The Postcard
A postcard bearing no publisher's name with artwork by Fred Morgan. The card was published on behalf of 'T. A. T,' the New Penny Magazine Journal.
The card was posted in London on Thursday the 4th. June 1903 to:
Miss May Cockburn,
'Bellevue',
Alexandra Park Road,
Wood Green,
London N.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Dr. May,
As you cannot read my
calligraphy, it's not much
good saying much is it?
However Arthur has gone
back today, and Belle
wishes to know when
you are."
The message continues on the front of the card:
"...coming round (to nurse
her "bundle of misery" with
Cis. She'll be home some
days.
I hope Mrs. Cockburn is
improving. Give her my
love."
The sender's signature is not legible.
The Artist Fred Morgan
Frederick Morgan was an English painter of portraits and animals, as well as domestic and country scenes. He became known for his idyllic genre scenes of childhood.
Morgan was born in London in 1847 to John Morgan and his wife, Henrietta Hester Clare. His father was a successful genre artist sometimes known as 'Jury Morgan' (after one of his paintings The Gentlemen of the Jury).
At the age of 14, Fred was taken out of school by his father who then tutored him in art. At the age of 16, while still studying with his father, his first picture, The Rehearsal, was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and, after a hiatus of several years, his paintings were shown there regularly.
For a while Fred worked as a portrait artist for an Aylesbury photographer; this training proved to be crucial. He later commented:
"It taught me how to observe closely
and to give the greatest attention to
detail."
Eventually he turned to other subjects for his art, in particular idyllic genre scenes of country life and childhood. For many years, starting in 1874, Thomas Agnew & Sons purchased all the work he produced.
Over this period he painted some of his most popular works such as The Doll’s Tea Party (1874), Emigrants' Departure (1875) and School Belles (1877). Most of his painting was done in the village of Shere near Guildford, a well-known retreat for artists. He also painted in Normandy, including Midday Rest (1879) and An Apple Gathering (1880).
Although an excellent portrait artist, Morgan had problems in depicting pets and barnyard animals - he enlisted the aid of either Arthur John Elsley or Allen Sealey (1850–1927) when such problems needed resolving.
Fred is known mostly for his romantic and sentimental paintings of children in the same style as his contemporary Arthur John Elsley. His paintings achieved great popularity in his lifetime, and were widely published. He exhibited with the Royal Academy and was a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.
In 1872, he married another painter, Alice Mary Havers (born 1850). He remained married to her until her death in 1890. They had three children, with their eldest son, Valentine, known as Val Havers, also becoming a painter.
Frederick Morgan married twice more, producing two children from the second marriage.
Fred Morgan's Death and Legacy
Fred died on the 3rd. April 1927.
His paintings are exhibited at many art galleries and museums including the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and the Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth. His Turn Next was used to advertise Pears' Soap, and is in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight.
The Actress Frances Howard
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, the 4th. June 1903 marked the birth of the American actress Frances Howard. She was the second wife of Academy Award-winning producer Samuel Goldwyn, and the paternal grandmother of actors Tony and John Goldwyn.
Frances Howard - The Early Years
Frances was born Frances Howard McLaughlin in Omaha, Nebraska to Charles Douglas McLaughlin and Helen Victoria (née Howard) McLaughlin.
Frances was raised as a Catholic. Her mother, nicknamed "Bonnie", had been raised a Quaker, but converted to Catholicism, predeceasing her daughter by only five years.
Her father was reportedly a grandson of Irish nationalist politician Daniel O'Connell. Frances had two sisters and a brother.
Frances Howard's Career
Frances Howard began her professional career at the age of 16 with a stock theater company. When she was 21, Howard portrayed a flapper on Broadway in The Intimate Stranger.
She followed that part with another flapper role in The Best People. Paramount signed her to a five-year contract, and she co-starred in the film The Swan. She also appeared in Too Many Kisses (1925). She had the Paramount contract canceled when she decided to marry.
Frances Howard's Personal Life
Frances married Samuel Goldwyn, more than two decades her senior, on the 23rd. April 1925 after a 48-hour courtship.
They remained married until Goldwyn's death on the 31st. January 1974. They had one son, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Their grandsons are actors Tony and John Goldwyn.
As detailed in Jeff Berg's biography of Samuel Goldwyn, Frances was hopelessly in love with gay director George Cukor.
The Death of Frances Howard
Frances died at the age of 73 in Beverly Hills, Ca. on the 2nd. July 1976, more than a year after being diagnosed with advanced cancer, for which she refused treatment which would have required invasive and disfiguring surgery.
Frances was laid to rest in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Ca. in an unmarked plot in the Garden of Honor, a private area not accessible to the general public.
She is buried next to George Cukor at her request because of her long, but unrequited love for him.
Filmography of Frances Howard
Frances made four films between 1925 and 1935:
Too Many Kisses (1925) as Yvonne Hurja
The Swan (1925) as Alexandra, The Swan
The Shock Punch (1925) as Dorothy Clark
Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935) as Landlady.
