Pearce Cloak Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota

This postcard advertises the Pearce Cloak Co., which was located at 403-405 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. The following information is from the back of the postcard:

MINNEAPOLIS has eight large Department Stores and five Specialty Stores for Women's Wear. The Pearce Cloak Co.--popularly known as "Pearce's"--is illustrated on the other side of this card. It is the leading and best ready-to-wear Women's Apparel Store in the Northwest.

There is a written message on the back of this card dated 1911. The Emporis website lists Pearce Cloak Company building as an alternative name for Fields Store. The building was demolished in 1962.

International Women's Day Card & Stamp

March 8 is International Women's Day. This holiday is celebrated in Russia and other countries, but is little known in the United States. This postcard has a March 8, 1967 cancellation on the front. There is a 1967 Soviet stamp commemorating International Women's Day in the center of the postcard back. The stamp on the back also has the March 8 cancellation. The stamp is quite large--about 2" X 2".

The words on the front of the card are "The Holiday March 8." The words on the stamp are "International Women's Day" on the top and "Mail USSR 1967" on the bottom.

See my previous post International Women's Day - Russia Celebrates for another nice International Women's Day postcard with a woman delivering mail.

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

Gile Letter Service - Minneapolis

This postcard shows what are apparently employees in front of the Gile Letter Service storefront at 723 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minnesota. The vehicle in the center looks like it could be an early horseless carriage that could have been used by the company in parades.

The postcard has an unused Minnesota Statehood stamp on the back. The 3¢ Minnesota Statehood stamp was issued on May 11, 1958. Postage rates increased on August 1, 1958. The letter rate was raised to 4¢ and the postcard rate was increased to 3¢, which suggests that the card dates from about 1958. The stamp would have been used for letter postage when first issued, but a few months later 3¢ was only enough postage for a postcard.

Below is an interior photo of Gile Letter Service Mailroom dated 1957 from the Minnesota Historical Society. The MNHS Database also has a photo of the storefront.

Further searching online turned up a first day cover published by Gile Letter Service with the Minnesota Statehoood stamp.

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International Women's Day - Russia Celebrates

March 8 is International Women's Day. This day isn't celebrated much in the United States, but is popular in Russia. This Russian International Women's Day postcard is dated 1982.

Russia celebrates International Women’s Day

Gunflint Trail Entrance Sign

The above postcard of the Gunflint Trail entrance sign at Grand Marais, Minnesota was published by Curt Teich in 1958. In this picture, the bear sign on the left side of the road shows the bear standing.

The description on the back of this postcard is as follows:

The Gunflint Trail winds inland from Grand Marais, through virgin timber and along many lakes to the Canadian border. It leads to one of the few remaining wilderness areas. This land of lakes is noted for its fishing and wild life. The modern road follows an old Indian trail from Gunflint Lake to Grand Marais.

Another postcard I have of the Gunflint Trail entrance sign shows a bear stooping in a small motor boat.

Here is a description of the Gunflint Trail from ExploreMinnesota.com:

The Gunflint Trail is a legendary destination in the northeast tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead where you can explore nature from the edge of the wilderness and still enjoy all the creature comforts of civilization. In its long-ago history, the "trail" was a walking path through the deep forest, but it is now a paved, two-lane road winding for 57 miles through the Superior National Forest, beginning at Grand Marais. The route is one of Minnesota's designated Scenic Byways.

I haven't been able to determine what happened to this sign. The only pictures I found on the web showed the red lettering on the voyageur's canoe looking very faded.

Kids Care Postage Stamps

The theme for this week is Kids' Art on Stamps. I am showing a sheet of sixteen Kids Care stamps that I bought for postage and never used. I didn't feel like tearing up the sheet, but I have decided that I am going to start using these stamps now. I am also showing a Zazzle stamp that I couldn't find last week.

The Kids Care stamps were issued on April 20, 1995. They commemorate the 25th anniversary of Earth Day. The sheet includes four each of four designs. The designs were chosen in a contest for kids age 8 to 13 and depict ways to preserve, protect, or restore our environment. The four designs are:

• the earth being cleaned in a bathtub
• a beach clean-up scene
• man planting a tree
• solar power for a house

The Zazzle stamp below was sent to me on mail from Zazzle. It was sent in October 2010 and has a fall leaf design.

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

Griffith's Portland Sightseeing Bus

This postcard of Griffith's Portland Sightseeing Bus (or "Seeing Portland Auto") has a handwritten date of February 22, 1913 along the top of the bus. Griffith's 20 mile tour through Portland is described on the back of the postcard. The picture shows an open air bus, but on the back the car is described as enclosed, steam heated, and as warm and cozy as your own home.

There is another version of a Griffith's bus that appeared on a postcard and is shown by University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division.

I couldn't find any information on this bus, but it appears to be similar the 1909 Seattle World's Fair Bus. That one had a two-cylinder engine mounted beneath the floor, a chain drive, and kerosene front-lamps.

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