Fishy Tales

These colorful fishing comic postcards are from the 1940s. This type of postcard was popular with those who vacationed where fishing was available. Fishermen are notorious for exaggerating and lying about the size of the fish they catch. The first two postcards have official-looking forms aimed at proving they are not just fibbing and telling tales.

 

The next postcard gives new meaning to the words "the fish are biting."

Hunters sit in trees, but fishermen??

Now – he is wondering whether you will really believe him . . .

The last postcard was mailed from Duluth, Minnesota in 1944 with the following message on the back:

Hello all —
Got to Duluth & just finished our supper. We are down by the dock where they are loading iron ore. It is beautiful here & so cool. We are going to get a cabin to sleep in. I am writing this on the auto hood.
So long -------

 I think these fish exaggeration postcards are very amusing, and I have collected many of them. The video below is one I made with some of my fishy cards. 

My only actual experience with fishing was at a resort where my family vacationed for many years in the 1950s. We used to save some bread from the dinner table to use as bait. We rolled little doughy balls with the bread and went fishing from the dock. They had weekly fishing contests for the kids and awarded prizes for the longest (not heaviest) fish. I still have the certificate that I won one year. Here's proof that I actually caught something.

.

Visit Sepia Saturday

For more Vintage Images

Map: Wisconsin, the Fisherman's Paradise

Greetings From Park Rapids, Minn.

Big fish were a popular subject on comic postcards of the linen era. Postcards were sometimes imprinted with a location name. This one is imprinted with "Greetings From Park Rapids, Minn." It was sent from Park Rapids on July 30, 1947--65 years ago today.

The sender apparently was vacationing in the Park Rapids area, a popular vacation destination and the Gateway to the Mississippi River Headwaters at Itasca State Park. She wrote:

Dear Jeannie,
Well, I finally wrote that card you were nagging me about & will mail it with yours.
Have I ever been having fun. A ten yr. old gal is teaching me how to dive & swim--my aching muscles! Have I ever got a beautiful sunburn. I miss you.
Naomi

Walleye and Northern Pike Caught at Penasse, MN

This postcard pictures the members of the Knights of Columbus work party with the Walleye and Northern Pike caught on their annual outing to Lake of the Woods. The people in the photo were from Hastings, Minnesota. The location is American Point Resort, Penasse, Minnesota.

This postcard was postmarked at Penasse on June 17, 1966. There is no writing in the message section on the back. Possibly someone was just interested in getting a Penasse postmark. Penasse is the northernmost populated place in the contiguous United States. It had a post office from 1920 to 1969 that was the farthest north in the lower 48 states.

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

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.

Visit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Photos

Fishy Stamps

First I have a 1985 postcard from Greenland showing a stamp that was issued that year. The words at the top of the postcard and the stamp Kalaallit Nunaat mean "Land of the Greenlanders." Reinhardtius hippoglossoides is the name of the fish that is pictured, also known as the Greenland halibut or Greenland turbot. This is a deepwater fish mainly found in water with temperatures from 1-4 °C.

Greenland is an island that is located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Physiographically it is a part of the continent of North America, but it is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark.

The back of the postcard has an address to write for further information about Greenland stamps. Now you can find information about Greenland stamps on the web at stamps.gl.

I received an envelope in the mail this week with a colorful fish stamp, so I scanned that too. This is a 39-cent stamp that was issued in 2006. It shows the Longest Reef (off the Florida Keys) and is one of the forty stamps on a sheet "Wonders of America: Land of Superlatives." The superlatives include natural and man-made wonders that are the longest, tallest, largest, fastest, etc. in the United States .

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

SS - The King of the Sea, New York City

The King of the Sea restaurant seems to have been a New York City landmark at one time, but is now forgotten. About all I could find about it was that it had a window display of their fresh seafood.

The back of the postcard boasts "The Sea Food you eat today slept last night in Chesapeake Bay." The mural on the wall shows fishing from coast to coast.

Smorgasbord Sundays (SS)
restaurant and food postcards

SS - Bernstein's Fish Grotto, San Francisco

Bernstein's Fish Grotto was a San Francisco restaurant specializing in seafood. It was in business from 1912 to 1981 and was a popular tourist attraction. Its claim to fame was its unique entrance, a reproduction of the bow of Columbus's ship Nina. The bow of ship actually protruded out on the sidewalk.

The nautical theme was continued in the interior of the restaurant in seven dining rooms: the Fisherman's Cave, the Pilot Room, the Sun Deck, the Main Salon, the Cabin Nooks, the Upper Deck, and the Porthole Counter. The menu at Bernstein's Fish Grotto included cioppino, a fish stew popular in San Francisco's Italian community.

