POSTCARDY: the postcard explorer

Pennsylvania Railroad's Trail Blazer

2012-01-31T06:00:00.002-06:00

This postcard has an illustration of the Oservation-Buffet-Lounge car of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Trail Blazer. The back of the card has the Trylon and Perisphere symbol of the New York World's Fair (1939-1940) and advertises service "direct to World's Fair."

The Pennsylvania Railroad's Trail Blazer was a deluxe all-coach passenger train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad that provided 17-hour service between Chicago and New York. Service began on July 28, 1939.

St. Paul Winter Carnival - 1992 Ice Palace

2012-01-30T08:34:00.025-06:00

Here are three postcards of the 1992 St. Paul Winter Winter Carnival Ice Palace--or Castle or Structure. Each of these three postcards used a different name, but the preferred name is Palace. According to a "Fun Fact" on the St. Paul Winter Carnival website: "Since a Palace is looked upon as a home to royalty, we have always used the word Palace vs. Castle as many people associate the word castle as a negative, like Dracula's Castle."

The second postcard has this information on the back (the actual numbers vary depending on the source):

This magnificent ice structure reaches a height of 166½ feet and weighs an estimated 15 million pounds. This is the largest ice structure in the world and was constructed from 18,000 giant blocks of ice. It is located on Harriet Island which is across the Mississippi River from downtown Saint Paul.

Photo by Sky View Photos of America. Pub & © NMN Inc .

At night the Ice Palace was illuminated by a light show designed and executed by Frattalone and Associates:

On cold January evenings, a spectacular ten minute animated light and sound show with a specially produced soundtrack followed by 20 minutes of slowly changing colors illuminated the 1992 St. Paul Winter Carnival, leaving a lasting impression for years to come.

Photo ©Kevin McDaniels

Unfortunately the weather during the 1992 Winter Carnival (January 22 - February 2) was much warmer than usual. It wasn't cold enough to prevent premature melting of the ice and the early removal of the lights. The video below shows TV news coverage of the Ice Palace and the weather at the time.

Year of the Monkey - 1992

2012-01-28T17:02:00.007-06:00

This is a maximum card from the People's Republic of China for the 1992 Year of the Monkey. The design also features the "auspicious peach' which is a symbol for good luck and longevity. The stamp was designed by the means of Chinese folk paper-cut.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Metropolitan Theater, Minneapolis & Alberta Gallatin

2012-01-25T06:38:00.019-06:00

The postcard above shows the Metropolitan Theater of Minneapolis. This theater was located at 320 First Ave South. It was built in 1894 and demolished in 1937. The name "Alberta Gallatin" is shown prominently on the sign above the door of the theater.

Alberta Gallatin (1861 - 1948) appeared at this Minneapolis theater twice in 1906. In May 1906 she appeared in "Cousin Kate," a comedy of English home life in the peaceful environment of the Surrey Hills near London.

Minneapolis Tribune, May 25, 1906

In October 1906, Gallatin appeared in "Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall," based on a popular 1902 historical novel following the life and romances of Dorothy Vernon in Elizabethan England.

Minneapolis Tribune, October 26, 1906

The photo below of Alberta Gallatin is from the University of Louisville. Alberta Gallatin appeared in Louisville at Macauley's Theatre in the same two plays as in Minneapolis: in "Cousin Kate" (October 1905) and "Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall" (February 1907), the performance during which she inscribed this portrait.

The last two images are from the Library of Congress.

Dutch Room and Pipe Organ, National Hotel, Minneapolis

2012-01-23T10:26:00.032-06:00

These two postcards show the Dutch Room and Pipe Organ at the National Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This hotel was located at 205 Washington Ave South. The first postcard is circa 1908-1909, and the second appears to be a bit later. An interesting feature of the first postcard is the union label and message imprinted on the right side: "The only Union Hotel in Minneapolis. Thoroughly Organized in all Departments." The union message may have been added to appeal to visitors attending a union convention in Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune of Feb 20, 1909 had an article about the Famous Dutch Room of the National Hotel that has the same basic text as the 1909 ad in The Bridgemen's Magazine (Google ebook page here), although the newspaper article seems to be directed to visitors to the auto show instead of "the convention." That Bridgeman's Magazine page also included a black and white version of the photo reproduced on the first postcard. The Bridgemen's Magazine was union related, and that issue was a convention issue.

The ad/article described the Dutch Room in glowing terms and boasted of unique attractions for music lovers:

In no other restaurant in the United States can be found such an attraction for music lovers as the Oxette, or pipe organ, which has been pronounced by music masters the sweetest toned instrument of its kind in the world. In connection with this magnificent instrument one of the costliest Auxetophones in the world adds to the charm of an evening spent in the Dutch room by reproducing in perfect tone the exquisite voices of Carmen, Caruso, Melba and others...

The ad shown below is from Feb 14, 1909 and also emphasizes the musical attractions of the "Famous Dutch Room."

The auxetaphone was an early amplified phonograph. It used compressed air supplied by an electric motor to amplify sound. Auxetaphones were so loud that they were mainly used outdoors, in very large restaurants, or auditoriums. In the enlarged detail from the second postcard, it appears that an auxetaphone was placed to the left of the organ.

The video below demonstrates an auxetaphone.

Some U.S. Definitive Postage Stamps

2012-01-21T16:32:00.023-06:00

The image above shows a page from my old 1950s vintage stamp album. I really like this Presidential Series of stamps. This series was issued in 1938 and was in use until the mid-1950s. There was a contest in 1937 to design the first stamp in the series. The first stamp was a 1-cent stamp with a profile of the first president, George Washington, that was based on a bust by the sculptor Jean Antoine Houdin. The rest of the series was designed in a similar style with each stamp including a bust profile of a president and the dates of his term(s) as president. The twenty-nine presidents who had died before 1938 were depicted on the stamps. In addition to the presidents, the series included Benjamin Franklin on a half-cent stamp; Martha Washington on a 1.5-cent stamp; and the White House on a 4.5-cent stamp. From the 1-cent stamp through 22-cent stamp, each stamp's denomination corresponded to the presidential sequence. (source)

A newer series of definitive stamps, now known as the Liberty Series (1954-1968), was begun in the mid-1950s. The maximum card below shows the 3-cent Statue of Liberty stamp that was issued on June 24, 1954. This paid the domestic first-class rate until July 31, 1958. The Statue of Liberty also appeared on the 8-cent and 10-cent stamps. The stamps in this series were issued over a period of years and did not follow a common design. The designs also included some presidents, other famous people, and buildings.

The first day cover below shows the half-cent Franklin stamp issued October 20, 1955. At that time the series was called "Regular Postage Series of 1954-56." The series ended up including more stamps than were originally planned and was in general use from 1954 through 1973. Some stamps in the series remained on sale through the 1980s. (source)

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Rag Dolls

2012-01-19T16:00:00.000-06:00

First I have a postcard of a pair of rag dolls made and painted in 1932 by Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses) for her granddaughters, Zoeanna and Frances Moses. The postcard is from the Bennington Museum Collection, Bennington, Vermont which has he largest public collection of Moses' paintings in the country. Grandma Moses (1860 - 1961) was a popular American folk artist who began painting in her seventies and by the time of her death had created over 1500 works of art.

Next I have a photo of myself with a rag doll. I think this doll looks really cute, but I don't remember it at all. I do vaguely remember a very large rag doll I had. That one was named after me because it was about the same size as me.

Fast forward to the 1980s when I was into country stuff. The pair of rag dolls below are ones I made in 1986. I made three of these--one for myself and two for Christmas presents. This photo was taken at Christmas and shows the dolls in an antique rocking chair.

I made these dolls from a Kentucky Rag Doll pattern that was in a Better Homes and Gardens Christmas 1982 magazine. I still have this magazine. The cover shows the Kentucky Rag Doll in the basket with other Christmas items. I also made the cross-stitch stocking that is pictured in the lower left corner of the magazine cover.

A few years later I started a collection of rag and other folk dolls. After collecting them for several years, I had to stop collecting them due to a lack of display and storage space.

Visit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Images

Lettuce PRODUCE some PRODUCE

2012-01-19T06:53:00.008-06:00

This postcard shows a lettuce field in Salinas, California, known as "salad bowl of the nation." The back of the postcard has this description:

Over sixty per cent of the lettuce eaten in the nation comes from the Salinas Valley where they call it "green gold." With the longest growing season in the world, heavy shipments are made from April to December and lesser shipments during the other months.

The Salinas Valley is south of San Francisco, California. The word "salina" is Spanish for salt marsh, salt lake or salt pan. The economy of the region is dominated by agriculture. The main crops produced include lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, and spinach. The climate and length of the growing season are ideal for growing these and other crops.

PROD-uce or pro-DUCE?
Produce production deduced,
Deduction produced.

The Theme Thursday Theme for January 19, 2012 is
PRODUCE

Interior of Northwest Orient Airlines DC-6B's

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

This postcard of the interior of Northwest Orient Airlines DC-6B shows what air travel was like in the 1950s. These well-dressed folks look like they are really enjoying themselves.

The description on the back is as follows:

Northwest Orient airlines is proud of its fleet of DC-6B's. They represent the finest in aviation engineering. Four giant engines with a total of 12,000 horsepower glide you along at over 300 miles per hour. Cabins are pressurized and soundproofed for your comfort.

"New" Steel Ski Slide - Minneapolis, Minnesota

2012-01-16T07:38:00.024-06:00

This postcard shows ski jumping at the "New Steel Slide of the Twin City Ski Club, Minneapolis, Minn." As far as I can determine, this is a 1909 view of the ski jump that was built at Keegan's Lake and held its first tournaments in January 1909.

The following description is from Minneapolis Park History:

Plans were announced December 6, 1908 to build the highest slide in Minnesota two blocks west of Keegan’s Lake in Golden Valley. The slide was planned to be 90-feet tall and cost about $1,000. …The new slide was being built by a new organization, the Twin City Ski Club. What the new club may not have anticipated was that the slide was soon to be on public property — in a Minneapolis park.

On December 27, 1908 the Tribune announced that the club would hold its first competition on January 1 at “Glenwood Park.” The park board was putting the finishing touches on the biggest land acquisition in the history of Minneapolis parks by adding nearly 500 acres, most of it in Golden Valley, to the existing Glenwood Park. The new park included Keegan’s (Wirth) Lake and the Twin City Ski Club’s slide.

Another ski jump was built about a year later at Mount Pilgrim by the Minneapolis Ski Club. This was farther north in Golden Valley and according to the Minneapolis Park History was even bigger than the Keagan's Lake slide. That slide apparently was only in use in 1910 and 1911.

Forest and Stream, Volume 76, February 4, 1911 (Google eBook) had an article on Ski Jumping which described the Keegan's Lake ski jump as follows:

To get an idea of the fascination for which this class of sport is known, I visited one of the tournaments held by the Twin City Ski Club in Minneapolis. This club has erected the Glenwood Hill steel scaffold and cable slide, near Keegan's Lake, in the outskirts of the city. In a country where there are no suitable hills for the slide and jumps to be made, it becomes necessary to erect a scaffold from which skiers slide preparatory to the broad jump. The Glenwood Hill scaffold and slide is the highest in the world, and to behold a skier slide the narrow slippery trail, make the famous jump and then land on the steep incline, make a spectacle worth going miles to see. The scaffold consists of a steel tower eighty feet high. From the top leads the slide 130 feet long and pitched at an angle of sixty-five degrees. On top of the scaffold is a platform where the men adjust their skis. The slide and tower are supported by four steel cables and several guy ropes which make the entire structure rigid and free from a swaying motion while the skier makes his descent. The slide is seven feet four inches wide. The cross sections on which snow is placed are composed of hardwood and planks six and eight inches wide and of two thicknesses to prevent the snow from sliding off the structure. The lower end of the slide with a slightly upward turn rests about four feet above the apex of a steep hill, down which the jump is to be made. The incline of the hill is about 150 feet with a pitch equal to that of the steel slide. At the foot of the hill is the "dead man's curve," the lowest point in the valley, and from which the ground takes an upward turn, forming the side of another hill.

It is not clear how long the Keegan's Lake slide was used.

Pure Food and Drug Laws Stamp

2012-01-14T18:30:00.005-06:00

This stamp features a portrait of Harvey W. Wiley who was a chemist instrumental in the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and was the first commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. The stamp was issued on June 27, 1956 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Pure Food and Drug Laws.

