Monday, February 16, 2015

Was Grandma a Cover Girl?

I first found this poster a few years ago and then stashed it away to come back to later.  I finally dug this out of the box today and decided that later had finally come!



Is this my grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer Levy?  I’m about 80% convinced that it is but would love other opinions. 

The date on the newspaper states it was 9 March 1916 - here’s a photo of her from about the same time frame.

Mildred Loraine
Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer

It’s not just her face that makes me think it’s her but her manner of being slightly bent forward.

Here is a side-by-side close up of the two pictures.

Mildred Loraine cropped

Oh, I just don’t know.  The more I look at it the more doubts that I have.

Looking again at the original poster, there is a man holding the copy of the newspaper, The Fresno Republican.  Guess who worked at The Republican during that time frame?  My grandfather, Sigmund Levy!  He was an ‘advertising solicitor’ until about 1911 when he became the Advertising Manager, a position he held until sometime between 1915 and 1917 when he joined the family firm of Levy Bros. Real Estate.  So was this poster a form of advertising featuring his future wife?  Could he be the man holding the newspaper in the poster? 

The paper itself has a lot of detail, although it’s tough to see here.



So what do you think?  Could my grandma have been a cover girl?


7 comments:

  1. I think it looks a lot like her. It's too bad the poster doesn't have an illustrator's name on it, in which case, if it did, you might be able to find out more. I wonder if the newspaper ever wrote an article about the poster. I hope you can find out more somehow.

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  2. I vote YES. Now let's consider Sig -- does that look like his hair with a long part?

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  3. And did you notice the ring on her finger? The man might be anyone, especially for the purpose shown.

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  4. Oh I do think it is her! She was a beautiful woman.

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  5. Debi,

    I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2015/02/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-february-20.html

    Have a great weekend!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I think your Grandmother was a cover girl too.

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