Green-spotted Toad Stamp

Sweden issued this green-spotted toad stamp on September 6, 1979. This is a European green toad or bufo viridis.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Southern Pacific "Daylight" Coast Line

The first two postcards show Southern Pacific's Coast "Daylight" train circa 1938-40.

The streamlined Daylight began on March 21, 1937, pulled by GS-2 steam locomotives on a 9 3⁄4-hour schedule. It was the first of the Daylight series that later included the San Joaquin Daylight, Shasta Daylight, Sacramento Daylight, and Sunbeam.

The second postcard has the following description on the back:

The brightly colored, orange and red, Million Dollar Southern Pacific "Daylight" speeds daily along the magnificent California Coast line between San Francisco and Los Angeles — the route of the Missions. No rail trip anywhere, unfolds more thrilling scenery — following the very edge of the Pacific Ocean for more than a hundred miles.

The Coast Daylight ran behind steam until January 7, 1955, long after most streamliners had been powered by diesel. The next postcard shows the Coast Daylight powered by diesel locomotives on its daily journey between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The train offered "a picture-window view of sun, sand, and surf for 113 miles."

The Coast Daylight operated until 1974, one of the few passenger trains retained by Amtrak in 1971. Amtrak merged it with the Coast Starlight in 1974. (source: Wikipedia)

Amtrak's Coast Starlight/Daylight, which operated between Seattle and Los Angeles, is shown on the postcard below.

The video below, titled "Daylighting the Padres' Trail," is a documentary made by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1937 to showcase the "Daylight" luxury passenger train service.

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GGIE: 1939 World's Fair Cake

1000 - Pound

California Fruit Cake

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A presentation to the Golden Gate International Exposition in honor of the Baking Industry. Made from California products only and from the same recipe as the cake sent from California to President and Mrs. Roosevelt each Christmas. The decorations, made entirely of sugar and certified pure food coloring took one year to make. The dimensions of the cake: 5 feet on the base, 3 feet high and 3 feet across on the top of the cake. 

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Designed, baked and decorated by

BILL BAKER

of the 

SOYA AND LIMA BEAN BAKERY

OJAI, CALIF.

Ask your grocer or send for

Soya or Lima Bean literature

 

CELEBRATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRS
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To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Map: Greetings from the Gopher State

MINNESOTA

"Land of 10,000 Lakes"

USSR Postage Stamps

click image to enlarge

This postcard features a variety of stamps from the Soviet Union. I only tried to identify a few of the stamps. In the center is a stamp from a 1954 agriculture set. The bright red stamps just to the left and right of center are from a 1977 October revolution set. In the bottom left corner (upside down) is a 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics stamp. In the center of the right side is a stamp from a 1977 postal service set (I featured the postal service set in a previous post History of USSR Mail on Stamps).

Here  is a brief video about a Russian philatelist and his collection. I enjoyed watching it even though it is in the Russian language, and I didn't understand anything he said.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

New York World's Fair: Crosley Car of Tomorrow

CELEBRATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRS
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To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Fans & Flowers Greetings

Fans, often combined with flowers, were common motifs on early twentieth century greeting postcards. A fan shape could serve as background, frame, or both.

I even have two postcards in my "cat collection" that include fans.

 

 

Fans are most common on everyday and birthday greetings, but they are also found on holiday postcards.

Next, and last, is a novelty postcard made up of a variety of materials and add-ons.

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Map: Arkansas Comic

Arkansas — area 53, 335 square miles, of which 810 sq. miles is water; 26th state in size; admitted into the Union in 1836. State flower — Apple Blossom. Capital — Little Rock. Places of interest: oil fields at El Dorado and Smackover; Hot Springs National Park, 1 ½ sq. mi., containing 46 hot springs said to possess medicinal properties.

postmarked 1957

Mail for the Folks at Home & the YMCA in WWI

The YMCA played a big role in providing services for soldiers during WWI. During WWI the YMCA raised and spent over $155 million on welfare efforts for American soldiers and deployed over 25,000 staff in military units and bases from Siberia to Egypt to France. They took over the military’s morale and comfort operations worldwide (source: Wikipedia).

The postcard above shows an Army YMCA truck loaded with mail from soldiers to "the folks at home."  This postcard is unused, but the YMCA postcard below does have a message on the back.

The sweetheart card was sent from Spartanburg, S. C., Wadsworth Br. a few days after the Armistice in November 1918.

