H. W. Buckbee - Rockford Seed Farms

Growing Buckbee's American Beauty Roses

Here are some of the free advertising postcards that Buckbee Seed Farms of Rockford, Illinois was offering customers circa 1910-1912. The company sent out cards illustrating sets of "six beautiful Souvenir Post Cards" that could be obtained free by returning a coupon with an order from their catalog.

Buckbee company history goes back to 1871 when Hiram W. Buckbee began selling cabbage plants as a boy. The business later grew into a huge operation that included a 350,000-square-foot warehouse, greenhouse complex, and trial area, along with a 15,000-acre seed farm. The company mailed out 750,000 catalogs In 1921, the year of Hiram’s death.

Growing Buckbee's "full of Life" Beans

Growing Buckbee's Great Ruby Strawberries

Growing Buckbee's Pedigreed "Full of Life" Onion Seed

An enlargement of the Buckbee's trademark from the back of the postcards is shown below.

The last two images are from the Smithsonian Institution Libraries Digital Collection. They show the front and back covers of the 1896 H. W. Buckbee Seed & Plant Guide.

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Pan American Clippers - Miami Airport

Here are three postcards dating from the mid-1930s that show the Pan-American Airways Terminal and Flying Clipper Ships in Miami, Florida. On the first postcard, a Clipper is said to be arriving from Jamaica. On the second postcard, passengers are boarding the Caribbean Clipper. On the third postcard, a Clipper is shown in the water and is said to be off to West Indies and South America.

The Caribbean Clipper was a Sikorsky S-40. The plane on the last card was a more advanced Sikorsky S-42. The early clippers were flying boats. They were called “clippers” to link them with the maritime heritage of the ocean liners. At the time runways capable of handling large aircraft were scarce, and the flying boats could provide scheduled passenger service to any city with a sheltered harbor.

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Minneapolis Public Libraries

The above postcard shows the first Minneapolis Public Library that was built in 1889 at Tenth Street and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. That library was the main library of the Minneapolis Public Library system until a new library was built in 1961.

The 1961 library is shown in the postcard below. This library is described on the back of the postcard as follows:

The new gold and granite Minneapolis Public Library, headquarters for both Minneapolis and Hennepin County Libraries, is located in the Gateway Development Area, 300 Nicollet Avenue. Vivid colors, light and space combine with glass, Italian marble, teakwood and anodyzed aluminum in this modern library. Smoking lounges and open shelves invite the visitor to browse and wander. A blacklight hall of time and space and a planetarium, where regular shows are given, are unique features of the library.

The next postcard is a view of that library's interior, described as follows:

All callers at the new central building of the Minneapolis Public Library, whether they enter it by telephone or in person, are greeted by trained librarians at the Information Desk. They answer quick reference questions, directing other to the proper subject departments.

The next postcard shows the library's statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, holding a book. This is a seven-foot bronze statue by Jakob Fjelde that stood at the entrance to the Heritage Hall auditorium. Both the statue and the mahogany paneled background were from the old central library building that was demolished in 1961.

By 2000, the 1961 library was considered inadequate. The existing library was closed in 2002 and was demolished. The current central library was built on the same site. I haven't seen any "tourist" postcards of the new library, but I have a couple of postcards that were available at the library bookstore.

The first card shows an artist's view and solicited support for the new Minneapolis Central Library when it being built. This building was designed by architect Cesar Pelli, and was to "be home to an outstanding 2.5 million collection - the largest of any public library in Minnesota and the fourth largest in the nation." The last postcard reproduces a watercolor painting of the library which opened in May 2006. The building is 353,000 sq. ft. and "boasts a collection of over 2 million items, a green roof, and an exterior of 4,000 panes of glass."

The last picture is not a postcard. It is a photo I took at the opening of the new library on May 20, 2006.

After some financial difficulties, the Minneapolis Public Library was merged into the Hennepin County Library in 2008.

This post was written to celebrate National Library Week, April 8-14, 2012.

Easter Greetings from the Chickies

Chicky brings my Easter Greetings.
We eggs-pect you'll have a Happy Easter.

These two Easter postcards were made by Whitney. The back of the first card has a greeting to Marjorie from Aunt Olga: "Wishing you a Happy Easter and hope you will get plenty of eggs."

United States Capital 1950 Sesquicentennial Stamps

The above postcard of the U. S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D. C. has a stamp on the picture side that has a similar image. The stamp is one of the four 3-cent stamps in the "National Capital Sesquicentennial Issue" of 1950. The stamps were issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the capital of the United States.

All four stamps are shown below (source: Arago):

• The Statue of Freedom on Capitol Dome -Issued April 20
  
• The White House Executive Mansion - Issued June 12
  
• The Supreme Court Building - Issued August 2
  
• The United States Capitol - Issued November 22
  

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

Chicago Libraries

These two linen postcards are on the subject of Chicago Public Libraries. The comic card was published in 1953 and is part of a series of comic interpretations of "Famous Chicago Attractions." The multiview card was published in 1937 and shows four Chicago libraries:

• Newberry Library - A privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences
  
• Chicago Public Library - Formerly the central library of the Chicago Public Library system, now the Chicago Cultural Center.
  
• Harper Memorial Library - Now the Harper Memorial Library Commons at the University of Chicago, does not currently house books.
  
• John Crerar Library -Currently housed in a newer four-story building and operated by the University of Chicago, is focused on the sciences, medicine, and technology.
  

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Washburn-Crosby Co. - Gold Medal Flour

The Washburn-Crosby Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota was a predecessor to General Mills. General Mills was created in 1928 when Washburn-Crosby President James Ford Bell directed the company to merge with 26 other mills.

Washburn-Crosby began using the brand name Gold Medal on the company's best grade of flour after their Superlative Flour was awarded a Gold Medal in 1880 at the first Miller's International Exhibition, held in Cincinnati, Ohio. At that exhibition Washburn-Crosby was awarded the three top prizes: the Bronze Medal for Parisian Flour, the Silver Medal for Extra Flour and the Gold Medal for Superlative Flour.