to part with it. You never really know with these kinds of things......and I guess it never hurts to ask.

As you may recall, I am the third holder of the call, which was first issued to experimental station W2XR in 1929. The second holder of the call, an older gentleman from New Jersey who had worked for most of his career as an electrical engineer for AT & T (and with Pete, WA2CWA), and is now deceased, received the call in the late 1970s, when the FCC began the issuance of the X-suffix calls to the amateur radio community.

73,

Bruce

[N0WEK]

Now here is a great online resource...

The 1916 Call Book on line...

http://books.google.com/books?id=HG9KAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Page three is a clickable index and you can download the whole thing as a PDF.

My grandfather, George W Finegan, had call 8ASH in Rochester, NY at that time; that's a card I'd like to find!

Greg

[W1UJR]

Now here is a great online resource...

The 1916 Call Book on line...

http://books.google.com/books?id=HG9KAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Page three is a clickable index and you can download the whole thing as a PDF.

My grandfather, George W Finegan, had call 8ASH in Rochester, NY at that time; that's a card I'd like to find!

Greg

Man, that is cool Greg, thanks so much for posting!
Google has been wonderful scanning in these old books which otherwise would be lost to history, or out of circulation in some dusty library.
I'd love to see them scan in the older radio magazines, QST, Radio News, Short Wave Craft, etc. before the paper goes away from age.
Of course more older call books would be nice as well!

Interesting about your grandfather, assume you have checked the usual online QSL card sites? I in particular like http://www.oldqslcards.com.
I'm originally from WNY myself, Buffalo and Rochester had a very rich radio history, lots of radio manufacturing in the early part of the 20 century, and high concentration of tech industries - hence a good ham population.

So much of this has been lost to history, nice to see a nugget is preserved every now and then!
Tnx for posting.

-Bruce

[W1UJR]

More on Alice W9DXX, both cards are courtesy of Tom K8CX.
My thanks to Bob W8SU as well for his efforts.

-----

Hi Bruce, quite easy thus far on Alice. ( I haven't written anything on her as of yet)

Born 1906 and expired on the day of Infamy Dec 7th 1981 in Chicago. (note two conflicting dates of death, YLRL states she expired in 1956 at age 65) Alice was a police beat reporter on the staff of the Chi Tribune. She covered the wild seedy south side when the cops would only talk to her, plus the underworld alike had confidence in her, because of that she could break a scoup. W9CTN built all of the equipment (Charles Corliss for W9DXX.)  Pre war all of her DX and rag chewing was on the A1 mode. For a few years as W9ENP she operated from her sky scraper location adjacent to the Loop. She enjoyed two meters post war.  She was considered "The First Lady of Two" She was net control for the Chicago Land Mobile radio Club on ten meters.

That picture posted of her at the station has a green asphalt tile floor and set in the center with red letters W9DXX!  She earned her first ticket in 1930 and upgraded to Class A in 1935 in Chicago. She was married and had lived in Homewood ILL for a short period of time.

From  Ancestry dot com; WA5VJB dot com, Western Historic Radio Museum and K8CX Ham Gallery cards. It is very important to give credit to those who have submitted information that helps clear up a story.

W8SU (ZUT CW forever)

[W2XR]

More on Alice W9DXX, both cards are courtesy of Tom K8CX.
My thanks to Bob W8SU as well for his efforts.

-----

Hi Bruce, quite easy thus far on Alice. ( I haven't written anything on her as of yet)

Born 1906 and expired on the day of Infamy Dec 7th 1981 in Chicago. (note two conflicting dates of death, YLRL states she expired in 1956 at age 65) Alice was a police beat reporter on the staff of the Chi Tribune. She covered the wild seedy south side when the cops would only talk to her, plus the underworld alike had confidence in her, because of that she could break a scoup. W9CTN built all of the equipment (Charles Corliss for W9DXX.)  Pre war all of her DX and rag chewing was on the A1 mode. For a few years as W9ENP she operated from her sky scraper location adjacent to the Loop. She enjoyed two meters post war.  She was considered "The First Lady of Two" She was net control for the Chicago Land Mobile radio Club on ten meters.

That picture posted of her at the station has a green asphalt tile floor and set in the center with red letters W9DXX!  She earned her first ticket in 1930 and upgraded to Class A in 1935 in Chicago. She was married and had lived in Homewood ILL for a short period of time.

