Minneapolis Panel Silo - Puffer-Hubbard Mfg. Co

This is a 1912 advertising postcard from The Puffer-Hubbard Mfg. Co., Minneapolis, Minn. It advertises the Minneapolis Panel Silo with steel ribs, "The Strongest and Best Silo made." The name of the farm is stamped lightly in red on the left side of the picture:

View of L. Kennedy & Sons
Barn & Silo
Nelson, Wis.
Up-to-Date Farmers

Features of the silo mentioned on the back of this card are that it cannot shrink and fall down, and that it has a smooth inner surface. Some information from the back of another Puffer-Hubbard advertising postcard gives more details:

The hoops of the Minneapolis Panel Silo are carried at a distance from the walls of the silo insuring durability as moisture cannot be withheld so as to cause rust and also providing a perfect ladder at any point of the silo.
The Staging Brackets furnished with every silo attach readily to the hoops, making the use of a large amount of lumber for scaffolding during the erecting unnecessary which means a saving of quite an amount of money.

Holiday Mail From Russia

I recently received this pretty envelope from Russia. The envelope has a printed design of the Russian version of Santa Claus, Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), driving a troika through the snow. A troika is a sleigh pulled by a team of three horses harnessed abreast.

There is a nice assortment of Russian postage stamps on the envelope:

• top left - 2003, Gatchina Palace, an imperial residence built in 1766-1781
• center - 2009, Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968), first Astronaut in the world
• top right - 2010, Happy New Year with Ded Moroz (Russian Santa Claus)
• bottom left - 2008, definitive stamp, fox
• bottom right - 2008, definitive stamp, hare

Below is one of the postcards sent in the envelope. This is a New Year postcard showing Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), Ded Moroz's helper. Snegurochka, the little bird (bullfinch), and the hare are often seen on Russian New Year cards.

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

Military Uniform Photo Postcard

This is a real photo postcard I bought last week. This is not what I usually collect, but I thought it was a nice photo (and it was cheap). It shows a man in a military uniform which I think is WWI era. The stripes on the sleeve appear to indicate a corporal rank. There is no insignia on the cap.

Here is an enlarged detail of the cap and collar.

This is the first time I am posting for Sepia Saturday. If anyone can add more information about this uniform, please leave the information in a comment.

This is a page I found that has some information about WWI uniforms:
WWI Uniforms, Insignia, (Distinguishing Marks), Rank, etc.

Vistit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Photos

PFF - Florida Tulips

This postcard is titled Tulip Time in Florida. On the back is this description: "It is a beautiful sight to see the Holland tulips during February in full bloom in the Mead Botanical Gardens." The card was published in 1940 in the same year that Mead Botanical Gardens was dedicated.

This card leads one to believe that tulips grow well in Florida, which is not true. It is possible to grow tulips in Florida, but the climate is unfavorable. The bulbs need a period of cold for eight weeks in a refrigerator before planting, and they probably will not bloom more than once. For instructions, see How to Plant Tulips in Florida.

Presidents and Pills

The Washington postcard shown here has a portrait at the top and an picture of the President's House in Philadelphia at the bottom. This house was at 6th & Market Streets in Philadelphia. It served as the executive mansion for the first two Presidents of the United States, while the new national capital was under construction in the District of Columbia. After 16 months in New York City, George Washington occupied the President's House in Philadelphia from November 1790 to March 1797.

The Presidents booklet below has as many pages devoted to advertisements for Miles Laboratories products as are devoted to information about the Presidents of the United States. The last President covered is Franklin Roosevelt.

Here are a couple of my favorite ads from the booklet. The back cover has ad for Alka-Seltzer.

Of all the products mentioned in this booklet, apparently the only one that still exists is Alka-Seltzer. Alka-Seltzer was introduced in 1931 and soon replaced Nervine as Miles flagship product. In addition to Alka-Seltzer, Nervine, and Anti Pain Pills, the following Miles products are listed in the booklet: Dr. Miles Tonic, Dr. Miles Alterative Compound, Dr. Miles Cactus Compound, Dr. Miles Little Pills, Dr. miles Laxative Tablets, and Dr. Miles Aspir-Mint.

I'm participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday

In Memory of the Birthday of Washington

I was going to just wish old George a Happy Birthday, but I discovered a couple of interesting facts when I looked up Washington's Birthday.

1. George Washington was not born on February 22, 1732. George Washington was born on February 11, 1731, according to the Julian calendar in use at the time. In 1752, however, Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, which placed Washington's birth on February 22, 1732.

2. The holiday on the third Monday of February is not Presidents Day, even though that is what most people call it. The third Monday of February is for the observance of Washington's Birthday. Contrary to popular belief, neither Congress nor the President has ever stipulated that the name of the holiday observed as Washington's Birthday be changed to "President's Day."

Happy Birthday anyway, George.

