Fiesta Flights - Western Airlines

This postcard shows the dessert cart on a Western Airlines "Fiesta Flight." The postcard has a 1959 postmark and the following description on the back:

Between Los Angeles and Mexico City on Western's exclusive nonstop flights, you enjoy reserved seats, a Fiesta Cocktail Hour with choicest of liquors and hors d'oeuvres, gourmet dining with champagne, climaxed by delicacies from the Fiesta dessert cart. Western's thrifty Air Coaches are another wonderful way to Mexico!

The Cropsey's "Wreck" Room - St. Paul, Minnesota

This postcard has three views of Cropsey's "Wreck" Room at 172 Sherrie Lane in St. Paul, Minnesota. According to maps, this address is in Woodbury. The postcard was professionally photographed and published. It was photographed by Don J. Harding, published by Hiawatha Valley Postcard Co., and printed by Dexter Press.

Since zone numbers are used in the addresses, the card was probably published before zip codes were introduced in 1963. There is a great assortment of furnishings that would now be called retro, and the decorative items seem to be chosen for their whimsy and/or tackiness.

I have no idea of the purpose of this room or the card. If you know, please leave a comment.

Below are enlargements of the three views on the card.

Swedish Local Traffic Stamps

Above is a postcard picturing the five stamps in the Local Traffic booklet issued by Sweden in 1977. The stamps show five different types of public transportation: horse-drawn tram, modern tram, ferry, articulated bus, and underground train.

horse-drawn tram

modern tram

ferry

articulated bus

underground train

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

Shuffleboard Courts - St. Petersburg, Florida

These postcards show the shuffleboard courts and players in St. Petersburg, Florida. The cards date between 1938 and 1951. St. Petersburg is nicknamed "The Sunshine City," purportedly averaging 360 days of sunshine per year. The city has long been a popular retirement destination, especially for those from colder Northern climates of the United States. The first postcard has the following message written in February, 1948 describing how nice it was in Florida at that time of the year.

Dear Susie,
How are you to-day. Hope you didn't get measles. I can't imagine it as being winter up home; for it is just like summer down here with pretty flowers like you see in this picture. Mr. & Mrs. R came & took us for a drive this A.M. They are fine & this P.M. when I came from having my hair done Mr. & Mrs. L had stopped to see us & had a nice visit with them. Daddy & Mother know them. Wish you could see the pelicans & gulls down here. They are tame. Be good. Love - Grandmother

According to Shuffleboard History, outdoor shuffleboard courts spread across the U. S. after the first one was built at a Daytona Beach, Florida resort in 1913. Previously there was a history of playing shuffleboard on indoor tables and ship decks. Shuffleboard was especially popular in St. Petersburg, Florida where the most elaborate courts were built. There were several shuffleboard clubs there with thousands of members and over 100 courts. The game of shuffleboard was popular up through the 1950s but declined in popularity in the 1960s.

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Leap Year Postcards

Leap Year usually occurs every four years. An extra day, February 29, is added to the calendar during Leap Years to correct for the fact that a year is not exactly 365 days.Traditionally Leap Year was a time when women were allowed to propose marriage to men instead of waiting for men too propose to them.

Most Leap Year postcards were published during the years of the early twentieth century postcard craze for the leap years of 1904, 1908, and 1912. Most of these postcards were comical in nature. The postcard above, from 1904, is the only Leap Year card in my collection. This postcard was signed by Arthur Gill and published by Tuck.

More information and examples of Leap Year postcards:

Vintage Leap Year Postcards

“Get a Hustle On—It’s Leap Year”

Donald McGill postcards that warned men about women proposing

Charles E. Duryea & World's First Real Automobile

This postcard from Reading, Pennsylvania honors Charles E. Duryea, the inventor and builder of America's first gasoline automobile in 1892 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Duryea automobiles which were manufactured in Reading from 1900 to 1911 climbed Mount Penn in high gear there. Duryea Drive, which ascends Mount Penn in a series of sharp bends, was a testing place for early automobiles and was named for Charles Duryea.

From the back of the card:

Charles E. Duryea in a DURYEA (three cylinder) won First Prize, Automobile Club of N. J., Eagle Rock Hill Climbing Contest, Nov. 5, 1901. This was the FIRST AMERICAN HILL-CLIMB, regularly organized. A similar stock DURYEA freelance in the 1902 New York-Boston Run, ran around everything. Three cylinder DURYEA cars were also manufactured in Coventy, England.

New Main Building - Folwell Hall - University of Minnesota

The new Main Building at the University of Minnesota Campus in Minneapolis was built during 1906-1907 to replace the old Main Building which burned in 1904. The new Main Building was named Folwell Hall in honor of the University's first president William Watts Folwell who served as president from 1869 to 1884. Folwell Hall has recently undergone renovations. Information about the renovation and historical photos can be found on the Folwell Hall Renovation website.

The building's architect was Clarence H. Johnston. Johnston was Minnesota State Architect for thirty years, and designed many buildings on the University of Minnesota campus and other state-owned sites. He also designed many upper class residences in St. Paul. Twin Cities Public Television (tpt) produced a very interesting program Gracious Places: Clarence H. Johnston: Minnesota Architect that can be watched online.