The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 prohibited the interstate transport of food which had been "adulterated", with that term referring to the addition of fillers of reduced "quality or strength", coloring to conceal "damage or inferiority," formulation with additives "injurious to health," or the use of "filthy, decomposed, or putrid" substances. The act also prohibited the interstate marketing of "adulterated" drugs and banned "misbranding" of food and drugs. (source: History of the Food and Drug Administration)

Food doesn't seem to be a very common subject on stamps, especially prepared food. Searching online, I found a blog featuring a series called La France Comme J’aime which honors “les saveurs de nos regions”, or “the tastes of our regions.” Another blog I found showed some Traditional Indonesian Foods, also another post here. Malaysia issued some stamps of Traditional Festive Food that are shown on the Philately News website.

The only stamp I have with a picture of food is a Finnish blueberry stamp:

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Vintage Millinery Modes

2012-01-12T16:33:00.018-06:00

The postcard above shows a millinery room at Bullock's in Los Angeles. The postcard is from about 1915. The next group of images is from Home Craft: The American Woman's Handibook published by The Magazine Circulation Co, Inc., Publishers of Woman's Weekly ©1920.

The first image is one of several full page color images in the book. It is captioned "Fitting the Hat to the Season." The small image in the upper left corner shows a Winter hat. The images at the bottom are for (left to right) Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

Next are two images of historical American hat styles.

The next image shows "Five Distinctive Types of Headress worn by Women in American History." In the center is a photo of a 1921 Model Hat.

The book has ten pages on "Millinery Modes and Making" which include information on style selection, making hats, caring for hats, and children's hats and bonnets.

The following advice is offered on selecting a hat style:

Just as a frame may enhance or mar the effect of a picture, so a hat serves a woman's face, for the hat if properly chosen to conform with the shape of the face and head and with the fashion of hairdressing makes a most excellent background.

In choosing a hat we must bear in mind not only becomingness to the wearer but also the occasions on which it is to be worn, the season of the year and the style tendencies of the time.

The basic hat shapes are described as follows:

The toque, or brimless cap shape and the medium brimmed sailor are the two main forms from which all shapes are developed, and these two are almost universally becoming when modified to fit individual needs…The two other usual hat shapes are variations of the toque and sailor, for the turban is a toque with close turned brim, while the broad brimmed hat has both top and brim in exaggerated sailor form.

The next images illustrate the basic shapes of 1921 hats.

And suitable hats for children:

Finally, I have a more modern, but now quite old, photo of myself. I am wondering what Alan is going to pull out of the hat next.

Visit Sepia Saturday for more vintage images.

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt is from the movie
The New York Hat (1912)
Click the link above to watch the movie on YouTube

Erie Railroad 100th Anniversary 1951

2012-01-10T06:00:00.003-06:00

This postcard commemorates the Erie Railroad 100th Anniversary in 1951. The back of the card has the following description:

It was a great day on May 15, 1851 when the New York and Erie Railroad, now the ERIE RAILROAD, completed its first run from Piermont, N. Y., on the Hudson River to Dunkirk, N. Y. on Lake Erie. It was the longest railroad in the United States — 446 miles long — and an important milestone in American history.

This was the anniversary of completing the route from the "Great Lakes to the Sea." Construction of the railroad began in 1836, and it opened from Piermont to Goshen in1841.

In 1960, the Erie Railroad merged with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. It became part of Conrail in 1976. In 1983, remnants of the line became part of New Jersey Transit rail operations, and today most of the former Erie Railroad routes are operated by Norfolk Southern. (source: Wikipedia)

The video below is from the Erie Railroad 100th anniversary in 1951.

Minnehaha Falls in Winter - Minneapolis, Minnesota

2012-01-09T06:52:00.011-06:00

Minnehaha Falls was the most popular subject for early twentieth century postcards. The falls were a popular subject for views in all seasons, including winter. It seems like just about every company that made any postcards of Minneapolis included at least one of Minnehaha Falls. V. O. Hammon, the company that made these winter views, produced the most views of the falls.

When there is a lack of rain in the fall, the falls can dry up. But when there is a lot of rain and cold temperatures, the falls can turn into a dramatic frozen cascade in the winter. The video below shows Minnehaha Falls in the winter of 2011.

Israel Stamps

2012-01-07T18:00:00.001-06:00

This postcard showing Tribes of Israel stamps is one I recently received through Postcrossing. It was published by Palphot and is similar in design to the Red Sea Fishes stamps postcard I featured in a previous post.

There are twelve stamps in this series, representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The tribes are named after the twelve sons of Jacob. These stamps were issued in 1955 and 1956. The tribes, colors, and denominations on the stamps are as follows:

10 green - Reuben
20 dark lilac - Simeon
30 blue - Levi
40 brown - Judah
50 turquoise - Dan
60 gold ochre - Naphtali
80 violet - Gad
100 red - Asher
120 olive - Issachar
180 magenta - Zebulun
200 bottle green - Joseph
250 gray - Benjamin

Two recent Israeli stamps were used for postage on the back of the postcard, and they arrived uncancelled. The stamp on the left is the Torah Crown, Aden, Late 19th Century, part of the Festivals 2008 Torah Crowns series. The stamp on the right is Rabbi Shlomo Goren (1917-1994) issued in 2011. For more information on the subjects of these stamps, see the articles on Torah Scroll Crowns and Rabbi (Major-General, Res.) Shlomo Goren on the Israel Philatelic Federation website.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Still Life with Rabbits and Beagle

2012-01-05T10:33:00.017-06:00

This postcard was obviously meant to appeal to hunters, and it has a message on the back from one of them. It is postmarked from Hayward, Wis., Oct. 25, 1961. The message is as follows:

Dear Clay
Got 6 birds today which is limit. Will try it again tomorrow. Any room in deep freeze? Pete sends regards & me too.
Jack

My postcard doesn't have any description printed on the back. A postcard with the same picture is shown on BAD POSTCARDS. That one is reported to have a caption “The Beautiful Adirondack Mts. of New York State”and quote “There is Nothing I Like Better than to get on the Trail of a Rabbit, then Flush Him so that my Master can get a Shot at Him” printed on the back.

Still lifes with dead rabbits have been painted by some well known artists. I especially like this one painted by the American artist William Harnett who was known for his trompe l'oeil style of painting.

William Harnett. After the Hunt, 1885

Rabbit hunting isn't as popular as bird and deer hunting, but many people do enjoy hunting and eating rabbits. Beagles are scent hounds, developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game. Hunting rabbits with beagles seems to be especially popular. The video below shows a recent Kentucky Rabbit Hunt with beagles and includes a recipe for barbecued rabbit cooked in a crockpot. Rabbit Hunting Online has many more rabbit recipes.

Visit Sepia Saturday to See More Vintage Images

Union Terminal - Cincinnati, Ohio

2012-01-03T06:00:00.001-06:00

Cincinnati's beautiful art deco style Union Terminal was completed in 1933. During its prime as a passenger train station, it had a capacity of 216 trains per day, 108 in and 108 out. After years of declining rail traffic, it was down to two trains per day when Amtrak took over in 1971. The station was abandoned by Amtrak in 1972.

The original terminal had large mosaic murals by Winhold Reiss. The concourse had fourteen 20-by-20-foot mosaic panels representing local industries and a large world map mural located at the rear of the concourse. Most of the concourse and the map mural were destroyed in 1974. The mosaic panels were moved to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and can be seen on the airport website here.

The part of the building where the lobby was located has been preserved and is now the home of Cincinnati Museum Center. A closeup of the rotunda lobby mural shown on the postcard can be seen on the Cincinnati Museum Center website here. The lobby murals were 105 feet long and 22 feet high. They depicted America working people.

Loeb Arcade - Minneapolis, Minnesota

2012-01-02T09:53:00.017-06:00

The Loeb Arcade was located at Hennepin Avenue and Fifth Street in downtown Minneapolis. There were entrances on both Hennepin and Fifth. At the time the arcade was opened, it surrounded another building on the corner. Inside, an L-shaped corridor curved from entrance to the other.

The Loeb Arcade's opening in November 1914 was reported in the Minneapolis Morning Tribune on November 8, 1914. The arcade was built at a cost of $750,000 and was Minneapolis' first building of this kind. The stores along the corridors were said to fill the demand for lower rents in the retail district. The newspaper article contained the following description of the building:

Four stories in height, of modern fireproof steel and concrete construction, the exterior is done in a brown terra cotta. Two spacious entrances on Hennepin Avenue and Fifth Street, respectively, admit into an equally spacious corridor of mosaic flooring presided on either side, according to the "arcade idea," by a continuous chain of storerooms appointed in mahogany and white marble basing. The corridor, eighteen feet in width and leading from street to street, affords a convenient meeting place or shelter from the weather and is a short cut to those passing through. An upward glance discloses a tastily conceived color scheme of striking white enamel terra cotta shaded with rich green and brown. Three large balconies completely circling the corridor on either side and bridged at the center of the building permit the comparison of a beautiful amphitheater lighted by a continuous skylight at the top of the structure. A most modern lighting system proves the building as successfully lighted by night as by day.

The Loeb Arcade was built in 1914 and demolished in 1967. It was originally four stories tall. It was increased to five stories around 1920 and cut back to two stories in the 1960s. After it was demolished, it was replaced by a parking lot.

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С Новым годом - Happy New Year

2012-01-01T14:26:00.004-06:00

This is a Russian New Years postcard showing one of the unusual ways Ded Moroz has of delivering holiday greetings. Here he is dropping them from a helicopter--no envelopes needed.

1965 Russian Stamps on New Year Postcard

2011-12-31T18:30:00.001-06:00

This Russian New Year postcard was issued in 1965 for New Year 1966. It has pictures of three stamps issued in 1965

The top stamp shows Lt. Col. Alexei Leonov taking movies in space. On 18 March 1965 he was the first man to conduct a space walk.

The center stamp with the hockey player was first issued in 1963. It was overprinted when the Soviets won the 1965 World Ice Hockey Championships. The overprint is below the hockey stick.

The bottom stamp shows the Kremlin and was issued on November 16, 1965 for New Year 1966. The Moscow Kremlin is a historic fortified complex that includes four palaces, four cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers.

Below is an enlargement of the picture of the New Year stamp. Like the postcard, the stamp says "С Новым годом" (Happy New Year).

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

New Year Greetings - Old French Mailbox

2011-12-30T16:00:00.014-06:00

Happy New Year, Heureuse année, Bonne année!

I like just about any postcard with a postal theme, and I especially like the old French New Year's photo postcards showing mailboxes (boîtes aux lettres). I have several others that I posted a couple years ago here and here.

The mailbox on this postcard has the words "La levée est faite." These words are on most of the old French mailboxes. (Many photos of old French mailboxes are on the PTT-POSTES' photostream on flickr). Google translates "La levée est faite" as "The lifting is done." At first I was confused by this translation. I think it indicates that the mail has been picked up from the box at a certain time.

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Children Ringing in the New Year

2011-12-29T08:37:00.014-06:00

These two New Year postcards are from the same series, but different printings. The back of the first postcard is marked "Series 56 F" but is not marked "Made in U.S.A." The logo in the bottom left corner on the front is printed in blue and has the initials “J.E.P.” (standing for James E. Pitts) above a small circle with a “C” and a dot inside the circle. The second postcard is marked "Series 56 D" and "Made in U.S.A." on the back. The logo on the front is printed in dark brown with "Stecher Lith. Co. Roch. N.Y." around a circle with a "C" inside.

The first postcard is unused. The second is postmarked Elmwood, Wis. Dec. 30 (19?) and has this message on the back:

This is to wish you all the best for the coming year. Trusting you had a nice Xmas. I am your brother Steve and all.

A Merry Xmas Dec. 25th

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

This is another postcard from 1911. I am posting it on December 25 because Dec 25th is part of the design. On the back, the sender (Mrs. Aberg or Alberg) is wishing Mrs. Sterling a happy Christmas, but she isn't very happy herself. This is what she wrote:

Dec 20, 1911
Wish you a happy happy Christmas & Bright New Year. For my Part I don't see much to be happy for the way we have it and I will write you later and you will see. Well I received your card some time ago. But had no time to answer. hope you can forgive. You asked me what baby's name was. We call her Leona Victoria.

I wonder why she didn't see much to be happy for.

Winter in Maine - U.S. Christmas Stamp 1969

2011-12-24T15:24:00.011-06:00

This is a maximum card with the 1969 U. S. Christmas stamp. This stamp reproduced a painting by an unknown artist from the collection of the New York State Historical Association, Winter Sunday in Norway, Maine. The original painting is 21" X 27, " and was painted about 1860-1870.

