Stamp Show Greetings & Triangle Stamps

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

California Drive-Thru Trees

Tunnel trees have been popular tourist attractions in California for more than a century and have been pictured on numerous postcards. I started with a postcard of the Pioneer's Cabin tree in Big Tree Grove, Calaveras County, California and then went on to explore other California drive-thru trees.

The Pioneer's Cabin postcard was mailed in 1923 and has a R.P.O. (Railway Post Office) cancellation. It was sent to Eva Anfinson in Valley City, North Dakota with the following message:

Lodi Calif July 25
We spent Sunday at the Big Trees. Drove 84 miles on Sat and camped out all night. We are having a wonderful trip. Leave tomorrow a.m. for Sacramento. Will reach Medford Ore on Sat. I am sitting on the porch. The porch is shaded by two magnolia trees. There are still some blossoms on them.
Mrs Walker

The Pioneer's Cabin is a 32' diameter tree. A tunnel was carved in it in the 1880s to compete with the Wawona tree in Yosemite National Park. Both the Pioneer's Cabin and Wawona trees were sequoias. The Wawona tree (shown in the next postcard) was tunneled in 1880-81. It was 234' tall and 27.5' in diameter at the base. The Wawona tree fell down in 1969. The Pioneer's Cabin tree is still standing, but it is in poor condition, and it is no longer possible to drive through it.

The Coolidge Tree was named after President Coolidge's father. It was 305' high and had a circumference of 58' . The Coolidge Tree was tunneled between 1910 and 1915. The Coolidge tree was cut down in 1938 when it appeared ready to topple.

The next postcard has a view of the Chandelier Tree attached to a piece of redwood. Information about redwood is printed on the wooden back. This card was sent in the 1960s by a tourist who added this note: "This is where we were today. We saw the Pacific Ocean too."

The Chandelier Tree is 315' tall and 21' in diameter. It was tunneled in the late 1930s to replace the nearby Coolidge tree when that tree was cut down. The opening is 6' (1.83 m) wide by 6'9"(2.06 m) high. The Chandelier Tree was named for its shape which resembles a candelabra or inverted chandelier. Large branches, beginning about a hundred feet up, are balanced on the sides of the trunk. The Chandelier Tree is one of the two old redwood tunnel trees that it is still possible to drive through. It is in Drive-Thru Tree (Underwood) Park.

The Shrine Tree is the other old tunnel tree that still can be driven through. The Shrine Tree is 275' tall and 21' in diameter. The car in the old postcard below has a 1935 New York license plate.

The video below shows a recent drive-thru of the Shrine Tree.

Visit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Photos

Christian Science Reading Rooms - Minneapolis

This Christian Science Reading Room was in the Plymouth Building in downtown Minneapolis. I love the way this room is decorated. It looks like an ideal spot for reading. I posted a large scan of this card so all the details could be seen and appreciated.

This card was mailed in 1913. I don't know how long this reading room was there. The current reading room is at a different location.

The following information on Christian Science Reading Rooms is from Wikipedia:

Branches of the Church of Christ, Scientist normally maintain a Christian Science Reading Room in their community where the public can study, borrow, or purchase Christian Science literature. There are approximately 2000 Christian Science Reading Rooms worldwide.

Such information includes the Christian Bible, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, other writings by Mary Baker Eddy (who established reading rooms as a church activity), and other items published by the Christian Science Publishing Society.

Reading rooms are usually placed in public places—often storefronts—though occasionally situated within a church building itself, open either full or part-time, and attended by either a regular librarian or by members to assist or answer inquiries.

The first Christian Science Reading Room was established in Boston in 1888.

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

Romantic Couples

And when the day's ended you'll wait on our pourch
And the smile on your face will be my life's tourch

To show him, that there's nothing wrong,
She kisses long her lover strong.

Postcards showing romantic couples were popular during the postcard craze of the early twentieth century. These two were produced by the Theodor Eismann company in Germany circa 1910. On the back, they are marked in the bottom left corner with the company logo, a combination of a comet with the intertwoven initials Th.E.L.

Printed on the bottom of the right side is Th.E.L. „Theochrom” Serie N⁰ 1124 (or Serie N⁰ 1091 on the second card). “Theochrom” was their process name for a glossy lacquer finish. Postcards like these typically were published in series. The romantic series usually featured the same models in a sequence of poses acting out the words on the card.

The video below shows "The Romantic Postcard of the early 20th century in the social context of the time and what women had to consider before marrying as marriage was at that time for life."

Visit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Photos

Old Minneapolis Postcards Video

Above is a typical back from a postcard view published by Acmegraph Co., Chicago. Acmegraph was one of the main publishers of Minneapolis views on postcards early in the twentieth century.

Below is a new video, Old Minneapolis Postcards - Volume 1, that I made with Windows Movie Maker. All the postcards in this video were published by Acmegraph Co. The emphasis in this group of views is on the downtown area of Minneapolis. This video is labeled "Volume 1" because I plan to make more videos of Minneapolis postcards.

Liechtenstein Stamps

Here are two postcards featuring stamps of the principality of Liechtenstein. The postcards share a common image of the Vaduz Castle in their centers. Vaduz is the capital of Liechtenstein, and Vaduz Castle is the most prominent landmark of Vaduz. The castle is the official residence of the reigning prince of Liechtenstein and his family.

The first postcard was mailed in 1966, and one of the stamps used also shows Vaduz Castle. The two stamps pictured in the top row center of the postcard show Princess Gina and Prince Franz Joseph II. Prince Franz Joseph II was the Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein from 1938 until his death in 1989. The current reigning Prince of Liechtenstein is Hans-Adam II, the son of Franz Joseph II.

The stamp in the top left corner of the second postcard is the oldest and shows Prince Johan II who reigned 1868-1929 . It is from the period of Austrian administration of the post office. Since 1921 the post office has been administered by Switzerland.

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