See also:
Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

It had once been a postal regulation, and was still the fashion in 1904, to write the correspondence on the face of the postcard. The blank back was reserved for only the address and stamp. Someone is writing home to their parents, on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War:

“There seems no doubt of war. Both powers here in the far east are armed to the teeth for it.

“There are many miles of electric line in Tokyo. Beautiful weather. My cold is better. I chase about on my wheel as usual.

“Your son, D.”

(“I chase about on my wheel …” My! Isn’t that a grabber?!)

The writer dated their postcard Feb. 5, 1904 … just three days before the start of war, on Feb. 8, 1904. By the time the postcard arrived (via sea mail) at its destination in the United States, the war was already one-month old.