If you want to get really confused, read these articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Birthday

http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington/

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/gw-birthday-1.html

Presidential Suite, Hotel Radisson, Minneapolis

This postcard shows the Presidential Suite at the original Radisson Hotel on Seventh Street in downtown Minneapolis. The card was used in 1942.

The original Radisson Hotel was built in 1909. The hotel's name came from the 17th century French explorer Pierre Esprit Radisson, who was believed to have been the first white man to explore Minnesota. The Radisson Hotel was designed to be one of the finest hotels in the country.

A History of The Radisson Hotel describes how the hotel declined during the 1930s and later made a comeback after World War II. When Minnesota businessman Curtis Carlson became the owner in the early 1960s, there still was only a single Radisson Hotel. Carlson expanded the Radisson Hotel chain first in Minnesota, then across America, and eventually throughout the world. In 1998 (when the history was written) there were more than 350 Radisson hotels, inns, and resorts on six continents.

The original Radisson Hotel was replaced by a new hotel at the same location in the 1980s. the new hotel is called Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis. There is no mention of a Presidential Suite at that location. A Minneapolis Presidential Suite is listed for the Radisson University Hotel near the University of Minnesota.

Abraham Lincoln on Stamps and Postcards

This postcard was issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 1989. The back of the postcard has a printed invitation to visit them at the World Stamp Expo '89 in Washington, D.C. World Stamp Expo '89 was sponsored by the United States Postal Service and was staged in conjunction with the twentieth Universal Postal Congress.

There are actually two stamp images on this card. The larger 25-cent commemorative stamp is the 1989 World Stamp Expo Issue. This 25-cent commemorative stamp incorporated a stamp-on-stamp motif featuring a reproduction of the 1869 90-cent Lincoln Issue. The 1869 Lincoln stamp was based on a photograph by Matthew Brady. This was the second of many Lincoln stamps that have been issued over the years. The first stamp depicting President Abraham Lincoln was a 15-cent stamp issued in 1866 within a year of Lincoln's death.

For more information on Lincoln stamps, visit the online exhibit From Postmaster To President: Celebrating Lincoln’s 200th Birthday Through Stamps & Postal History.

For anyone interested in history or Lincoln postcards, I recommend the book Abraham Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography in Postcards.

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

Love Lights of Your Eyes and Songs

A couple of weeks ago I showed some postcards from the Lovelights series. This is a card that attracted me because of the reference to love lights. I figured love lights must have been a popular expression to have been used on this card. The expression seems easy enough to understand, but I couldn't find an actual definition of lovelight.

Since many of the expressions on old postcards were inspired by popular songs of the time, I searched for "lovelight 1909." The first thing I found was a cover of some sheet music offered for sale. This song was written by Williams and Van Alstyne, and was published by Jerome H. Remick & Co., New York, 1909. I couldn't find the words for this song, but I did find some other songs from the same time period that mentioned love lights.

The Lovelight Beaming From Your Eyes by Julian Edwards and Chas. J. Campbell was published in 1908 and includes these words:

Love light! love light!
Beaming from your eyes
Your lips! dear lips!
Breathing blissful sighs;

Can't you see I love you? is another song from 1908. This was written by Nat. D. Ayer and A. Seymour Brown. This is the chorus: Can't you see I love you? See the lovelight in my eyes!

Let Me Call You Sweetheart (1910) by Beth Slater Whitson and Leo Friedman includes the following chorus:

Let me call you “Sweetheart”
I’m in love with you
Let me hear you whisper
that you love me too
Keep the lovelight glowing
In your eyes so true
Let me call you “Sweetheart”
I’m in love with you.

Beth Slater Whitson and Leo Friedman also wrote the 1909 hit, Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland that includes these words:

Meet me tonight in Dreamland
Under the silv'ry moon
Meet me tonight in Dreamland
Where love's sweet roses bloom
Come with the love light gleaming
In your dear eyes of blue
Meet me in Dreamland,
Sweet Dreamy Dreamland
There let my dreams come true

There are also newer songs about love lights.

Here is Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland as sung by Judy Garland:

Fanny Farmer Candies - St. Paul and Minneapolis

This is a linen advertising postcard for Fanny Farmer Candies, circa 1945. At the top are the words "When in St. Paul and Minneapolis Visit." In the center is a picture of a Fanny Farmer store. In the four corners are views of places in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

This same basic design with the Fanny farmer store in the center was used for other cities and states, but with different location names and views. I was able to see cards from the following locations shown on the web: Wisconsin, Rochester (NY), New York City, Niagara Falls and Buffalo (NY), Syracuse (NY), New England (Maine and New Hampshire), New England (Massachusetts and Rhode Island), Boston (MA), Des Moines (IA), Detroit and Battle Creek (MI), and Washington DC. There are probably others.

