"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

Thanksgiving Fun

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

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

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

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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Triple Rail Crossing - Richmond, Virginia

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.