Christmas Stamps 1978 & 1979

 

This postcard has an odd combination of stamps and cancels. The stamp that was placed on the picture is a 1978 Christmas stamp. The stamp on the bottom in the white area is a 1979 Christmas stamp with an official First Day of Issue cancellation. I am guessing that a 1979 maximum card was made first, and the 1978 stamp was added later with an unofficial cachet commemorating the visit of Pope John Paul II to Washington, D. C. Both stamps were rather sloppily applied, with the 1979 stamp being damaged before it was cancelled.

The 1978 Christmas stamp has an image of  "Madonna and Child with Cherubim," c. 1485,  by Andrea della Robbia. This is one of the few Christmas issues reproduced from a sculpture. The original is  glazed terracotta and is in the Andrew W. Mellon Collection, National Gallery of Art.

The 1979 Christmas stamp has a simplified detail from a painting by late 15th and early 16th century Netherlandish painter Gerard David. The original painting titled "The Rest on the Flight into Egypt" is also in the Andrew W. Mellon Collection, National Gallery of Art.

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

Santa Claus Has Arrived

I was originally attracted to this postcard by the picture of the children playing in the snow. I was really impressed when I turned it over and saw the message on the back:

Toys! Toys!
Santa Claus has arrived at Searles Mer Co
Call & See Him!

The card is postmarked and mailed to New Brighton, Minnesota in 1912. New Brighton is a suburb a few miles from where I live. The only parts of it that I have seen look like a typical modern suburb, so I was really surprised to see that they even had a store there 100 years ago. I discovered that New Brighton was quite busy back then. A settlement that included a general store, school and mission church was established there in 1858 (the same year that Minnesota became the 32nd state). When the Village of New Brighton was incorporated in 1891, fourteen passengers trains passed daily. You can read New Brighton's history here.

Peacock, Michigan

 

This postcard is a photo of Peacock, Michigan circa 1908-1909.  At that time, there was a north-south railway (Pere Marquette) and an east-west railway (Manistee & Grand Rapids) junction in Peacock. I believe that is what is shown by the crossed tracks in the foreground.

Peacock was named for David J. Peacock who became its first postmaster in April 1897. The Peacock post office was discontinued in January 1943. The postcard has a JAN 18 1909 Peacock Mich. postmark and was mailed to Mrs. Minnie McCloud of Cedar Rapid, Iowa with the following message:

Jan 17 1909

Dear Sister I am sending you the picture of the City of Peacock. What do you think of it. I think it is a nice place. How is every thing out there. How is ...??

John Stotler

 

Below is an enlarged detail from the postcard. It is apparent that there is a  store in the background, but its name is hidden by a semaphore.

Visit Sepia Saturday

To See More Vintage Images

Freedom for Nelson Mandela

Leeds Postcards: Freedom for Nelson Mandela by Ken Sprague

Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist. He was active in the African National Congress (ANC) campaign against the apartheid government which led to his arrest in 1962. Mandela was convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He served over 27 years in prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release. He was released from prison in 1990 and joined negotiations with President F. W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections. In 1994, Mandela led the ANC to victory and became South Africa's first black president. He served as President from 1994 to 1999. (source: Wikipedia)

Leeds Postcards is an independent postcard press that has been publishing  postcards since 1979 which are "oppositional, activist, feminist, challenging, a voice for the oppressed, impressed, or simply pressed." I like this quote from the Leeds Postcards website: "We can't just have the internet! Postcards are Forever."

The Road-Winter by Currier & Ives

A 10-cent Currier and Ives Christmas stamp was one of three holiday stamps issued by the United States Postal Service in 1974. The stamp is based on a Currier and Ives print entitled "The Road-Winter." Here it is on a Colorano Silk maximum card.

Currier and Ives was a American printmaking firm based in New York City from 1834–1907. It was headed by Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888) and James Merritt Ives (1824–1895).  The company produced many hand colored black and white lithographs based on paintings by fine artists. Lithographic prints could be reproduced quickly and inexpensively. The prints were advertised as "colored engravings for the people." (source: Wikipedia)

The postcard below is a reproduction of "The Road-Winter" from an original Currier and Ives print. This postcard was published by Hallmark.

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

A Happy Wish or Two

Aprons & Apple Butter

The subject of my postcard is "Cooking Apple Butter in Pennsylvania." I bought this card mainly because of the aprons. The postcard was published in 1955. The back has the following description:

In Pennsylvania, the cooking of apple butter is done in large fireplaces, either oudoors or in "summer houses". The women are expert in the combining of snitzed apples, spices, and cider to produce the tasty, dark applebutter eaten on bread or mixed with "smearkase".

Snitzed apples are sliced apples. Smearkase is the Pennsylvania Dutch name for cottage cheese.

The first video shows an apple butter being made the old fashioned way outdoors over a fire in a large copper kettle.

The second video is about vintage aprons. I have several vintage aprons that I have bought in thrift stores. I love the look of old aprons, though I never actually wear them. A few years ago, I even bought a pattern for sewing an apron similar to the style shown on the postcard. I was thinking of making some aprons for Christmas presents, but changed my mind. I doubt that I will ever get around to using that pattern.

Visit Sepia Saturday
To See More Vintage Images