From  Ancestry dot com; WA5VJB dot com, Western Historic Radio Museum and K8CX Ham Gallery cards. It is very important to give credit to those who have submitted information that helps clear up a story.

W8SU (ZUT CW forever)

Hi Bruce,
 
Good morning, OM!
 
Wow, those are nice (and rare) QSLs, and I'm quite amazed you were able to dig them up, along with some of her biographical information. Alice would be thrilled knowing that 80 years later,  there are hams in the year 2011 that are still interested in her, her FB station, and her achievements.

Yes, if you can somehow obtain more information pertaining to Alice, that would be great. For some reason, to me at least, she is a very intriguing and interesting amateur, most probably due to that incredibly well appointed station she had. And she must have been one tough cookie, considering the fact that she covered the police beat for the Chicago Tribune.
 
My best guess for obtaining additional detailed information about Alice, if any further information is available, is probably one of the numerous radio periodicals of the era.
 
I have often said to my wife that I was born 40 years too late; I was born in 1954, two weeks before Major Armstrong ended his life. Radio, back in the 1920s and 1930s, was such a wonderful and new thing, and was viewed by many people as being almost magical in terms of the technology. I can clearly see this; if you were born in an era where morse code or telephony over wires was considered the current state-of-the-art, and now wireless voice transmission becomes a reality, the fascination and amazement must have been incredible. The same thing was true once talking pictures made their debut in 1927; the public was absolutely amazed at the introduction of this new technology; synchronized sound on film.
 
The world has become so jaded in that virtually no one is impressed anymore by these completely commonplace and taken-for-granted inventions, but the difference is that those of us who still have a real appreciation for the magic of this technology, still are.
 
73,
 
Bruce, W2XR

[wx3k]

Very nice to see some of her QSL's ! I guess VFOs were non-existent. Interesting to see her xtal freqs on the QSL card 

More on Alice W9DXX, both cards are courtesy of Tom K8CX.
My thanks to Bob W8SU as well for his efforts.

-----

Hi Bruce, quite easy thus far on Alice. ( I haven't written anything on her as of yet)

Born 1906 and expired on the day of Infamy Dec 7th 1981 in Chicago. (note two conflicting dates of death, YLRL states she expired in 1956 at age 65) Alice was a police beat reporter on the staff of the Chi Tribune. She covered the wild seedy south side when the cops would only talk to her, plus the underworld alike had confidence in her, because of that she could break a scoup. W9CTN built all of the equipment (Charles Corliss for W9DXX.)  Pre war all of her DX and rag chewing was on the A1 mode. For a few years as W9ENP she operated from her sky scraper location adjacent to the Loop. She enjoyed two meters post war.  She was considered "The First Lady of Two" She was net control for the Chicago Land Mobile radio Club on ten meters.

That picture posted of her at the station has a green asphalt tile floor and set in the center with red letters W9DXX!  She earned her first ticket in 1930 and upgraded to Class A in 1935 in Chicago. She was married and had lived in Homewood ILL for a short period of time.

From  Ancestry dot com; WA5VJB dot com, Western Historic Radio Museum and K8CX Ham Gallery cards. It is very important to give credit to those who have submitted information that helps clear up a story.

W8SU (ZUT CW forever)

[W1UJR]

Hi Stephanie,

Have even more to post about Alice, will be later tonight or tomorrow.
Some additional photos and bio, interesting woman indeed.
This is quite worthy of a nice write up.

Noted the Twain quote, have you read the new bio based on his notebooks?
Or perhaps you just like the cool quote.


-Bruce

[Mike/W8BAC]

I have more to add on Mary Loomis when I get home this weekend.

Mike

[W2XR]

I have more to add on Mary Loomis when I get home this weekend.

Mike

Hi Mike,

That would be great. She too is an intriguing and interesting personality, from the early days of radio. And from I have read about Mary, she was related to Mahlon Loomis, who was involved in some of the very earliest experiments with wireless communications, perhaps even pre-Hertzian, and certainly prior to Senor Marconi.

73,

Bruce

[Mike/W8BAC]

Sorry, False alarm, Sort of. The Mary I was referring to is Mary Day Lee. Her story is just as interesting so I am posting a link to it here.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/rw_20100505/#/0 The story starts on the cover top right with the rest starting page 20.

Hi Steph!