Map: Minnesota State Fair Food

 

This is one of the new postcards I found at the Minnesota State Fair this year. There have been a lot of nice Minnesota State Fair postcards issued in the last ten years. This is surprising considering that few people send postcards today, and there are not many postcards available in the places where they once were common. There also were very few Minnesota State Fair postcards made between the end of the postcard craze of the early 20th century and the end of the 20th century.

I think the main reason that there are more State Fair postcards in recent years is that postcards now can be ordered in smaller quantities than in the past. Price is  probably another important reason. Postcards are cheap to manufacture and, even when sold at $1 each, they are much cheaper than most other souvenirs. 

Most of the recent Minnesota State Fair postcards don't show any publisher or printer information on the back. Below is the back used on the 2014/2015 postcards.

Minnesota State Fair 1906

THE GREAT MINNESOTA STATE FAIR

MIDWAY BETWEEN MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL

SEPT. 3 TO 8, 1906

$50,000 IN PREMIUMS AND PURSES

The 2015 Minnesota State Fair is August 27 – September 7 

Minnesota State Fair Grand Stand

THE GRAND STAND

State Fair Grounds, Twin Cities

Property comprising 350 acres and 100 buildings, worth nearly $1,750,000. Grand stand is 370 feet long, 171 feet deep, 105 feet high, has 160,000 square feet of exhibition apace, and seats 13,000 persons.

estimated date of postcard 1916-1920 

The 2015 Minnesota State Fair is August 27 – September 7 

Map: Minnesota State Fair Art

The artwork on the postcard above is a watercolor interpretation of The Great Minnesota Get-Together by St. Paul artist Emily L. Taylor. It is the  11th in a series of original art created exclusively for the State Fair. this piece supports the mission of the Minnesota State Fair Foundation to preserve and improve State Fair buildings.

The postcard below is one of several new souvenir postcards sold at the Minnesota State Fair this year. It uses a portion (upper left) of the complete artwork.

Riddle on a Stick

 

This is a postcard with a corndog riddle that I got at the Minnesota State Fair a few years ago. A corndog is a hot dog sausage coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter, typically deep fried and served on a stick.  Corndogs are one of the oldest and most popular foods on a stick, but there are many other foods on a stick available at the state fair. A long list of Food on a Stick at the Minnesota State Fair is here, and a list of the 10 Most Unusual Foods on a Stick at the MN State Fair is here.

 I am posting this now because today is National Something on a Stick Day. Earlier this week, March 22 was National Corndog Day.

Minnesota State Fair 2013 -- Postcard Exhibits

 

I entered some Post Card Frames in the Minnesota State Fair for the first time this year. I entered a frame of Twin City Lines postcards by V. O. Hammon in the Minnesota category (above) and a frame of Smokey Bear postcards in the chrome category (below).

The rules allow from 6 to 24 postcards on boards. There are 10 categories, and all except linens and chromes must be pre-1920. (Technically, the rules do not allow for cards of the 1920s. This doesn't seem right to me, since there are not always definitive clues to the age of white border and real photo postcards. I think it would make more sense to specify pre-1930).

The categories are:

• Mixed era: trace one subject using cards from more than one era
• Artist signed or greeting
• Minnesota post cards
• Views, place or buildings, etc. scenic nature (non-Minnesota)
• People: famous, occupational, etc
• Novelty cards
• Transportation cards.
• Topic: historical event, dogs, cats, mining, fishing, etc
• Linen era post cards
• Chrome (slick finish) modern post cards 

The frames are scored as follows:

• Quality of Material — 30%
• Design and general appearance —30%
• Condition — 20%
• Value in point of interest — 20%

The postcard frames are displayed in glass cases in the Creative Activities Building. I photographed the displays like I did in 2012 (see Minnesota State Fair - Postcard Exhibits). The photos are poor quality due to low light and reflections, but I think they interesting nevertheless in that they show the variety of topics and display designs. I wish they would show the category along with the board. Some could fit in more than one category; some don't seem to quite fit any of the categories; some could be from the "Creative Collections" division. Below are the postcard displays that received first and second place ribbons.(Click the images to enlarge them for a better view. Depending on your browser and/or operating system, you may then be able to enlarge more by right-clicking and choosing the "View Image" option. The original images posted are 1067px x 1600px).

