A widow with a small fortune, and the stage show behind her.
Transcribed from original newspaper scans. Published by AseeksB.
A young and handsome widow of education and refinement, possessed of a small fortune, and a stranger in the city, wishes to correspond with a gentleman of some means. No trifler need answer. Address "S. B." care of General Delivery, Aspen, Colo.
| Newspaper | Aspen Daily Times, Aspen, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Date | April 1, 1900, page 4 |
| Written by | Publicity for a play, The Real Widow |
| Addressed to | Men of some means in Aspen |
| Where | Letters to S. B., general delivery, Aspen |
The ad ran on April 1, 2, and 4, 1900, and it was a publicity stunt. On April 5, the Aspen Daily Times told the rest under the headline “Letters to a Widow.” Nearly a score of Aspen men “bought tinted stationery, spilled perfumery over it and poured out their souls.” Then posters went up around town for a play, “The Real Widow,” with the ad’s words under her picture, and the show’s advance agent collected the letters at the post office. She told the manager of the Wheeler Opera House that the widow would read them aloud during the play. “’Twon’t do,” he said, “those men are too prominent.” The paper closed: “Boys, The Times extends its sympathy in this your hour of bereavement.” Seven weeks later, the same paper carried a lady’s ad asking for a middle-aged gentleman, a miner preferred. For where people in Colorado post personal ads now, see our guide to personal ads in Denver and Colorado Springs.
Public domain in the United States: published before 1931.
Transcribed from the page image and checked against the original; spelling and punctuation are as printed, and words broken across lines are rejoined. Capital letters are also as printed: papers set the first line of each ad in capitals, so the capitals stop wherever that line ended, sometimes in the middle of a word.
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