This 6¢ stamp was first placed on sale at Christmas, Florida, on November 3, 1969.

All of the U. S. nonreligious Christmas holiday celebration series postage stamps from 1962 to 2011 are shown here.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Phone Call to Santa

2011-12-24T08:46:00.006-06:00

Today is December 24, and Santa is very busy today. He probably wouldn't be able to answer your call personally, but you can leave a message for him. You can get Santa's phone number from TelSanta.com.

1911 Merry Christmas Postcard

2011-12-23T14:35:00.004-06:00

This postcard was mailed 100 years ago today on December 23, 1911. It was published by the Sandford Card Co. of Dansville, N. Y.

I wish you the same as the original sender of this postcard: "May this be a bright and very happy Xmas for you and yours."

Christmas Love and a Kiss

2011-12-22T23:25:00.005-06:00

"If you see Santa, please give him my love."

The big bow in this little girl's hair reminds me of my mother. This style was popular when my mother was a child.

Merry Xmas 1911

2011-12-21T16:30:00.013-06:00

I am posting this postcard today because it was originally sent exactly 100 years ago today, on December 21, 1911. It is postmarked Fosston, Minn. The back has a message signed by Mrs. E. Elkjer, Fosston, Minn.

The design on this postcard would be fairly easy to do with Photoshop today, but it wouldn't have been so easy 100 years ago. After examining it, I think it was made as follows. Starting with the three face photos, the background of each was blacked out with ink or paint. Then each face was cut out in the shape of a bell and mounted on the drawing of the bells. Then the collage was photographed and printed on photo postcard stock. Do you have any other ideas of how the card was made?

I decided to Google "Elkjer Fosston Minnesota," not really expecting to find anything. The first thing I found was a photo postcard on flickr of First Street Fosston, Minnesota that was labeled Elkjer Studio. Then I found several photographers named Elkjer on the Minnesota Historical Society website. One of the Elkjer photographers was named Erick. Erick had a wife named Esther. It is likely that the photos on the postcard are of Erick and Esther and their baby. The 1920 census lists their oldest child named Pearl, 8 years old. The postcard was probably made by Erick or one of the other Elkjer photographers.

Visit Sepia Saturday to see more vintage images

Christmas Greetings from Shakespeare

2011-12-20T18:06:00.006-06:00

These two postcards are from Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis series 2231. The common elements on the cards are open books, birds, holly, and Shakespeare quotes. The first postcard has the quote "I'll note you in my book of memory" from King Henry VI. The second postcard has the quote "I wish you all the joy that you can wish" from Merchant of Venice.

Minneapolis - The Brightest Christmas City

2011-12-19T19:21:00.035-06:00

Here I have three postcards of Christmas time street scenes in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota around 7th Street and Nicollet Avenue. All are labeled "A Merry Christmas from Minneapolis" The Brightest Christmas City. The postcard above has a "7th Street" sign strung across the 7th Street. On the left side of the street is Dayton's department store and the Radisson Hotel. On the right, a Walgreen's drugstore sign is visible.

I thought the traffic signal looked interesting, so I enlarged that detail. It may be manually operated, though I don't see a policeman operating it. I couldn't find a picture of a similar traffic signal. The Minnesota Historical Society website has a picture of a manual traffic signal here that was used in downtown Minneapolis until approximately 1930. The Santa visible behind the car is on the side of Dayton's.

In the late 1920s (and probably 1930s), Minneapolis described itself as "The Brightest Christmas City." A column in the New York Times on Dec 25, 1927 describes a challenge made to ten other cities defying them to dispute Minneapolis's claim to the title of brightest Christmas city in the United States. The cities challenged were Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Buffalo, Kansas City, Davenport, Iowa; Denver, Fargo,N. D.; Duluth and La Crosse, Wisconsin. The challenge read as follows:

Minneapolis is the brightest Christmas city in America. A downtown district with streets under a canopy of evergreen festoons and thousands of tiny lights twinkling from the streamers. Every downtown lamppost a Christmas tree against a lighted background of red. A towering municipal Christmas tree in the loop gateway, its branches glittering with the light of thousands of tiny color lights and its top holding a flashing star of Bethlehem seventy-five feet in the air. Floodlights illuminating the Christmas tree, the arbor and every part of the gateway.

Ten thousand lighted outdoor Christmas trees in the residential sections, each entered in a contest for twelve prizes for the winners in four districts and a sweepstakes prize to the best tree in the city.

Christmas carols broadcast by radio and carried through every street and alley of the city by hundreds of loud- speakers set in windows of Minneapolis homes.

All that in Minneapolis at Christmas time. Minneapolis challenges the world to dispute its claim to the brightest Christmas city in America.

Most of the major U.S. cities were not included in the challenge. Even though Milwaukee wasn't on the 1927 list, that city took up the challenge the following year (The Milwaukee Sentinel - Dec 21, 1928).

The next postcard shows the view north on Nicollet from the same intersection. Part of the Walgreen's sign is visible on the left. Donaldson's department store is in the right foreground. Signs for Standard Clothing company and Powers department store can be seen farther up the street.

The last postcard also shows Donaldson's on the right. The decorations are different so it must be a different (probably later) year. Part of the Andrus Building sign is visible near the top left of the photo.

Visit Sepia Saturday to see more vintage images

Christmas Stamps - Finland 1986

2011-12-17T17:22:00.005-06:00

This is a postcard with pictures of the 1986 Finnish Christmas stamps. I found the following information on Stamp Collecting Blog.

In 1986 the Finnish Post issued their first, and so far also the last, se-tenant Christmas postage stamp issue. At the same time Christmas postage stamps returned back to use of two separate face values: discounted rate for early domestic mail and regular rate stamps for normal and international delivery.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Plum Pudding & Knox Gelatine

2011-12-15T07:14:00.042-06:00

The girl on the above postcard is holding aloft a traditional plum Christmas pudding topped by a sprig of holly. She may be holding it up either to show it off or to keep it away from the dog who looks ready to jump at it.

Plum pudding first became associated with Christmas back in medieval England, and the association became stronger in the 19th century. Ingredients and methods of preparation evolved over time. Originally dried fruits were used as a method of preserving meat. When methods of preserving meat improved, the meat content in the mixture diminished as the sweet content increased.

Before the 19th century, the English Christmas pudding was boiled in a pudding cloth, and often was round like a cannonball. Since the Victorian era the usual method of preparation has involved putting the batter into a basin and then steaming it. The pudding is usually made ahead of time and reheated for serving. It may be topped with a sprig of holly and/or flamed with brandy and served with a sauce.

A recipe for steamed Plum Pudding for Christmas can be found here. A microwave version of the recipe is also included there. A refrigerator version of plum pudding was published by Knox Gelatine on the recipe card shown below. This card has a 1930 copyright. The refrigerator recipe looks easy and tasty, but it includes uncooked egg whites. Uncooked eggs are unsafe and should not be eaten nowadays. Maybe egg white substitute would work.

The Plum Pudding recipe also was included (without the picture) in the Your Electric Refrigerator and Knox Sparkling Gelatine recipe booklet (©1929). Knox Gelatine is recommended as a thickener than prevents ice crystals from forming in the refrigerator. It is also recommended as a way to use left-overs.

The most festive looking recipe from the Knox booklet is the one for Asparagus Bavarian Salad.

My mother used to make Jello salads for holiday dinners, and I always enjoy having a molded Jello salad for holiday dinner. That is actually the only time I eat Jello. My mother always added an envelope of Knox Gelatine to the recipe to make the salad firmer, but I don't do that. The idea of colorless unflavored gelatin has always made me a bit squeamish when I think of its source. Gelatin is derived on a commercial scale in the United States today from, (in order of predominance), pigskins, cattle bones, and cattle hides (source).

If you would like to try making a Christmas Plum Pudding, the fastest and most modern way to cook it is in the microwave as shown in this video. (Unfortunately, measuring in grams is not the American way. I never heard of black treacle before. It is supposed to be similar to molasses. )

Visit Sepia Saturday to see more vintage images.

Pontiac Art Car

2011-12-13T16:51:00.007-06:00

This art car was photographed in Houston, Texas in 1973. It is a '52 Pontiac that featured hand-painted seat covers, lots of chrome, and years of work. The artist wished to remain anonymous. The postcard was published by Foto Folio.

Wintertime at Jax Cafe - Minneapolis, Minnesota

2011-12-12T16:13:00.006-06:00

Jax Cafe has a long history as a popular restaurant in northeast Minneapolis. This postcard shows Santa and his reindeer in Jax Old World Garden.

Norwegian Stamps 1990 - Norske frimerker

2011-12-10T18:04:00.015-06:00

This postcard shows the 1990 Norwegian postage stamps. The title on the back of the postcard refers to the background picture, Sognefjorden mot Nærøyfjorden . The Nærøyfjord is the most spectacular arm of the Sognefjord and the narrowest fjord in the world, at one point only 250 meters wide, with mountains towering more than a thousand meters above its tranquil waters. (source)

These are the stamps shown:

row 1: Mute Swan, beaver, Dactylorhiza fuchsii (Skogmarihand), Epipactis atrorubens (Rødflangre)
row 2: Winter Cities - Tromsø, 50th anniversary of the German invasion 9 April 1940, Re-Conquest of Narvik 28 May 1940, Peter Wessel Tordenskiold (navy hero 1691-1720), Tordenskiolds coat of arms
row 3: Trondheim post office, Longyearbyen post office, Nathan Söderblom (bishop and Nobel laureate 1866-1931) and Nobel Medal
row 4: Johan Svendsen (composer, 1840-1911), Detail of the monument of Johan Svendsen, Christmas stamps

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Christmas Greetings & Sailor Suits

2011-12-07T16:31:00.024-06:00

The choice of the Christmas postcard shown above, with two boys wearing sailor suits, was prompted by the Sepia Saturday 104 photo of Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Bavaria and her young son Prince Luitpold dressed in dark sailor suits.

Sailor suits were especially popular for boys around the turn of the twentieth century. The beginning of this fashion trend has been attributed to the young Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII). He was shown dressed in a sailor suit in an 1846 painting commissioned by Queen Victoria. The painting, which is shown below, is from the Royal Collection.

The next two photos are from the Bain Collection and also show royalty. The first is of the Russian Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (1904 – 1918) of the House of Romanov. The second photo is of the Crown Prince of Spain Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907 - 1938). Both boys suffered from the disease of hemophilia. The Tsarevich was murdered with his family during the Russian Civil War by order of the Bolshevik government. Alfonso died from internal bleeding following a traffic accident.

The last photo is of future U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. The photo shows him wearing a sailor suit at age seven in 1889. This is one of several 1889 photos of Roosevelt in a sailor suit in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum collection.

For more vintage photos, visit Sepia Saturday

Christmas Stamps - Finland 1980

2011-12-03T19:18:00.007-06:00

This postcard shows Finland's 1980 Christmas stamps. The stamps represent old Finnish Christmas games.

Two games are shown on the first stamp: "Pull the roller" and "weighing out the salt." These are trials of strength. A table with holiday food, homemade beer, and candles is in the background.

The second stamp shows the game "putting out the shoemaker's eye." The straw on the floor was traditional. Straw Christmas decorations are still popular in Finland.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Health Museum Exhibits

2011-12-01T10:52:00.037-06:00

HINSDALE HEALTH MUSEUM. Hinsdale, Illinois. Thousands annually visit the Hinsdale Health Museum to learn more about themselves. The exhibits, many operated by push-buttons and equipped with moving parts, telephones and loudspeakers, tell the dramatic story of human biology. [This is a view of the medical center building where the museum was located.]

This beautiful exhibit is an artist's representation of magnified body cells. Here a visitor learns how he began as a single cell which multiplied into 30 trillion cells, and all manner of other amazing things about these wonderful "units of life."

Valeda, Hinsdale's famous Talking Glass Lady, is the star attraction of the Health Museum. Created by a medical artist in Cologne, Germany, Valeda is a lifesize plexiglas figure whose organs light up one by one as she herself tells the wonderful story of how they work.

The story of human reproduction is beautifully told in a series of lifelike sculpture studies by Adam Belskie, Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, based on hundreds of X-ray pictures made by Robert L Dickinson, M.D.

Two of the many popular things to do at the Health Museum are to see and hear one's own heartbeat by means of the combined oscilloscope and stethoscope equipped with amplifier, and to test one's lung capacity with the Vitalometer.

Partial view of the unique brain exhibit. The transmission of messages along nerve pathways is demonstrated. The memory process is explained. Motor and sensory centers are located on the giant brain model by use of an electric wand.