It seems like only yesterday I was seeing Fanny Farmer stores. I didn't realize they were gone, and that Fanny Farmer was merged with Fannie May. In 2006 Fannie May joined the 1-800-Flowers.com family of brands.

Here is the Wikipedia entry on Fanny Farmer:

Fanny Farmer was an American candy manufacturer and retailer.

Fanny Farmer was started in Rochester, New York by Frank O'Connor in 1919. The company was named in honor of culinary expert Fannie Farmer, who had died four years earlier.

In 1992 the Archibald Candy Company acquired the brand (and its 200 retail stores in the northeastern United States) as a sister brand to its own Fannie May candies (sold primarily in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic United States). Alpine Confections purchased both brands in 2004 after Archibald filed for bankruptcy, and merged Fanny Farmer into Fannie May.

United States Love Stamps

This postcard is part of the 25th Anniversary Collection of Jumbo Postcards issued by the USPS in 1998. Other cards in the set show enlargements of individual love stamp designs.

The first U. S. love stamp was an 8¢ stamp issued in 1973 with a design by the artist Robert Indiana. The second love stamp was issued nine years later in 1982 and had the word LOVE spelled by flowers. Most years since then have had a new love stamp. Some years have had more than one stamp, with different denominations.

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

A Sign of Minnesota's Prosperity - 1913 Corn Crop

This postcard boasts that "Minnesota's 1913 Corn Crop Averaged 40 Bushels Per Acre" -- "A Sign of Minnesota's Prosperity."

The handwritten message on the back of this card says "These look like the pigs we fed last fall."

The 40 bushels per acre seems quite high for that time. The Financial Review 1915 Annual did not specifically mention Minnesota, but reported for 1914 that "The year's product per acre at 25.8 bushels, while greater than in the previous year, was below the average." This seems to be a national average.

A University of Minnesota Extension article on Selecting Corn Hybrids for Grain Production has a chart showing yields between 1948 and 2008. The average corn yield in Minnesota increased at a rate of two bushels per acre per year but was only around 40 bushels per acre in 1950.

Apollo Lunar Missions

This is a lenticular 3D postcard showing a space walk. The description on the back is as follows:

At a speed of 5 miles per second 120 miles above the earth, the astronaut is connected to the spacecraft by a 25-foot long gold-plated umbilical line which provides communications and oxygen.

The stamp on this card commemorates the Apollo 11 first moon landing. This 10¢ air mail stamp was issued on September 9, 1969. The Cape Canaveral cancellation on April 14, 1970 relates to the Apollo 13 self rescue which is briefly described by the cachet stamped on the lower left.

Here is some information on the Apollo 13 mission from Wikipedia:

Apollo 13 was the third Apollo mission intended to land on the Moon. The craft was successfully launched toward the Moon, but the landing had to be aborted after an oxygen tank ruptured, severely damaging the spacecraft's electrical system. The flight was commanded by James A. Lovell with John L. "Jack" Swigert as Command Module pilot and Fred W. Haise as Lunar Module pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for the original CM pilot Ken Mattingly, who was grounded by the flight surgeon after exposure to German measles.

The mission was launched on April 11, 1970 at 13:13 CST. Two days later an explosion crippled the service module upon which the Command Module depended. To conserve its batteries and the oxygen needed for the last hours of flight, the crew instead used the Lunar Module's resources as a "lifeboat" during the return trip to Earth. Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of potable water and the critical need to jury-rig the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to Earth on April 17. NASA called the mission a "successful failure".

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

PFF - Lovelights Love Story

I was trying to decide on something to post when I saw PostcardRoundup's post of a Lovelights postcard earlier today. His card has an interesting back with advertising for the "Lovelight" series of 20 subjects "JUST OFF THE PRESS." According to the book Walden's Post Card Enthusiast Revisited, Acmegraph of Chicago released 20 Lovelights designs in May 1909 with a "card-size electric light bulb with a girl and boy kissing in it, etc." and the Lovelights title in the corner.

I decided to look at the two Lovelights cards that I have had and ignored for many years. I discovered that the backs are quite interesting. Conincidentally, they were written in the first week of February--in 1910. On February 1, ? wrote to Mr. Poindexter. On February 4, Poin wrote (actually typed) to Miss Ruby Easum. There are some puzzling things about these cards. Is the sideways question mark some sort of code? What does the upside down stamp mean? Is Poin's message some sort of code? It doesn't make sense to ask about the weather in Amarillo if he is also in Amarillo. And why would he say he would bring a car of coal if very cold?

It is unusual to find both sides of a correspondence together, so I started wondering if these two people had also ended up married and together. Surprisingly, I found that Ruby had married a Poindexter (no first name, but likely the same one). This is what I found in the VITAL RECORDS - POTTER COUNTY, TX - DEATHS 1969 :

Poindexter, Ruby Easum ... 16-Aug-1969 ... F ... Widowed