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.