Smorgasbord Sundays (SS)
restaurant and food postcards

PFF - Red Sea Fishes on Israel Stamps

Postage stamps of eight species of Red Sea Fishes were issued by Israel in 1962-1963. This postcard is undated and was published by "Palphot" Herzlia. The eight species of colorful fish shown on this postcard are (clockwise from top left):

• pterois volitans - lion fish
• chaetodon lunula - butterfly fish
• heniochus acuminatus - pennant corn fish
• balistapus undulatus - undulate triggerfish
• pterois radiata - long-horned lion fish
• holocanthus imperator - angel fish
• pomacanthus imperator - emperor angel fish
• priacanthus hamrur - crescent-tailed bigeye

Palphot was established in 1934 and is the leading Israeli publisher of pictorial books, cards, and calendars. The book Israeli and Palestinian postcards: Presentations of National Self, by Tim Jon Semmerling, discusses Palphot and some of their postcards.

Just Fishing Around for a Good Catch!

Postcard Scavenger Hunt #3 – Fish

Postcard Friendship Friday - Smoking Salmon

Here's a fish card from The Queen Elizabeth Hotel of Montreal. It illustrates one of the "Specialty dishes from the Beaver Club Menu as seen by Montreal artist Jeff," Smoked Salmon. This particular salmon is smoking as is the gentleman seated next to him.

At the time this card was printed, Queen Elizabeth Hotel was a C. N. R. hotel operated by Hilton Hotels International. The hotel was built in 1958 by the Canadian National Railway. It is now owned by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. The Beaver Club was founded in 1785 by French Canadians and Scots.

If you have any fish postcards, there's still time to participate in the "Fish" Postcard Scavenger Hunt for May.

Want to participate in Postcard Friendship Friday?
Go read how to get started on Marie's cpaphilblog.com:)

Postcard Scavenger Hunt #3 – Fish

This is my monthly Postcard Scavenger Hunt for May. If you are interested in participating, please read about how it works on my Announcing the Postcard Scavenger Hunt posting.

NOTE: You don't have to post today. The deadline is really at the end of the month so there is plenty of time to post. You also can put the permalink to an older post on the theme into Mister Linky.

The theme for this month is FISH. Here are some from my postcard collection to inspire you.

The Fisherman's Prayer

Lord, give me grace to catch a fish
So large that even I,
In talking of it afterwards,
May never need to lie
Again!

---

A Pair of Beauties in the Sunshine City, St. Petersburg, Florida

Tarpon are one of the big fish of Florida. They are usually caught and released. I like the classic attire on this woman, the camera slung over her shoulder, and the fact that she is not a scantily clad pin-up. It looks like the publisher was trying to appeal to both sexes with this postcard.

---

Interior of a Salmon Cannery. Daily Capacity 60 Tons.

No additional description on the back. Published by C. P. Johnston Co., Seattle, Washington.

---

"Fishing is always good at Lake Corpus Christi State Park, Mathis, Texas. Catfish, Bass, and Crappie are only a few of the many species that make this lake so popular."

---

This is an exaggeration postcard by Nyce Manufacturing Co.

---

Walleye Pike

"This fresh water fish is the most eagerly sought of all game fish species. Well distributed throughout all Lake States and Canada."

---

Minnesota Game Fish: Northern Pike, Black Crappie, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Walleye. Walleye is the Minnesota State Fish.

The 2009 Minnesota fishing opener is this weekend, May 9. I've never been on a fishing trip, but I like all the funny and exaggerated fish postcards. If you are interested in fishing or like videos, be sure to watch the Minnesota fishing video. It's actually quite humorous.

Mr. Linky widget has been removed at Mr. Linky's request. Here is a list of the participants in the Fsh Postcard Scavenger Hunt:

9 imajica http://imajication.wordpress.com/2009/05/22/postcard-scavenger-hunt-drying-fish/
8 Wild Postcards http://www.wildpostcards.com/2009/05/diving-at-silver-springs-florida/
7 Viridian's postcard blog http://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/2009/05/fishy.html
6 Lara http://www.larascards.blogspot.com
5 Sheila http://apostcardaday.blogspot.com/2009/05/map-cards-wisconsin.html
4 A Canadian Family http://acanadianfamily.com/2009/05/09/vintage-postcards-codfish-at-shippigan-shippaganshippegan/
3 Judy http://judyspostcardsplus.blogspot.com/
2 Robin http://robinsbluenest.typepad.com/robins_nest_blue/2009/05/promise-me.html
1 Marie http://www.cpaphilblog.com/2009/05/gone-fishin-postcard-friendship-friday.html

Postcard Friendship Friday - World's Biggest Fish Fry Parade

This year is the 56th Annual World's Biggest Fish Fry in Paris, Tennessee. The 2009 Grand Parade is Friday, April 24. In addition to the Grand Parade, the event includes beauty pageants, fish dinners, a rodeo, a Small Fry Parade, and a carnival. Five tons of catfish are cooked and served at the Fish Tent.

Information from the back of the postcard:

GREETINGS FROM PARIS, TENN.
Home of the "world's biggest fish fry." Paris School Band traditionally leads the colorful parade of this most interesting spring festival at "the fishingist (sic) city" on Kentucky Lake. Crowds of some 25,000 tourists and "home folk" enjoy this gala occasion yearly. Fresh fish from Tennessee River (Kentucky Lake) is prepared by Community Clubs of Henry County and served to guests in truly southern style.

Want to participate in Postcard Friendship Friday?
Go read how to get started on Marie's cpaphilblog.com:)