Sweepstakes Winner — Little Bears Set by Tuck

St. Paul Winter Sports Carnival

Christmas Greetings from Santa Claus

Leap Year

Halloween Sets by Nash

Minnesota's Coast — North Shore of Lake Superior

Early Antique Postcards with Undivided Backs

Dark Haired Girl (left); Leather Postcards (right)

Swiss Guards — Guardians of the Pope

Early American Motorcycles

Snowbirds Vacation Circa 1935 (left); Why Not Collect Postcards? (right)

Niagara Cave

World War II Pre-Printed Postcards

World's Only Corn Palace

Marshall Field & Company

Gertrude

Minnesota State Fair - Postcard Exhibits

I always like to look at the postcard displays in the Creative Activities Building at the Minnesota State Fair. I like to photograph them too, although the low light and glass display cases make it impossible to get good photos. Most of the displays were in the contraption with hinged frames shown above. Some were in large display cases with other kinds of items.

The exhibits are judged and first through fourth place ribbons are awarded. The majority of the displays received a ribbon. The first and second place displays are shown here.

My favorite display was the one with handmade collages illustrating various quilt patterns. This one was very creative and especially appropriate as an example of a creative activity.

Untitled Quilt Pattern Collages

The display of Krampus postcards won the Sweepstakes Award. Krampus was described as a tall devil that accompanies Saint Nicholas in some parts of Europe. He is a scary creature that has the job of punishing bad children by swatting them with his switches. He carries extra bad children are carried off to Hell.

Christmas Postcards Featuring Krampus

Loring park is on the edge of downtown Minneapolis. It was originally called Central Park. It was renamed in honor of Charles Morgridge Loring, a Supreme Court Justice who was the first president of the Minneapolis Board of Park Commissioners.

Loring Park - Minneapolis Central Park

Pastime Punch-out Postcards is a set of Tucks Post Cards called "Butterflies on the Wing." It is shown with its original package.

Pastime Punch-out Postcards

Biltmore House and Gardens is in Biltmore, North Carolina.

Biltmore House & Gardens

"For the Love of Linens" shows a variety of linen postcards. Its title is made up of letters like those on large letter linen postcards.

For the Love of Linens

The World's Columbian Exposition was held in 1893 in Chicago. These cards are an Official Souvenir set of ten U. S. postal cards.

1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition


The Swedish Hospital - Minneapolis

Nurses of Many Countries

"Is It Animal, Vegetabe, or Mineral?" has postcards made of different materials or with attachments of different materials. Some of the materials are leather, wood, sponge, aluminum, and copper.

Is It Animal, Vegetabe, or Mineral?



MSP - Charles Lindbergh Terminal


Old Twin Cities Trolleys

Minnesota State Fair - Let's Go!

This postcard shows the streetcar terminal at the Minnesota State Fair, with some fair buildings in the background. Early twentieth-century city dwellers were likely to take a streetcar to the fair. Out of town visitors could take special trains run by Great Northern and Northern Pacific directly to the fairgrounds.

The emblem below appears on the back of this postcard. Before World I, the fair opened on Labor Day and ran for six days. In 1919, the fair was lengthened to eight days and began on the Saturday before Labor Day. In 1939, the fair expanded to ten days and ended on Labor Day. The length of the fair increased to eleven days in 1972 and twelve days in 1975.

Minnesota State Fair - Grand Stand and Paddock

This postcard of the Minnesota State Fair grandstand was used in 1909. It shows the old wooden grandstand, which was replaced by a newer concrete and steel grandstand in 1909. The field and surrounding track could be easily adapted for many different types of events.

Minnesota State Fair Crowds - Then & Now

The 1908 postcard above shows "some crowd" at the great Minnesota State Fair. Typical of that era, the fairgoers on the old postcard are dressed much more formally than those of today. A few of them are also carrying umbrellas for shade, which is something you are not likely to see nowadays.

Below is a new crowd postcard from the 2011 Minnesota State Fair.

The 2011 postcard has images of Fairborne hidden in the crowd à la "Where's Waldo." Printing on the back asks "Can you spot the '7' Fairbournes [sic] enjoying the fair?" I found and circled 6 small Fairbornes in the crowd. I think the large one in front is probably the 7th.

Fairborne is one of two anthropomorphic gopher mascots of the fair. The other mascot is his uncle Fairchild.

A similar theme was used on a Minnesota State Fair postcard a few years ago. Fairborne is spelled correctly on that postcard.