The eye exhibit clearly demonstrates what happens in near- and far-sightedness and explains how glasses help. The ear lights up step by step, as a narrator tells of the miracle of hearing. The greatly magnified section of skin makes plain all the many functions of the body's largest organ.

The inside of the mouth, nose, and throat are visible from both front and rear of the Big Face, so that taste areas, structure of the nose, the adenoids, the tonsils, the Eustachian tubes, the epiglottis, the vocal chords, and the esophagus may be observed.

The Sepia Saturday 103 prompt is a 1961 photo of a public health nurse. The postcards of the Hinsdale Health Museum shown above are also circa 1961. The text below the images is copied from the back of the postcards. More information and images from the early years of this health museum can be found in a 1959 article about the Hinsdale Health Museum in Public Health Reports (PDF version). There are also unpublished photos in the LIFE photo archives hosted on Google. Here are a couple of the LIFE images:

The Hinsdale Health Museum was moved to a different location and renamed the Robert Crown Center for Health Education in 1974.

Visit Sepia Saturday for more vintage images.

General Motors Motorama of 1956

2011-11-29T13:40:00.010-06:00

The following description is printed on the back of this postcard:

The 1956 MOTORAMA features the Car of Tomorrow on the Highway of Tomorrow--and the most beautiful GM Cars of Today--starring the latest creations of Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac--also Body by Fisher, Chevrolet and GMC Trucks, Frigidaire Kitchen of Tomorrow, GM Diesel and other new General Motors Products.

The General Motors Motorama was an auto show staged by GM from 1949 to 1961. These shows were designed to whet public appetite and boost automobile sales with displays of fancy prototypes, concept vehicles and other special models. They were usually held in conjunction with the New York Auto Show in January. The 1956 dates were New York City (January 19–24), Miami (February 4–12), Los Angeles (March 3–11), San Francisco (March 24-April 1), Boston (April 19–29). Attendance was over 2.2 million.

Design for Dreaming is a musical film about a woman who dreams about a masked man taking her to the 1956 General Motors Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Frigidaire's "Kitchen of the Future."

Popcorn Wagon - Minneapolis, Minnesota

2011-11-28T07:41:00.012-06:00

This postcard of the popcorn wagon on Nicollet Mall in Downtown Minneapolis is ©1976. On the back it says "When you're on the Nicollet Mall, be sure to visit "The Popcorn Lady". In addition to serving delicious popcorn and Coca Cola, she is happy to tell you about Minneapolis, what to see and how to get there."

There is a popcorn wagon near there now, but I don't know if it is the same one or if it has been there continuously. The wagon on the postcard has a sign "Wagon Popcorn Franchises" and it appears to be a reproduction of a Cretors Style Model C.

A column in the December 28, 2000 Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the death of the "Popcorn Lady":

Charlotte Sunderlin of Blaine, known for two decades as "the Popcorn Lady of Nicollet Mall," died Tuesday following a stroke. She was 84. She ran a red-and-gold popcorn wagon on the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis for 23 years, beginning in 1970. Over the years, her popcorn wagon was stationed at various locations between 6th and 8th streets, but always on the mall. On a good summer day, the wagon sold more than 1,000 boxes of popcorn.

"The Annunciation" Christmas Stamp 1968

2011-11-26T13:36:00.026-06:00

Above is a maximum card with the 1968 U.S. Christmas stamp. The stamp has a detail from The Annunciation painting by Jan van Eyck, a great fifteenth century Flemish artist. The painting is in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. It is believed that it originally was a side panel in a triptych.

The scene in the painting depicts the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the son of God, and the incarnation of Christ as the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, descending towards Mary on a beam of light. The painting includes the words (omitted from the stamp) uttered by the angel, “Ave gratia plena” (hail, full of grace) and those spoken by Mary, “Ecce ancilla domini” (behold the handmaiden of the Lord). Mary's words are painted upside down for God above to see.

The painting received a major cleaning in 1998, which probably accounts for most of the color differences between the older images and the detail shown below with the "spoken" words.

The Arago website has a section with design files for the 1968 Christmas Issue here. The design files include alternate stamp designs using The Annunciation and copies of correspondence.

The first official U.S. Christmas stamps were issued in 1962. Since 1970, two general themes of Christmas stamps have been issued yearly: one "traditional" and one "contemporary." The traditional stamps usually are based on religious artwork, while the contemporary stamps usually have a secular subject. Many of the artworks that have inspired the traditional stamps are in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. To showcase this tradition, the National Gallery of Art and the National Postal Museum have partnered to create an online exhibit exploring the The Art of Christmas Stamps.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Thanksgiving Fun

2011-11-23T17:42:00.011-06:00

Above is a Thanksgiving postcard of a tiny chef with a large knife and fork. He is sitting on a pumpkin that is on a cart pulled by a turkey. The situation is absurd, but it is typical of many early Thanksgiving postcards. I chose this postcard for today because it fits it with the vintage ad shown below and also my Thanksgiving Fun video.

The International Silver Co. ad shown below is from the November, 1923 Ladies' Home Journal. The ad features a cute picture of two children with a turkey and a humorous verse:

Turkey in the barnyard
Looking mighty smart,
Silver knife awaiting
To carve him all apart.

The Thanksgiving Fun video is one I made with vintage Thanksgiving postcards from my collection. These cards feature children playing with turkeys. Many of the scenes shown are ones of children running around with the turkeys, posing with them, or offering them food. It is not hard to imagine children engaging in these activities 100 years ago when these postcards were new. Other scenes are obviously fantasy.

I'm participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday

Highway 61 Revisited

2011-11-23T15:11:00.025-06:00

I chose this postcard of the entrance sign at Fish Fry Lodge for my post because The Sepia Saturday 102 prompt has a fish sign. The title of this card is Souvenir of NORTH SHORE DRIVE, Duluth (Highway 61) Minnesota, and the following information is printed on the back:

The entrance to FISH FRY LODGE on the shore of Lake Superior, 10 miles from downtown Duluth. 24 modern cabins housing from 2 to 8 people, also twin beds. Serving no beer. Completely Modern Cabins with hot and cold water, May 1 to Nov. 1. Dining Room Service all year. Golf and Riding facilities nearby.

I borrowed the title of this post from Bob Dylan's song Highway 61 Revisited. I always have found Bob Dylan hard to understand, so I wasn't aware of his song until I started researching Highway 61. Bob Dylan was born in Duluth and grew up in northern Minnesota.

U.S. Highway 61 runs north from New Orleans, Louisiana to Wyoming, Minnesota. Before 1991, U.S. Highway 61 ran 1,714 miles (2,758 km) from New Orleans through Duluth, Minnesota all the way to the Canadian border. The highway has been shortened to 1,400 miles (2,300 km) ending now in the city of Wyoming, Minnesota at an intersection with Interstate 35. Now the portion between Wyoming, Minnesota and Duluth has been turned back to local jurisdiction or supplanted by Interstate 35. The portion of Highway 61 north of Duluth is now Minnesota State Highway 61, part of the Minnesota State Highway system.

When I originally wrote this post, there was a video on YouTube of Bob Dylan singing the song in 1965. That video has since been blocked because of copyright infringements. You can read the lyrics to Highway 61 Revisited here. Wikipedia has an explanation of the meaning of the song here.

For More Vintage Images, Visit Sepia Saturday

Northwestern Bank Weatherball - Minneapolis, MN

2011-11-21T05:30:00.001-06:00

This circa 1980 postcard has a view of holiday lights on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis from about 4th Street looking south. The tall building in the center is the IDS Center which is between 7th and 8th streets. The old Northwestern National Bank building is to the left, topped by the lighted NW and Weatherball.

On Thanksgiving Day 1982, a fire that started in the vacant partially demolished former location of Donaldson's Department Store destroyed an entire block of downtown Minneapolis. The Northwestern National Bank was severely damaged and was later demolished. That was the end of the Northwestern Weatherball as a downtown Minneapolis landmark.

The Northwestern Weatherball was 157 feet high and was constructed in 1949. The Weatherball was removed from the bank building and stored at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Although there were plans to restore the Weatherball, it ended up being scrapped in 2000.

The Northwestern Weatherball broadcast the weather using a simple color code. An advertising jingle made the code easy to remember:

When the Weatherball is glowing red, warmer weather's just ahead.
When the Weatherball is shining white, colder weather is in sight.
When the Weatherball is wearing green, no weather changes are foreseen.
Colors blinking by night and day say, precipitation's on the way.

Greetings From America Stamps - 50 State Postcards

2011-11-19T19:00:00.002-06:00

The front and back of a postcard from the 50 State Postcards set is shown above. This card illustrates the 37¢ Minnesota stamp. The Greetings from America stamps were issued in a 34¢ denomination on a pane of fifty individual designs on April 4, 2002. On June 30, 2002 first class postage increased from 34¢ to 37¢. The fifty stamps were reissued in a 37¢ denomination on October 25, 2002.

The stamps were inspired by "large letter" postcards that depicted local scenes inside big letters that spelled out the name of the place or attractions during the 1930s and 1940s. Text on the back of each stamp lists the state's bird, flower, tree, and capital, as well as the date the state entered the Union. The postcard backs feature the 1982 State Bird and Flower Issue in addition to the state capital, statehood date, and state tree.

Shown below are the front and back of the box holding the postcard set.

The video below is a slideshow of all fifty designs. You can get a really good view if you watch the video in full screen mode.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Minnesota Vacation Days

2011-11-16T15:09:00.019-06:00

Above are three recent postcards showing vintage Minnesota maps from the 1920s. These illustrations are from the book Minnesota Vacation Days by Kathryn strand Koutsky and Linda Koutsky published by Minnesota Historical Society Press ©2006. This is a beautiful book filled with all sorts of ephemera, photos, and souvenirs related to Minnesota vacations.

Below is a spread in the book that includes the maps shown on the postcards. Below that is another spread showing more ephemera with beautiful vintage graphics.

The last spread from the book shows vintage linen vacation postcards. On the left are some packages of postcards priced at 3 for 10¢ including postage stamps!

Big fish were a popular subject on comic linen postcards aimed at vacationers. Autos were another popular subject. I will conclude with a postcard from my collection showing both subjects. This postcard was originally published by Curt Teich in 1935. Sometimes stock postcards were imprinted with specific locations. This one has Greetings from Owatonna, Minn. imprinted in the bottom border.

Visit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Photos

Triple Rail Crossing - Richmond, Virginia

2011-11-15T16:54:00.007-06:00

This postcard shows the triple rail crossing in Richmind, Virginia. The back of the postcardd has the following description:

This unique photograph presents to view the only point in the world where three trunk line trains cross each other at the same time, and over their separate tracks. At the top is shown a passenger train of the C. & O. Railway leaving Richmond for the upper James River Valley just beneath it a train of the S.A.L. Railway leaving the Main Street (Union) Deport for the South, and on the ground a train of the Southern Railway coming into Richmond from West Point on the York River.

An earlier postcard shown here (and on Wikipedia) is postmarked 1919 and has a different picture, but an identical description. According to the Wikipedia article, the triple crossing has been a Richmond attraction for railfans for over 100 years, although the number of photographic angles decreased in the 1990s due to a new flood wall.

In Memory of Governor John A. Johnson

2011-11-14T05:00:00.001-06:00

Governor John A. Johnson, 16th Governor of Minnesota, was born in 1861 and died in 1909 while in office. He was born in St. Peter, Minnesota and was the first Minnesota-born governor. He was elected governor three times in 1904, 1906, and 1908.

Winter Olympics Stamps

2011-11-12T19:00:00.001-06:00

Ice Dancing

Alpine Skiing

Nordic skiing

Ice Hockey

These maximum cards were issued by the U.S. Postal Service. The stamps are from a block of four 20-cent stamps that were issued to honor the 1984 Winter Olympics held in Sarajevo, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The stamps were issued in Lake Placid, New York which was the site of the 1980 and 1932 Winter Olympics.

The sports highlighted on these stamps are ice dancing, Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, and ice hockey.

The video below shows Winter Olympics stamps from a variety of countries and years.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

A Century of Progress Exposition - 100 Postcard Views

2011-11-10T16:32:00.011-06:00

Originally I planned make to make a post for Sepia Saturday 100 using a few of my Century of Progress postcards. I figured the "century" that the exposition was named for, the hundred years 1833-1933, would fit the "100" theme. However, when I saw the special Sepia Saturday 100 logo, I had the idea of making a video using 100 postcards.

