Seriously. If you’re doing genealogy, look in your attic. Or in those boxes in storage. Better yet, call up your siblings and ask them to look in their attics. That’s how I found another cache of letters and photos. Just recently, my brother dug around and turned up a fresh packet of 19th century letters written from Cleveland and Germany in Sütterlin German.
I’ve only managed to scan a couple so far. This letterhead is found on one dated 1864, written from Bremen. An interesting perspective for the time, an “aerial view.” How the …? Was the artist in a hot air balloon? A cathedral spire?
Here is a “bird’s eye” view of Cleveland from 1877, also quite detailed. (A high resolution version can be obtained from Historic Mapworks.)
