A Christmas Wish

MAY • YOU • JOIN SANTA CLAUS

IN HAVING • A • GOOD TIME THIS CHRISTMAS.

WITH BEST • WISHES.

This lovely Arts & Crafts style Christmas postcard was made by the Gibson Art Co. of Cincinnati.

Barnes & Reineke Industrial Designers

This is a 1938 postcard advertising the Barnes & Reinecke Industrial Designers of Chicago. The picture on the front shows some of the designers. The back of the card has a list of clients, many of which are still well known today.

The following information about Barnes & Reineke is from an IDSA page about Jean Otis Reinecke (1909-1987):

Jean Reinecke was born in Bourbon County, Kansas and started his own sign painting shop at age 17. He attended Kansas State Teachers College, then moved to St. Louis and attended Washington University’s Art School. He began his career as a display artist at General Display Studios in St. Louis, designer of automated convention and World’s Fair displays, and soon became a partner and art director there. Reinecke opened an office in Chicago in 1930 to work on the Chicago Century of Progress (1933-1934) for General Display. In 1934 he established the industrial design and engineering firm of Barnes & Reinecke in partnership with James Barnes. Reinecke provided the design talent and Barnes was in charge of sales.

By 1938 Barnes & Reinecke had a staff including David Painter (1913-2003), vice-president in charge of design, James Teague, Fred Priess and George Mendenhall. Reinecke also served as a part-time instructor at the New Bauhaus in Chicago, which later evolved into Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

The McGraw Electric Company introduced the Toastmaster model 1B9 in 1939, designed by Reinecke and his staff at Barnes & Reinecke. It was the first to exploit the curvature of chrome-plated shells on toasters, increased sales dramatically, was widely imitated, and served as the typeform for toasters well into the 1960s. One of Reinecke's designers, Fred Priess, designed the linear decoration that became the company's symbol.

In 1939, James F. Barnes and Jean O. Reinecke patented an updated version of Hamilton Beach's classic soda fountain Drinkmaster.

3M in 1940 introduced a heavy cast metal desk-top tape dispenser in gray by Reinecke, which replaced his first design for 3M in 1938, and which he re-designed again in 1953. Reinecke also re-designed a disposable plastic Scotch tape dispenser design that became one of the most successful and enduring examples of 20th century design. It is an ingenious refinement of one he designed in 1939 of stamped sheet metal. Both were still in production in 1998.

In 1940 Reinecke was included in a feature article, Today's Young Men, that interviewed 70 men who achieved notable success while still in their twenties and thirties.

By 1948 Barnes & Reinecke had a staff of 375 and a shop of 50 machinists who produced special purpose equipment for automation. Reinecke sold his interest in the partnership and established his own office, J.O. Reinecke & Associates, specializing in industrial design and product planning, with offices on Ohio Street in Chicago, IL. He took with him designers Jon Hauser, Harold Hart, Don B. Lowe, and CPA Jack Knight, his cousin. Their clients included Caterpillar Tractor Co., Emerson Electric, IT & T, Johnson & Johnson, Maytag, 3M Co., McGraw-Edison, Union Oil, Westinghouse and Zenith.

I was able to identify the three men at the head of the table in the postcard picture from pictures on the internet. The man bending over is Jean Reinecke; the one in the jacket with a pocket handkerchief is James Barnes; and the man between them is David Painter.

source: http://www.slideshare.net/glkiecker/industrial-designers-predict-postww-ii-products

David Painter (ca. 1952)

source: http://www.idsa.org/david-l-painter-1913-2003

A 1946 article Designs for Better Living from Modern Mechanix has information about the leading role Barnes and Reineke played in reconversion of factories to peacetime products after WWII. For example Barnes & Reineke developed a plan to convert a small plant that had manufactured aluminum parts for bombers to a plant making a streamlined, step-on-a-pedal garbage pail from leftover bomber segments.

I think I have had the Barnes & Reineke postcard longer than I have had a computer. I never thought of researching it until I decided to use it for Sepia Saturday. This is one of the instances when I have been surprised that I have been able to find relevant information. Although I couldn't find very many pictures of the designers or products, I did find a cool video of the 1946 Ami Model A Jukebox designed by Jean Reineke.

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For More Vintage Images

Christmas Wishes on Bookmark Size Postcards

Hang up Bright Holly,
Let's All be Jolly,
Drive Dull Care Away.
Through West and East
Make Merrie Feast.
Good Folks 'tis
Christmas Day.