I had previously made a Century of Progress video using brightly colored linen postcards, so I planned to use only black and white postcards. While I was scanning, I changed my mind a couple of times about which cards to include. I ended up including some color ones and scanning a total of 142 postcards. It was hard to choose which ones to include and end up with exactly 100 (actually 101 if you count the postcard used for the title). The scanning was time consuming, but it was probably easier than thinking of something intelligent to write.

This is a special post for Sepia Saturday 100, the 100th Sepia Saturday.

Chief Bemidji

2011-11-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

The postcard above is Shaynowishkung, commonly called Chief Bemidji . The following information is from the back of the postcard.

He was the leader of about 50 Indians who had settled along the south shores of Lake Bemidji, Minn. Actually, he was the 'chief Indian' or spokesman for the group and he was not a chief and his name was not Bemidji. In Ojibway, his name was Shaynowishkung--a word which means 'rattler.' When the first white men arrived in this area, they were met by him and upon asking his name, were given instead the name of the lake, which sounded to them like Bemidji. Thus, he was called Chief Bemidji.

The next postcard is the first statue of Chief Bemidji, carved in 1901.

The last postcard is the second (and current) statue of Chief Bemidji made in 1952. There are currently efforts to create a third statue in bronze. Critics of the current statue feel that it is not artistic or respectful.

The following information is from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database and was taken from a plaque by the statue donated in 1993.

Shaynowishkung known as "Chief Bemidji" 1824-1904. In the 1800s, Shaynowishkung and a band of Ojibwe Indians lived on the south shore of a lake known to fur traders as Lac Traverse. The Ojibwe word for traverse is bemidgegumaug, and it means 'the river (route) flowing crosswise.' As time passed, the lake was called "Bemidji." The first white settlers, George E. and Merian E. Carson came in 1888. Shaynowishkung housed and fed them and others. Although he was not a tribal chief, those early homesteaders respectfully called him “Chief Bemidji." When his daughter, Bahgahmaushequay, married Marian Carson, Bemidji's first postmaster, the relationship was cemented between the original inhabitants and the white settlers. In 1896, the northernmost town of the Mississippi River was incorporated and it was named Bemidji. Lumberjack Gustaf Hinche carved the first Chief Bemidji statue in 1901, honoring a living Shaynowishkung. In 1904, the town mourned Shaynowishkung's death and erected a monument in his name at the Greenwood Cemetery. In 1927 Bemidji's park commission placed Hinche's 'Chief Bemidji' statue in Library Park to overlook the flowage of the Mississippi River through Lake Bemidji. Years and weather took its toll on the original statue and it was replaced in 1952 by a replica carved by retired lumberjack Eric Boe. Coated with fiberglass to protect it from the elements, it remains a symbol of esteem for the Ojibwe Indian Shaynowishkung, known honorably as 'Chief Bemidji.' Plaque donated by Joyce Bedeson Skelton, Oct. 1993.

More history of Chief Bemidji can be found here.

Ohio Map & Sesquicentennial Stamp

2011-11-05T19:30:00.015-05:00

When I first saw this postcard, I just saw the cancellation on the front and didn't notice the stamp which blends in with the pictures on the card. Then I realized that this is a maximum card. The postcard is one of a series of linen map postcards published by Kropp. The stamp commemorates the state of Ohio's sesquicentennial in 1953, and there is a first day of issue cancellation.

The following description is from the Arago website:

The Department issued this 3-cent Ohio Statehood commemorative stamp through the Chillicothe, Ohio, post office on March 2, 1953. The stamp's central design is an outline of the state of Ohio, which provides a flat-toned background for Ohio's Great Seal. Defining each side of the stamp are two dark, vertical panels, enclosing a row of eight stars in each panel, representing the sixteen states prior to the admission of Ohio into the Union. The seventeenth star, representing Ohio, appears in the top center, directly over the top border of the state. A buckeye leaf is shown in the lower left corner.

The postcard has nine numbered views of places in Ohio:

Municipal Stadium, Cleveland
State Capital at Columbus
Sunset on Lake Erie
Picturesque Ohio River at Cincinnati
One of the many fine beaches on Lake Erie
Sheet and Tube Mills at Youngstown
Soldiers' Home at Dayton
Coal and Ore Boats at Toledo
Sailboats on Sandusky Bay

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Santa Fe Railway's Indian Band

2011-11-03T07:54:00.028-05:00

This postcard shows the Santa Fe Railway's Indian Band in the parade at the Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, Gallup, New Mexico.

The Santa Fe All-Indian Band showcased musical talents of the railway's Indian employees. The band started in 1923 with three Native Americans who entertained for a Santa Fe Railway shop picnic in Winslow, Arizona. The original band included a trumpet, a tuba, and a bass drum. The inter-tribal band had members from as many as twelve tribes. Although most band members were Santa Fe employees, some family members were also included. The the Santa Fe All-Indian Band played at events for more than forty years. It was dissolved in 1964, because there weren’t enough replacement band members to keep the band going.

The Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial is still an annual event. The following description is from the New Mexico Tourism Department website:

Since 1922, the people of Gallup, New Mexico have been proud to present the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial each summer. A unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Native American arts, cultures, and traditions, “Ceremonial”, as it is known throughout the region, is a special time when indigenous peoples from throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico travel to Gallup to share the best of their creative and performing talents and diverse heritages with the rest of the world, and to reunite with other indigenous groups. Nowhere else on Earth can you experience tribal ceremonial dances, a contest pow-wow, indoor and outdoor arts and crafts markets, all Indian rodeos, a world class juried art show, opportunities to buy authentic Native American art and jewelry, parades, Native American foods, a ceremonial queen contest, and crafts demonstrations, all in one location at one time.

November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States. This is a time to celebrate the heritage and contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives. President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 "National American Indian Heritage Month." Similar proclamations (with some variants in the name of the month) have been issued each year since 1994. The 2011 proclamation issued by President Barack Obama is online here.

Visit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Photos

November 2, 1914 - Thanksgiving Greetings

2011-11-02T14:53:00.016-05:00

I keep my postcards of Thanksgiving children in an album, so I usually don't see the backs. I discovered that this postcard has a long, interesting, and easily readable message when I was picking postcards to use in a Thanksgiving Fun postcard video I was making. It was written on November 2, 1914--97 years ago today. I think it really gives an idea of what daily life was like back then.

Nov. 2, 1914. Got your card this morning. It was real pretty. I intended to ans. it on a Thanks. card, but forgot so will write one now. I started to hunt you one today and decided this was the cutest I had. Mama picked its mate to send to Esther S. I seem to have missed answering one of your cards - Hello, People. I don't think your telephone calls were very fairly divided a week ago Sun. but maybe your turn hadn't come yet.
Leah and Catherine were here today. Had quite a nice visit. Gail and Aunt Kate came over a little while toward eve. with the team so the girls didn't have to walk home. I suppose they had an errand at Verna's so just drove around. I gave Catherine her apron. Finished one of papa's shirts today. Have the other 3 started. Guess I'd better quit as it's after 10. We've got 18 eggs several days lately. Pretty good for 30 hens. Some of the pullets are laying I think. Is this tobacco tag any good? Don't know where I got it, found it among some of your scraps maybe - I do sometimes.Any way I found it when I went to clean my safe drawer yesterday so will send it to you.
Katie to Algie

The card below is from the same series but has no writing on the back. It could have been the "mate" mentioned on the first card. Personally, I like the first card better. It is easier for me to relate to a girl feeding a turkey than to the fantasy on the second card.

First Santa Fe Train - Frank Sauerwein

2011-11-01T15:46:00.016-05:00

This postcard was published by Fred Harvey (Hotels-Shops-Restaurants). It is titled "First Santa Fe Train" and is after a painting by Frank Sauerwein (spelled Sauerwin on the postcard). A group of Southwest Indians is viewing the train. The train is barely visible on the horizon, but I thought this would be an appropriate card to start November, since November is National Native American Heritage Month.

Frank Sauerwein (1871 - 1910) specialized in western scene paintings. He was born in the east and received art training in Philadelphia and Chicago. He moved west to Denver in 1891 in hopes of improving his health and spent most of the rest of his life in the Southwest. His travels to the Ute reservation in southwestern Colorado in 1893 began a lifelong fascination with the Southwest and its Native inhabitants. He spent time in Taos and Santa Fe, and visited the Navajo and Hopi reservations. (source)

The Santa Fe (the abbreviation for Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859. Although the railway was named in part for the capital of New Mexico, its main line never reached there as the terrain made it too difficult to lay the necessary tracks (Santa Fe was ultimately served by a branch line from Lamy, New Mexico). The Santa Fe's first tracks reached the Kansas/Colorado state line in 1873, and connected to Pueblo, Colorado in 1876.

Puffer-Hubbard Folding Delivery Boxes

2011-10-31T05:00:00.006-05:00

Puffer-Hubbard was a Minneapolis company that manufactured silos, folding delivery boxes, wheelbarrows, and other items. In a previous blog post I showed a postcard advertising Puffer-Hubbard's Panel Silos. The postcard shown here advertises their wire-sewed folding delivery boxes. The top half of the card shows the boxes when they were open and loaded. The bottom half of the card shows the boxes when they were empty and folded flat.

The back of this postcard, used in 1910, points out some of the advantages of using these boxes: "They take up less room in your store, give your wagons an up-to-date appearance, prevent loss of articles and insure their safe delivery."

The illustration below is from a book found on Google.com Detailed plans and instructions for organizing and operating a co-operative delivery system. The boxes could be numbered, making them easier to locate when delivering. This book pointed out that "In addition to the advantages in the saving of time and space, the unique construction of these boxes makes them especially durable and being made of slats they can be kept in repair by unskilled help at a very slight cost."

This ad below is from the Minneapolis Tribune of October27, 1912

New Zealand Lakes on Stamps

2011-10-29T22:25:00.000-05:00

These postcards show the scenic stamps of lakes issued by New Zealand in 1972. This 1972 Scenic Stamp Issue featured two lakes from the North Island and two lakes from the South Island. These postcards are from a series of five: one postcard shows all four stamps in the series, and four postcards show the individual stamps in the series.

The following is the issue information from the New Zealand Post website for the 1972 Lake Scenes stamps:

Lake Waikaremoana - 6c
Perhaps the most beautiful lake in the North Island, Lake Waikaremoana is situated near Wairoa, Hawke's Bay. Its star shape and surroundings of forested mountains make it a breath-taking spectacle.

Lake Hayes - 8c
Situated in the heart of the Southern Lakes District not far from Queenstown. A charming lake. It was named for a Donald Hay who sought land in the area. However, a theory persists that it was named after the notorious pirate Bully Hayes.

Lake Wakatipu - 18c
The longest of the lakes in the South Island's Southern Lakes District, Lake Wakatipu is noted for its scenic attributes. It is shaped like an "S" and is of glacial origin. With a length of 84 km and an area of 290 square km, it ranks second in size amongst the southern lakes. The mountains in the background are the Remarkables.

Lake Rotomahana - 23c
A celebrated lake of the Rotorua District. Lake Rotomahana is three square miles in area and occupies an extremely deep volcanic crater. Originally it was much smaller in area and on its slopes were two of the most beautiful spectacles of this thermal area, the pink and white terraces. Both terraces disappeared after the historic eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886. It was then that a new Lake Rotomahana came into being.

The New Zealand Post website is an excellent source of information about New Zealand stamps, both old and new. The Historical Stamp Issues section is the most complete and easiest to use that I have seen from any country.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Greyhound Buses at A Century of Progress Exposition

2011-10-26T14:08:00.033-05:00

Greyhound was selected as the official transportation carrier at the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago. The company reserved 2,000 hotel rooms and offered transportation and lodging to the fair on one ticket.

Inside the exposition grounds, Greyhound provided bus service using a fleet of sixty specially designed semi-trailer type open buses. The buses had a capacity of 100 persons each. The seats of the buses ran lengthwise and faced outward, permitting passengers a good view.

The postcard above shows a Greyhound bus at the 12th Street (North) entrance. Greyhound operated both a Rapid Transit Service with stops at designated locations and sightseeing tours. The sightseeing tours lasted about an hour and gave a complete view of the fair grounds, passing all the important buildings and attractions. A trained guide told about each exhibit as it was passed. At points of particular interest, the buses stopped while the guide pointed out and explained unique features.

The map below shows the Rapid Transit and Sightseeing routes.

The next postcard shows one of the Greyhound buses in front of the Hall of Science. The Hall of Science was one of the major exposition buildings. It housed exhibits of science and industry.