Camp Wadsworth served as one of America's premier army mobilization centers from 1917 to 1919. A website  memorializing  the 100,000 soldiers who trained at Camp Wadsworth and the Spartanburg citizens who helped to make the installation a success describes the role of the YMCA in a chapter on Fighting Boredom: Life at Camp Wadsworth:

The United States government considered boredom to be one of the foremost enemies of soldiers in the training camps.  It was feared that a soldier who was not properly entertained and morally educated would succumb to temptations of drink and debauchery.  In order to prevent this, civilian and military officials sought to create a wholesome environment within each training camp that would keep the soldiers both mentally and physically healthy.  The YMCA, YWCA, Knights of Columbus, Jewish Welfare Board, and the Red Cross were the key agencies in this crusade for morality.  All of these organizations opened up facilities in the training camps, with the YMCA being by far the most important participant.  Government officials hoped that the soldiers would patronize these organizations within the camp instead of visiting the town saloon or brothel.  Alcohol was completely band (sic) within a five mile radius of all training camps.

 Camp Wadsworth's entertainment facilities were typical of World War I era army installations.  Seven YMCA huts were eventually constructed within the camp.  These buildings measured 40x113 feet and could each accommodate 5000 to 6000 soldiers.  The Spartanburg Herald newspaper reported that "Every facility at the command of the Association will be brought to bear on this great problem of serving the men through athletics, indoor games, writing rooms, entertainment of various sorts, religious meetings, Bible classes, etc."  Letter writing and group singing were among the most common activities promoted by the YMCA.

The video below tells about the YMCA in WWI by means of song and vintage images.

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GGIE: Meet Me at the Manx

HOTEL MANX -- San Francisco

On famous Powell Street

300 Rooms,

beautifully furnished, complete in every detail

Circulating ice water in all rooms

Cross the Bridge . . . then "Meet me at the Manx"

Visit the Redwood Empire and the Monterey Peninsula

CELEBRATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRS
Look for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.
To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Map: CaricaTour of San Francisco

"This CARICATOUR OF SAN FRANCISCOis an animated post card map, touring in caricature the many points of interest to be found in the city by the Golden Gate."

The 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition is shown at the bottom center of the postcard.

New York World's Fair: Theme Center

THEME CENTER

700 Ft. Trylon and 200 Ft. Perisphere at the center of Fair. Within the Perisphere is a dramatic portrayal of the World of Tomorrow. 

World's Fair —New York

These images is printed on metal foil that is overlaid with a thin layer of plastic with a design.

© METALITE Pat. Product — GEMLOID CORP., N. Y.

CELEBRATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRS
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To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Telegraphic Greeting

This vintage French postcard delivers the greeting My sincere wishes of Happiness for the New Year (Mes sincères souhaits de Bonheur pour la Nouvelle Année). The female model is impersonating a telegram messenger boy, and could be said to be acting under false pretenses (though not illegally).

The stamp was placed on the front of the postcard, a custom especially common in France. Many early postcard collectors liked to have the stamp and picture visible at the same time when cards were placed in an album. Sometimes there would be a T.C.V. note in the stamp box on the reverse. This was an abbreviation for Timbre Cote Vue, notifying postal employees that the postage stamp was applied to the other side of the card. 

The orientation and position of the stamp indicates that the sender was also sending another message using the Language of Stamps. There were many variations of the Language of Stamps that were printed on postcards or other publications (see http://riowang.blogspot.com/2011/12/language-of-stamps.html). The postcard below is an example I have on an old French postcard. According to this key, a stamp in the upper left corner of the card, with the stamp upside down and its top pointing down and to the left, means "Give me your heart" (Donne moi ton cœur).

It may be a long time until the New Year, but sincere wishes of happiness are welcome at any time, even when they are delivered under false pretenses..

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Map: Along the Santa Fe (1)

 

From the Great Lakes to the Pacific Coast and the Gulf of Mexico along the Santa Fe. Red circles indicate Santa Fe Hotels, Dining, and Lunch rooms, under management of Fred Harvey. Copyright, 1911, by Fred Harvey.

Stamps from Faraway Lands

This is a tri-fold postcard advertising Philatelic Information Services. It has a copyright date of 1987. The images above show what both sides look like when the card is folded. The images below show what they look like when the card is open.

 

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

GGIE: Golden Gate Bridge

 

THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, spanning the entrance to San Francisco Bay, overlooks Treasure Island, man-made site of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. In the right background the 8-1/4 mile San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. In the left background, Alcatraz Island.

OFFICIAL POST CARD

COPYRIGHT 1938

 

ART BY KEN SAWYER

CELEBRATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRS
Look for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.
To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.