 This Christmas Wish
With Love I Send
May Your Joys be many
Your Peace Ne'er End.  

Christmas
Righte Merrie may You be to-day.
The New Year bring Prosperity
and may you never along Life's Highway
chance upon Adversity.

These are some unusual Christmas postcards in a bookmark size 2-1/4" X 6". I love the Arts and Crafts style graphic designs on these cards. Bookmark postcards seem like a good idea, but the idea never was popular. Now one can't even send cards this size in the mail. All cards and letters must be at least 3-1/2" high (at least in the United states).

Mexico 1968 Olympics

The 1968 Summer Olympics were held in Mexico City. The caption on this postcard is Aztec Post Racer.

The graphics on this postcard are not the official ones. The official logo and graphics were more modern in style. The logo had elements of both traditional Mexican art and 1960s op-art. See Olympic Games Design from 1968 Mexico City for examples of the official graphics and their use.

Official 1968 Mexico Olympics Logo

North Coast Limited - Traveller's Rest & Vista-Dome

Above is an oversize (5-1/2" X 7-5/8")postcard advertising Northern Pacific Railway's North Coast Limited. This is a view of the Lewis and Clark Traveller's Rest Buffet-Lounge car, designed by industrial designer Raymond Loewy. The Lewis and Clark-themed interior of the Traveller’s Rest car was added in 1955. Below is a standard size postcard of the train's Vista-Dome interior.

The images used on these postcards were also used in the 1956 magazine ad for the Vista-Dome North Coast Limited shown below (source: Wikipedia). According to the ad, this was the only train between Chicago and the North Pacific Coast that offered the attention of a friendly Stewardess-Nurse.

Merry Xmas 1911

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

"The Annunciation" Christmas Stamp 1968

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

Greetings From America Stamps - 50 State Postcards

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

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.

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Up And Down The Monon

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.

Salute to Youth

This stamp saluting young America was issued August 11, 1948 to commemorate National Youth Month of September 1948. The First Day ceremony was held at the White House in Washington, D.C. and was hosted by President Harry Truman.

National Youth Month was conceived as part of a campaign to combat juvenile delinquency. In announcing this stamp, the Postmaster General declared, "America looks to its youth of today, because the future destiny of this country depends in large measure on the younger generation. Only by continuing to recognize the importance of the men and women of tomorrow can America maintain the strong bulwark of freedom that is today."

The stamp design shown below is from the U. S. Post Office Department Stamp Design Files. This design was criticized as being nothing more than a billboard poster. It certainly is less intricate than most other U. S. stamps of that era.

I don't know whether National Youth Month was celebrated in other years. It doesn't appear to be celebrated today.

There is an International Youth Day on August 12 each year. It was designated by the United Nations in 1999 and was first celebrated in 2000. It is meant as an opportunity to draw attention to youth issues worldwide. The year from International Youth Day 2010 to International Youth Day 2011 was designated International Year of Youth by the United Nations. This was the 25th Anniversary of the first International Year of Youth.

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

Dutch Haven Barn Sign - Route 340, Pennsylvania

I think the designer of this sign got a bit carried away, but it looks great on a postcard! This sign was on Route 340, 8 miles east of Lancaster, between Bird in Hand and Intercourse, Pennsylvania.

I especially like the hex signs. Although this shop advertised "Amish Stuff," hex signs are not associated with the Amish. Hex signs are a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art practiced by the "Fancy Dutch."

Shoo-fly pie is a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch fluffy molasses pie. Dutch Haven on Route 30 east of Lancaster claims to be the place that made shoo-fly pie famous, and they have an online store where you can order this pie.

I'm participating in Signs, Signs

April Fools and April Weather

This postcard is one of my favorite finds. I love the Arts and Crafts design; it's the only American April Fool postcard I have; and it's one of only two cards I have from the Geo. W. Parker Art Co. of Minneapolis. It also has an unusual back with Welcome Card in place of the usual Post Card.

Both the greeting on the front and the message on the back are very appropriate considering the weather we have been having this year. The message is dated 3/25/14 and says: "have just had a light storm, but more snow than any one time this winter. Will be glad when spring weather prevails."

PFF - A Gracious Greeting Card

I bought this postcard because I liked the design, which I consider kind of a combination of Arts and Crafts style printing and Art Nouveau design. On examining the fine print I discovered that this card was ©1913 Geo. W. Parker Art Co. Minneapolis. Although I live in the Minneapolis area, this is the only postcard I have from that company.