The next postcard shows two of the Greyhound buses in front of Eitel's Old Heidelberg Inn. This was a German style restaurant seating 2500 patrons. There was German music, and the building included garden terrace service, a lunch room and an old-fashioned Rathskeller.

Old Heidelberg Inn looks like a good place to end our tour.

Greyhound buses themselves were an important example of progress. Greyhound became an American icon and the largest provider of intercity bus transportation. However, 1933 was less than twenty years since the company's beginnings in Northern Minnesota, and only four years since its name was changed to Greyhound Corporation. The Greyhound running dog, which is one of the most-recognized brands in the world, was first used as the company's logo in 1929.

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Up And Down The Monon

2011-10-25T14:24:00.028-05:00

Wouldn't it be fun to travel back in time about 60 years and take a ride on the Monon Thoroughbred train through this beautiful Indiana scenery? The Thoroughbred streamliner ran between Chicago, Illinois and Louisville, Kentucky. According to the 1950 schedule posted here, we could leave Chicago at 1PM and arrive in Louisville at 9PM.

The Monon Railroad operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The railroad was also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway. The Monon name was due to the convergence of the railroad's four main routes in Monon, Indiana. From Monon, the mainlines reached out to Chicago, Louisville, Indianapolis and Michigan City, Indiana.

Below is an enlarged version of the Monon emblem from the back of the postcard. The evolution of this emblem is shown here. The round shape is a wheel and the line under it is a rail. The "M" shape is two teepees side by side, and an arrowhead is above the middle of the "M." MONON is an Indian word meaning "Swift Running."

The Monon Route had its beginnings in 1847 with the New Albany & Salem Railroad, chartered to connect New Albany, Indiana with Salem, Indiana. The railroad celebrated its centennial in 1947. Sheet music and lyrics of "Up And Down The Monon", from the 1947 Centennial Program are shown here. This is the first verse and chorus:

VERSE:
Out Kansas and Missouri way
They brag about the Santa Fe,
The New York Central, B. and O.,
Those are the toast of Ohio,
Kentucky's got the L. and N.,
And Pennsylvania's got the Penn,
In Michigan, it's the Pere Marquette,
But we've got the grandest railroad yet, Oh!

CHORUS:
Up and down the Monon
Everything is fine,
'Cause that rootin', tootin' Monon
She's a Hoosier line,
Up and down the Monon
Everything is fine,
'Cause that rootin', tootin' Monon
She's a Hoosier line,
All aboard!
All aboard!
It's my Indiana home that I'm a headin' toward, Oh!
Up and down the Monon
Everything is fine,
'Cause that rootin', tootin' Monon
She's a Hoosier line.

This is the first of my "Transportation Tuesday" posts.

Minneapolis Knitting Works

2011-10-24T06:59:00.015-05:00

These are postcards advertising babies' underwear made by Minneapolis Knitting Works. These have verses based on well-known nursery rhymes: Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe; Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat; Jack and Jill; and Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake. There were also cards with Ba! Ba! Black Sheep and Mary Had a Little Lamb. The verses start out with the usual lines and end with something about the Minneapolis Knitting Works "M" products, for example:

Pat a cake, pat a cake, Baker's Man,
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Pat it and roll it and mark it "M.B."
Which stands for "M" Band for
Babies, you see.

Minneapolis Knitting Works began as the St. Paul Knitting Works. In 1891 St. Paul Knitting Works moved to Minneapolis and was reincorporated as Minneapolis Knitting Works. The company was located at 620-708 Bryant Avenue North for a long time.

The classified ad shown below is from a July 1920 Minneapolis Tribune and mentions a "new factory." The ad seems unusually long and makes the company sound like a great place to work. Among other things, it says: "In fact you will just smile away the hours, thinking of the good wages receive for such pleasant work, and go home happy and cheerful each day."

There are a number of old Minneapolis Knitting Works magazine ads shown on the web. One of my favorites is a colorful undated Halloween ad shown here. The latest ad that I saw was from 1953 and lists a Utica, New York address for the company instead of the Minneapolis address.

An article in the Utica Daily Press in January, 1952 announced that the manufacturing operations of the Minneapolis Knitting Works were to be transferred to Utica. The Minneapolis mill was described as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Utica Knitting Company. The Minneapolis line of children's and infants' garments was to supplement the Utica company's adult line. At that time, the Minneapolis label was not being replaced by the Utica label, and the Minneapolis comapny's offices were to remain in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Historical Society has a 1952 photo of the Minneapolis building here.

Taiwan Postage Stamps

2011-10-22T19:14:00.015-05:00

The postcard shown above is a handmade one sent to me by a Taiwanese Postcrossing member. Those are real postage stamps, still on paper, that are glued to a piece of cardboard and mailed as a postcard. Below are the stamps from the back of the card that were used to mail it--click to enlarge.

I managed to identify most, but not all, of the stamps on the internet. (It probably would have been easier to go to the library and look in a stamp catalog.)

On the front, the stamp in the top left corner is a Norwegian Forest Cat from a 2006 series of pets. Below that is a bird (Dendrocitta formosae) issued in 2008 in a “Birds of Taiwan” definitive stamp series. The flower below that is a Hibiscus sabdariffa issued in 2009 in a definitive flower series. The stamp in the top right corner is a stamp from a lighthouse series of 1991. In the bottom right corner is a pair of stamps showing the Paphiopedilum sp. from a definitive series of orchids of Taiwan issued in 2007.

On the back are two stamps that were part of a souvenir sheet based on Disney’s animated movie“Finding Nemo.” This was issued to stimulate interest in philately among youths. You can see the souvenir sheet here. There is also another bird (Dicrurus aeneus) from the 2008 "Birds of Taiwan" series.

If you look closely at the stamps, you will see that some are labeled "Republic of China", some "Taiwan," and some "Republic of China (Taiwan)." In 2007 stamps began to be labeled "Taiwan" instead of "Republic of China."

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Children of Marken, Holland

2011-10-20T13:04:00.026-05:00

The Sepia Saturday 97 prompt photo is a group of young Irish boys lined up in rows for the camera. Above I am showing the front and back of a postcard picturing a group of children of Marken, Holland. Dutch children were a popular subject on postcards of the early twentieth century. This particular postcard has advertising on the back for Droste's Cocoa and Hillman's Grocery Department in downtown Chicago. Hillman's is gone, but Droste's Cocoa currently is distributed in more than 60 countries.

Near the top of the message area are the words "From the Frou-FrouFolks." The Frou-Frou-Folks are not what one would expect from the dictionary definition of frou-frou. The word frou-frou here refers to Frou-Frou wafers, which are thin wafer sandwich-like cookies filled with vanilla creme. They are of Dutch origin and are less sweet than American made vanilla wafers. Below is an enlargement of the Frou-Frou wafer logo from the back of the postcard.

Marken is a peninsula in the IJsselmeer (an artificial lake) in the Netherlands. It is an island, which nowadays is connected to the North Holland mainland by a causeway/dike. It was formerly a fishing village before it was cut off from the sea. It is now a tourist attraction known for its characteristic wooden houses and traditional costumes.

Below are some more circa 1900 pictures of Marken children from the Library of Congress.

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New Fall Hats - 1930s Style

2011-10-17T06:36:00.012-05:00

This advertisement for fall hats from a "Big Hat Store" in downtown Minneapolis was printed on a government postal card and mailed September 14, 1936.

Many of the women's hats of the 1930s could be described as pert or perky and were worn at a jaunty angle. The style shown on the card seems typical of hats of the 1930s, fitting relatively close to the head and tilted to the side so that one eye and one ear were concealed.

Women needed hats in the 1930s in order to be considered properly dressed. Buying a new hat would have lifted their spirits in the midst of the depression. However, the $1.88 price that seems cheap today would have been equivalent to nearly $30 in 2011 dollars (DollarTimes Inflation Calculator).

Chinese Panda Stamps

2011-10-15T16:55:00.018-05:00

Sporting

Climbing

Panda and Bamboo

Little Partners

Above is a set of four maximum cards from the People's Republic of China with panda postage stamps that were issued on May 24, 1985. The backs of the postcards have titles in both Chinese and English. I believe that the artist for this series of stamps was Han Meilin.

Another Chinese artist who created panda stamps was Wu Zuoren. From Wikipedia:

1963: Wu Zuoren sets out to change the face of China when presented with the opportunity to design a three postage stamps for the People's Republic of China. Known for his ink paintings of yaks and camels in western China Wu Zuoren's Giant Panda stamps first issued in 1963 establish the Giant Panda as the emblem of the new China. A second series of six Giant Panda stamps by Wu Zouren was issued in 1973, and a more elaborate Giant Panda edition based on his ink paintings produced in 1985.

Wu Zuoren's 1985 edition seems to be something in a different style than the drawings on my maximum cards.

1963 Panda Stamps
http://www.cpi.com.cn/cpi-eng/oldstamp/img/s59.jpg

1973 Panda Stamps
http://stampstory.blogspot.com/2008/12/giant-panda.html

China Philatelic Information

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

KP Duty - Peeling Potatoes

2011-10-12T08:12:00.022-05:00

For Sepia Saturday 96, I have some WWII era military comic postcards featuring KP duty peeling potatoes. The first postcard was "furnished for convenience of men in the armed services by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Boise, Idaho." The state of Idaho is linked with potato production in the United States, and it produces one of the largest yearly crops.

The potatoes shown on the Idaho postcard are large and have an elongated shape. Although many varieties of potato are grown in Idaho, the Russet Burbank potato is the most common. Russet Burbanks have an elongated shape with rough skin and few eyes. If you have had much experience peeling potatoes, you know that large potatoes with few eyes are the easiest type to peel.

K.P. is the abbreviation for "kitchen police" or "kitchen patrol." KP duty is tedious routine kitchen work, not including cooking, assigned to junior U.S. enlisted military personnel. Images of enlisted soldiers peeling potatoes were once associated with the popular culture image of KP duty due to its frequent appearance in mid-twentieth century movies and comic strips about life in the service for Americans. (source: Wikipedia)

The first video at the end of this post is titled Recalling KP Duty & Kitchen Hell and is by a man recalling his KP experiences in the military. The second video is a humorous musical film made in 1942 about KP in the Army: Soundie - $21.00 A Day, Once A Month.

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A Study From Nature

2011-10-10T18:41:00.004-05:00

The title on this postcard is "A Study From Nature, Twin Cities, Minn.," but it is impossible to tell where the scene really is. The card has a 1911 Minneapolis postmark.

I really can identify with this postcard because I have painted (or tried to paint) similar scenes. My attempts at plein air painting have been awful. I do have an acrylic painting of a similar scene, based on one of my fall photos, that turned out fairly well. This scene reminds of the types of scenes Impressionists painted, and I may try to use the postcard as a basis for a painting of my own.

Czech Figure Skating Stamps

2011-10-08T19:14:00.016-05:00

The postcard above was issued to commemorate the 1973 World World Figure Skating Championships that took place on February 26 to March 3, 1973 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.

The stamps in the four corners of the card commemorate the 1966 European Championships that were also held in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. The two stamps in the second row commemorate the the 1962 Figure Skating World Championships in Prague. These championships were originally planned for 1961, and the stamp on the left is dated 1961. The championships were cancelled in 1961 due to the airplane crash which killed the entire US figure skating team on its way to the World Championships. The stamp in the center of the bottom row commemorates the 1972 Olympics that were held in Sapporo, Japan.

Below is the stamp on the back of the postcard. This is a stamp commemorating the 1973 Championships in Bratislava.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Minnesota Girls Basketball - 1913 Team Photo

2011-10-06T10:23:00.039-05:00

I have had this old real photo postcard of an early Minnesota girls basketball team for a long time. I was reminded of it when trying to think of something to fit the theme of Sepia Saturday 95. This card shows the 1913 Bellingham, Minnesota girls basketball team. The card not only shows a group of young women, but it also deals with sexual equality in sports. This was even before women had the right to vote, and much longer before Title IX banned sex discrimination in the schools and led to a proliferation of women's sports.

The message on the back of the postcard describes both boys and girls basketball games:

Dear Cousin:
Don't we look stunning? We have only played a couple of games. We played Odesssa and beat them. The scores were: girls 8-2. Boys 30-10 Both in favor of Bellingham. But--we played Madison and got beat. Girls 20-5. Boys 23-13.
Gertie Lillejon(?)

I attended a large high school (in another state) in the 1960s, and girls sports were practically nonexistent then and there. My high school yearbook shows team photos for 10 boys sports, with a total of 26 different teams. There is only one girls team--tennis. Things have changed a lot since then. The Wikipedia page for my old high school lists teams for 15 sports for boys and 13 sports for girls.

I searched for "history minnesota girls basketball" and discovered that there is a whole book on the subject: Daughters of the Game - The First Era of Minnesota Girls High School Basketball, 1891-1942, and it is available for Kindle. I don't have a Kindle, but that was no problem. I downloaded Kindle for PC (a free app), and then downloaded the book.

The book is fairly short, but very interesting. It has a lot of reminiscences of the old players and pictures of teams. In the early years of the twentieth century, most Minnesota towns had girls basketball teams. The teams often used the same rules as boys until they were forced to change to supposedly safer girls rules. By mid-century, girls were not even allowed to play competitive basketball.

By coincidence, the subject of womens basketball turned out to be especially appropriate this week in Minnesota. The Minnesota Lynx team is competing in the WNBA 2011 playoff finals this week.

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Jay Cooke State Park, Minnesota

2011-10-03T07:22:00.009-05:00

This postcard has a map of Jay Cooke State Park in northern Minnesota. Since this card is circa 1964, there probably have been some changes. The small pictures on the map show the Rivier Inn Shelter and Refectory, the Swinging Bridge, and the Oldenburg Point Overlook. The St. Louis River runs through the park.

The following information is from the back of the card:

Area 8,920.2 acres. Jay Cooke was established as a State Park in 1915 and it is the third largest state park in Minnesota. The terrain of the area is spectacular with rugged slopes from the shore of ancient Lake Duluth to the preseent river bed. The St. Louis River runs through a picturesque gorge of basaltic rock formations. The glacial drift which mantles portions of the rock is covered with mixed deciduous and coniferous plant life.

This is the time of the year for spectacular fall color. Here is the current Fall Color Report (September 29) from the DNR park website:

Where to go: With the warmer daytime temperatures, the trees are quickly turning color. There are lots of yellows in the basswoods, ashes and aspens, with more red or orange appearing throughout the park. This week-end should be great for fall color viewing.

What you'll see: Stop at the Swinging Bridge for some close-up views of the rapids. And take the short walk out to Oldenburg Point to see a panoramic view of the river valley.

If you can't get there in person, you can enjoy a 2010 fall drive through Jay Cooke State Park in this video.

Icelandic Stamps

2011-10-01T18:44:00.021-05:00

Iceland is a European island country in the north Atlantic Ocean with a Norse heritage. From 1262 to 1918 Iceland was part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies.

Iceland issues about 20 new stamps each year. These include Christmas and Europa issues, and sets depicting local scenery, flora, and fauna, as well as heritage and the works of local artists.

The above postcard is aimed at stamp collectors. The following is printed on the back (in three languages): "This card illustrates a selection of Icelandic stamps, which are of great variety. Their popularity among stamp-collectors is increasing." A variety of Icelandic stamps are illustrated on the postcard:

Row 1

National costume, 1965.
Surtsey is a volcanic island formed in a volcanic eruption which began below sea level, and reached the surface on November 14, 1963.
Geysir, 1947. The English word geyser (a spouting hot spring) derives from Geysir.
Eagle, 1966.

Row 2

Akureyri, 1963.
Map showing Reykjavík (capital and largest city) and Akureyri (in northern Iceland).
Surtsey April 1964. The eruption lasted until June 5, 1967.

Row 3

Freedom from hunger, 1963. Fishing.
Gyrfalcon, 1960.
Gullfoss, 1956.Gulfoss is a waterfall located in southwest Iceland.
The National Museum of Iceland, 1963.

Row 4

Flower, 1960.
Ponys, 1958. The Icelandic horse is a breed of small horse developed in Iceland. It is the only breed of horse in Iceland.

Row 5

Bessastaðir, 1957. Bessastaðir is the official residence of the President of Iceland
Iceland's Flag, 1958.
Flying Swans, 1956. Identical design issued by five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

More Information on Icelandic Stamps:

Iceland Post
Postage stamps and postal history of Iceland
Stamp Catalog List

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Comical American Beauty Pinups

2011-09-29T08:11:00.022-05:00

These postcards are from the "American Beauty Series" of 10 subjects made by Tichnor (note: some of the cards list Asheville Post Card Co. as the publisher, and some do not have any company name on the card). The ones featured here all have what I would call a come-hither look (an alluring or seductive look or glance, usually done by a woman). They are slightly risque, but basically good clean fun (especially the first one).

Apparently this type of card appealed to women as well as men, as indicated by the message on the first card. That card was sent from Tiger, Georgia in 1942.

Dear Kathy,
This is just for fun. "This," meaning the picture. I'm at my Grandma Wood's in Tiger, Ga. I'm having a good time.
See you soon,
Ruth Ann

The Sepia Saturday 94 image suggested so many topics that I had a hard time deciding what to use. I decided that one of the postcards I was considering was more appropriate for my Postcard Funnies blog. I called it Supporting a Woman and posted it there. It has two of the subjects popular on comic linen postcards: jackasses and fat people.

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Watkins Products, Winona, Minnesota

2011-09-26T07:27:00.010-05:00

This impressive building is the Watkins Administration Building which was built in 1912 in Winona, Minnesota. The Watkins Company was founded in 1868 by Joseph Ray Watkins in Plainview, Minnesota. Their original liniment was made from camphor (extracted from evergreen trees) and capsicum (from red peppers). The company moved to Winona in 1885, and is still in business selling a variety of natural products.

On the back of the above postcard is a printed message addressed to "Good People" from"The Watkins Man" And Fredrikson. It announced that he would be calling soon and asked them to have a nice order ready for him. It concluded that it was "a pleassure to furnish these wonderful goods" to his customers.

The postcard below shows the Watkins exhibit at the New York World's Fair in 1964-1965. This exhibit was in the Minnesota Pavilion. The exterior of the Minnesota Pavilion is shown in the upper left corner of the card. This was an 80-foot high air-inflated dome made of two layers of plastic. It housed the state exhibit, industrial displays, and a restaurant. Lakes and a wildlife area were outside the main structure.

South Africa Stamps & Namibia

2011-09-24T18:59:00.008-05:00

The postcard of a desert ghost town at Kolmanskop diamond Mine in Namibia was sent to me by a South African Postcrosser. The photo is ©1998 by Gerald Hoberman. The postcard has two Republic of South Africa stamps from the 2000 Flowers, Fishes, and Butterflies definitive series. These stamps picture the Coral Rockcod and the Karoo Violet.

Namibia was formerly known as South-West Africa and was administered by South Africa for much of the twentieth century. It became independent in 1990.

Below are two stamps from the South Africa definitive series of 1954. These are from my old stamp collection. At that time South Africa was the Union of South Africa. It became the Republic of South Africa in 1961.

More Information on South African Stamps:

Introduction to South Africa Philately

Exploring the Fascinating World of Stamps

South African Post Office

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Twins Are Quite a Handful

2011-09-21T11:43:00.023-05:00

This week's prompt for Sepia Saturday 93 is an old photo of a man sleeping in a chair. I decided to show the Happy Dreams of Long Ago postcard because it also shows a man sleeping in a chair. This man is apparently tired out by caring for his babies and is dreaming of his happy carefree courtship days.

At first I thought the man on the postcard was holding twins. However, on closer inspection, it appears that the baby on the left is older than the one on the right. Nevertheless, I decided to continue with the twins theme.

I am not a twin, but I have sisters who are twins. The next photo shows my mother with her twin babies. Originally this photo was Kodacolor, and I was included in the picture. (The original and some variations are shown below). On the back of the photo is a stamp that reads "This is a Kodacolor Print made by Eastman Kodak Company T. M. Regis, U. S. Pat. Off. Week of August 22, 1949."

The next photo shows my uncle (my mother's brother) with his twins. This was originally a black and white photo, labeled Mineral King and dated July 1959. It has the following description on the back: "These were their crawling suits for camping. We sewed sleeves and pants legs closed so they wouldn't get cut and let them crawl in campground."

My grandmother had twins too, but those died in the flu epidemic of 1918. My mother is between those twins in the picture below.

When I was young, I thought it would be nice to have twins. But if I did have twins, I probably would have discovered that "Twins Are Quite a Handful."

Below are some variations of the photo of my mother with my sisters and me.

The original scan turned out much too yellow. The red lipstick was about the only real color left.
The photo actually appeared more like this. I decreased the yellow and increased the magenta using "selective color" on the yellow.
Picture number 1 was converted to grayscale mode.
Picture number 3 was adjusted with levels and edited (mainly with the burn tool).
Picture number 4 was cropped, converted to RGB color mode, and then given the default Photoshop sepia style.

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Streamliner Crossing Mississippi River, Minneapolis

2011-09-19T16:51:00.009-05:00

The train crossing the Mississippi River over the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota is the same train that I featured in my Sepia Saturday post a few days ago, the Chicago & North Western Railway "400" Streamliner. The Stone Arch Bridge is located just below historic St. Anthony Falls. The bridge in the background is the Third Avenue Bridge that I featured in an earlier Sepia Saturday post.

The Stone Arch Bridge is a former railroad bridge used by many railroads traveling to and from the nearby Great Northern Depot. The bridge was built in 1883 by railroad tycoon James J. Hill for his Great Northern Railway. The Stone Arch Bridge stopped being used by railroads in 1978. Since the early 1990s, it has been used for walking and biking.

Dia de la Madre - Argentina

2011-09-17T17:56:00.008-05:00

This is a maximum card with the "Dia de la Madre" (Mother's Day) stamp from Argentina that was issued on October 17, 1959. The card is the size of a standard size postcard, but it has a blank back and is rather thin cardstock. In Argentina, Mother's Day is the third Sunday in October.

There is part of a poem printed in Spanish on the card. The Google translation didn't make much sense to me, and I couldn't find a better translation. Following are translations of other words on the card.

Emision conmemorativa
commemorative Issues

Argentina- Franqueo
Argentina-Postage

Dia de Emision
Day of Issue

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Chicago & North Western Railway & The New "400" Streamliner

2011-09-14T12:32:00.030-05:00

The prompt for Sepia Saturday 92 is a photo of the offices of the London & North Western Railway Company. The United Kingdom had the London & North Western Railway. The United States had the Chicago & North Western Railway (CNW). The above postcard shows the exhibit of the Chicago & North Western Railway at the San Francisco World's Fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939 and 1940. Below is the description of the back of the exposition postcard: Route of the "400", the [CNW] Streamliners and the Challengers.

The Chicago & North Western Railway, also known as the North Western, became one of the longest railroads in the United States as a result of mergers with other railroads. The North Western operated some long distance passenger trains in conjunction with Union Pacific and Southern Pacific, including the Overland Limited, City of Los Angeles, City of San Francisco, City of Denver, and the Challenger. The company was purchased by Union Pacific Railroad in 1995 and ceased to exist in 1996.

The North Western's most famous train was the "400" from Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul that was introduced in 1935. This train was named the "400" because it traveled the 400 miles (640 km) between the cities in 400 minutes. In 1939 the "400" was modernized with new diesel locomotives and streamlined cars. The first "400" was later renamed the "Twin Cities 400" and CNW labeled most of its other passenger trains with variations of the "400" name. CNW stopped running the Twin Cities 400 in 1963, and all CNW intercity passenger service ended with the formation of Amtrak in 1971.

The following postcards were published in 1939 and show the then new Chicago and North Western Line streamliner "400." The descriptions below the images are copied from the postcards.

NORTH WESTERN'S NEW "400" STREAMLINER OPERATIING DAILY BETWEEN CHICAGO AND ST.PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS VIA MILWAUKEE

Powerful Diesels provide a smooth flow of power and new type shock absorbers on the trucks of the new "400" Streamliners insure a smooth ride.

TAPROOM IN THE TAVERN-LUNCH COUNTER LOUNGE CAR OF THE NEW "400"--INSERT, POPULAR LUNCH COUNTER
The most unusual car in America--a taproom at one end, lounge at the other and in between an attractive Lunch Counter serving moderately priced meals. Speedometer over the bar, Radio and deep-cushioned chairs and sofas in the lounge. Photo-mural decorations.

COACHES ON THE NEW "400" ARE A REVELATION IN COMFORT AND BEAUTY
Comfort to the point of luxury! Latest type seats--with plenty of room between. Solex glareless glass, draftless air-conditioning, Stewardess Service, Smoking and Powder Rooms.

COLORFUL DINING ROOM ON NORTH WESTERN'S NEW "400"
You will enjoy a "400" dinner in the delightful atmosphere of the richly appointed Dining Room on the new "400" Streamliner.

ULTRA MODERN PARLOR CARS ON THE NEW "400"
The Parlor Cars on the new "400" are equipped with special new type rubber cushioned seats adjustable to any position. Each car has Powder Room, Smoking Room, Drawing Room and Photo mural decorations.

THE FAMOUS "400" OBSERVATION-LOUNGE CAR--SPEEDOMETER IN THE OBSERVATION SECTION SHOWN IN INSERT
Cozy lounging chairs, card tables, a magazine table with current periodicals, radio, bar, speedometer, are all features of the beautiful Observation Lounge Car on North Western's famous "400" Streamliner between Chicago and St. Paul - Minneapolis (via Milwaukee.)

The following video is an educational documentary by the Chicago & North Western published in 1948 to celebrate the railroad's 100th anniversary.

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Minneapolis High Schools - 100 Years Ago

2011-09-12T14:35:00.023-05:00

This circa 1911 postcard shows the five Minneapolis public high schools in existence at that time.

Central High School. Located at at 11th Street and 3rd Avenue South. Opened in 1877. Replaced with a new school at 4th Ave S. and 34th St. in 1913. New building closed in 1982.

South High School. Located at at Cedar Ave and E 24th. Opened in 1892. Building was significantly changed by 1916 with additions and replacements in several styles.

West High School. Located at Hennepin Ave and W 28th. Opened in 1909. Closed in 1982.

North High School. Located at 17th Ave, N. between Girard and Fremont Avenues. Opened in 1896. Additions added in 1908 and 1910. Reconstructed after a 1913 fire and replaced with a new school 1972-73.

East High School. Located on Central Ave. between University Ave. SE and 4th St. SE. Opened in 1866 as Winthrop. Closed in 1889. Reopened as East High in 1900. Closed in 1924.

Pan American Games

2011-09-10T18:40:00.025-05:00

This is a postcard picturing the 22-cent stamp commemorating the 10th Pan American Games that was issued on January 29, 1987. The games took place in August, 1987 at various sites in the state of Indiana, with most of the events being held in Indianapolis. Over 6,500 athletes and officials from 38 nations took part in the these games.

The first Pan American Games were in 1951. Athletes from Western Hemisphere nations participate in the games. The Pan American Games are held every four years in the summer, one year before the Summer Olympics. They were last held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007. The 2011 Pan American Games will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico and nearby cities from October 14–30. Approximately 6,000 athletes from 42 nations are expected to participate in 36 sports. The 2015 games will be in Toronto, Canada.

I love the design of this Pan American Games stamp. It features a stylized representation of a sprinter composed of various geometric shapes. The runner's image is repeated in successively fainter shades from right to left. The style reminds me of Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, Futurism, and also anatomical drawings of the muscular system.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Railroad Observation Cars

2011-09-08T06:43:00.071-05:00

The above postcard shows passengers standing on the observation car platform of an early twentieth century Burlington Limited train. The feature of this postcard that I find most interesting is the message written en route by a passenger referring to the observation platform:

8-5-08. - Got up at 5 A.M. and went out on this observation platform to see the sun rise. Have just passed through Lincoln, Neb. Am writing this on a rapidly moving train, hence the nervous hand writing. ("Believe me")

This postcard was postmarked in Holdrege, Nebraska. Holdrege still has the historic railroad station that was opened in 1910 by the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad. The Holdrege Station is one of the five Nebraska stations served by Amtrak.

On this and other older railroad observation cars, the rear end of the car had a canopied open porch-like area. There was usually a lounge inside the rear of the car where passengers could watch the track recede into the distance.

Later observation cars were usually enclosed and had a rounded rear end with viewing windows. Most observation cars were removed from service on American trains beginning in the 1950s in order to eliminate the need to "turn" the trains for service in the opposite direction. The next postcard shows a streamlined observation car on the Seaboard Railroad's Silver Meteor. This type of car was built in 1947 and was used by Seaboard even after other U.S. railroads had removed the observation cars as uneconomical.

The Burlington's Twin Zephyrs between Chicago and the Twin Cities (St. Paul-Minneapolis) were the first dome streamliner trains in 1947. The next postcard shows a Twin Zephyr with a round end dome parlor observation car.

The postcard below shows the Denver Zephyr between Chicago and Denver with a newer type of blunt end dome parlor observation lounge car. [note: I have seen a picture of the train and horseback riders in a book without the mountains, and the picture was said to have been photographed in Illinois!]

When passenger trains were still the main mode of intercity transportation in the United States, observation cars were often used by political candidates. The candidate would make a "whistle stop" tour stopping in various cities. At the stops, the candidate would appear on the platform of the observation car and give a speech. In more recent years, several U.S. presidents have used a privately-owned observation car built in 1930.

Barack Obama used a train with an observation car twice. The first time was during his campaign in April 2008. The second time was for his inaugural weekend trip from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. that traced the last part of Abraham Lincoln's inaugural journey to Washington.

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Fishy Stamps

2011-09-03T15:59:00.014-05:00

First I have a 1985 postcard from Greenland showing a stamp that was issued that year. The words at the top of the postcard and the stamp Kalaallit Nunaat mean "Land of the Greenlanders." Reinhardtius hippoglossoides is the name of the fish that is pictured, also known as the Greenland halibut or Greenland turbot. This is a deepwater fish mainly found in water with temperatures from 1-4 °C.

Greenland is an island that is located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Physiographically it is a part of the continent of North America, but it is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark.

The back of the postcard has an address to write for further information about Greenland stamps. Now you can find information about Greenland stamps on the web at stamps.gl.

I received an envelope in the mail this week with a colorful fish stamp, so I scanned that too. This is a 39-cent stamp that was issued in 2006. It shows the Longest Reef (off the Florida Keys) and is one of the forty stamps on a sheet "Wonders of America: Land of Superlatives." The superlatives include natural and man-made wonders that are the longest, tallest, largest, fastest, etc. in the United States .

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Union Pacific Railroad Postcards

2011-09-02T13:06:00.005-05:00

Above is an oversize postcard describing some of the history of the Union Pacific Railroad (click the image to enlarge it to readable size). Below is a video slideshow I made with my Union Pacific Railroad postcards.

Little Girls

2011-08-31T19:39:00.012-05:00

First I have an old postcard with a tinted photo of a little girl (at least I think it's a girl) and a cat. I don't know the age or the country of origin. The clothes are probably clues to the age. The bonnet is of a type I haven't seen before. On the back the words for postcard are printed in many languages.

Next is a tinted photo of me as a baby. My mother had a set of colors for tinting photos, but she seems to have used it only a couple of times. I'm not sure what I am holding--it looks like it could be the cap I am wearing in the next photo.

The photos below are ones that appear to have been taken during the same photo session by my father.

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Minnesota State Fair Crowds - Then & Now

2011-08-29T19:02:00.011-05:00

The 1908 postcard above shows "some crowd" at the great Minnesota State Fair. Typical of that era, the fairgoers on the old postcard are dressed much more formally than those of today. A few of them are also carrying umbrellas for shade, which is something you are not likely to see nowadays.

Below is a new crowd postcard from the 2011 Minnesota State Fair.

The 2011 postcard has images of Fairborne hidden in the crowd à la "Where's Waldo." Printing on the back asks "Can you spot the '7' Fairbournes [sic] enjoying the fair?" I found and circled 6 small Fairbornes in the crowd. I think the large one in front is probably the 7th.

Fairborne is one of two anthropomorphic gopher mascots of the fair. The other mascot is his uncle Fairchild.

A similar theme was used on a Minnesota State Fair postcard a few years ago. Fairborne is spelled correctly on that postcard.

Gadsden Purchase 1853

2011-08-27T17:09:00.013-05:00

This is a maximum card with the stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 1853 Gadsden Purchase. The stamp is canceled on the first day of issue in Tucson, Arizona on December 30, 1953.

The Gadsden Purchase was a 29,670-square-mile area of land purchased from Mexico. The region later became part of Arizona and New Mexico. The purchase treaty was signed by James Gadsden who was the American ambassador to Mexico. This purchase was the last major territorial acquisition in the contiguous United States. The purpose of the purchase was to allow the construction in the U.S. of a transcontinental railroad along a deep southern route.

The stamp design features a scene showing pioneers in their ox-drawn covered wagon. The design includes shrubs and cactus plants native to that area. The scene is set against a background (in the "sky") of a map of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The Gadsden Purchase is the white area on the map.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Ranch Store, Kadoka, South Dakota

2011-08-25T19:11:00.015-05:00

I chose this postcard of the Ranch Store for Sepia Saturday 89 because of the "groceries" sign in the window. It is one of my favorite roadside cards. It is a nicely photographed view and has some interesting signs and old 1950s cars. The following description is from the back of the card:

The "Ranch Store," is an unusual building on Highway 16 at Kadoka, South Dakota, Gateway to the Badlands. This is a good place for visitors to see many FREE attractions, a natural prairie dog town, rattlesnakes, a zoo, free cactus and mail service.
Originated, owned and operated by Doris and Emory Herring

This postcard was originally published in 1958. Surprisingly, the store has not changed too much since then. It still has a bull on the roof and a painted prairie dog on the side wall. There are quite a few recent pictures on the web. The location is now listed as Cactus Flats, a small unincorporated area near Kadoka. The store no longer has a "groceries" sign. It is more of a gift shop now, and a giant prairie dog statue seems to be the main attraction. The photo below is from 2005 and is by Brian Butko.

According to a death notice in the Black Hills State University Alumni Magazine Spring 2005 issue, Emory Herring operated this store for 17 summers. Emory Herring died in 2004, and Doris Herring died in 2006.

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G. A. R. Parade, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1906

2011-08-22T16:43:00.015-05:00

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was an organization composed of veterans of the Union Army who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 and was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died. The GAR became one of the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, lobbying the US Congress to establish veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak of membership at more than 400,000 was in 1890. National encampments were held annually for 83 years, the last one being in 1949.

The 40th National Encampment of the Grand Army or the Republic was held in Minneapolis in 1906. The postcards above show two views of 1906 GAR parade. An article in the Minneapolis Tribune on August 16, 1906 reported that 16,000 men representing G. A. R. eagerly participated in "one of the greatest parades ever seen at annual encampment." The parade included 29 bands and 32 drum corps and took 3 hours and 20 minutes to pass a given point. Parade Day was a municipal holiday in Minneapolis, and thousands packed the streets to pay homage to the "heroes of '61."

A newspaper article on August 17 claimed that it was the unanimous opinion of Grand Army men then in Minneapolis, that the annual parade of the veteran soldiers be discontinued because it strained the endurance of the old soldiers. However the GAR parades continued for 30 more years.

A 1936 article in Time magazine described that year's parade (which was supposed to be the last parade) as follows:

The Grand Army which tottered down six blocks of Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue at its 70th Encampment last week was a sentimental relic which, by Death and the dimming of old passions, had been stripped of political power for a generation. Of the 355 parading oldsters, whose average age was 92, only 170 crickety survivors of the mighty march of 1883 were able to hobble along at a funeral pace under their own power. The rest rode in automobiles.

The 1937 encampment was held in Madison, Wisconsin. At the 1937 Encampment, 192 veterans attended the proceedings, and 122 hardy Grand Army veterans marched around the Capitol Square.

The last surviving member of the Grand Old Army was Albert Woolson of Duluth, Minnesota. He died on August 2, 1956 at the age of 109. He had gone to war as a drummer boy when he was 17.

Stamp Show Greetings & Triangle Stamps

2011-08-20T15:27:00.014-05:00

When I was young and collected stamps, I was really impressed by triangle stamps from other countries. I was used to seeing only the rectangular stamps that we had in the United States. I no longer collect stamps, but I do collect postcards that illustrate stamps.

Here I have two postcards made to be sent from stamp shows in the early 1960s. Each of these includes a triangle stamp, as well as a wide variety of topics from various countries. The first one is probably a little older than the second one which is clearly from 1963. Both have the message "Greetings from my favorite Stamp Show" printed on the back.

The first triangle stamp was the one issued by the Cape of Good Hope in 1853.

The United States didn't issue any triangle stamps until MUCH later. The first ones were the Pacifica 97 stamps issued in 1997. These were issued to celebrate the international stamp show Pacific '97. There were two stamps--a blue one featuring a sailing ship and a red one featuring a stagecoach.

The only other triangle stamp issued in the United States is the one issued in 2007 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Settlement of Jamestown, Virginia by English colonists in 1607. This stamp shows a painting of the three ships that carried the colonists. The first fort built by the settlers was shaped like a triangle, as is the stamp.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog