postcardprobe

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“Am spending a week in St Ives and have visited Mousehole to-day.”

This quaint postcard shows the lovely village of Mousehole.  The town is located in Cornwall, England, UK.   The way the town is structured is quite visually pleasing.  When looking on Tumblr for Mousehole I found quite a few cool images including a painting by Terrick John Williams and an amazing hand drawn map of the town as well as a photo of the town.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/0956eb6167d4f6d3f869a2b51fa93e34/tumblr_osa4ovEMO71tn4tc5o1_1280.jpg

https://66.media.tumblr.com/488e01ed661773cd32e15b7c5dae20ec/tumblr_oo11ocyhLh1rasnq9o1_1280.jpg

https://66.media.tumblr.com/53f4eecc94705c37232096935bd2b89b/tumblr_ntefr4jk3g1tyt36to1_1280.jpg

 Postcard description:  The front of the card shows the quaint village on Mousehole.  There are sail boats in the foreground and the background is peppered with houses and stone buildings and walls.  A nice cloudy blue sky with some white clouds lines the top of the card.

Postcard information:  The Harbor, Mousehole, Salmon Cameracolour Post Card

Postmarked on July 1, 1998

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“We haven't had much weather that was not windy and cool- but today is lovely.”

This postcard is pretty general note to a friend about a trip.  Classic mention of weather as you can see in the title of the post.  This seems to be casual and to a girlfriend or female relative.  They use formal title “Mrs. Jerome _____”.  For 1968, I am surprised there isn’t a zip code.  That has been one of the fascinating discoveries, no zip code or address on some postcards.  

Looking at https://oldflorida.tumblr.com/ I found some great old photos of Florida.  The blog includes other blog links to pertinent information and images about Florida.  One old photograph from 1900 showed a great water view in Florida.  It is interesting how selecting one thing from a physical postcard to parallel and look up on Tumblr can bring so many results (and so many not related results as well).  Social media has been a true discovery for me.  

Postcard description:  The color photograph shows white sand on a wide beach with long grasses on the left side. There is a driftwood log on the lower right that created an interesting silhouette.

Postcard information:  Beautiful white sandy beach on Florida’s West-coast. Color photo by Ted Lagerberg

Postmarked on March 4 1968

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“Green house is marked X in this picture.”

This delightful old sepia photo postcard shows the Barmouth Estuary with a boat in the foreground.  The writer describes the weather (yes!) was rather cool and a few showers.  They marked the photo with an “x” to show where the house was that they were staying.  I looked up Barmouth Estuary on Tumblr and found a great photo that relates to my postcard.  https://lovewales.tumblr.com/post/179486550949/fairbourne-by-mike-rees

What is amazing about the variety of blogs is how when you do a search, you discover so many different images and information, but for example, I searched “water estuary” to discover some other estuary’s and a nice variety came up, but when I go into the blog, it usually has nothing to do with my search terms and there are a variety of images beyond what I could even imagine. This was one of my biggest discoveries doing this blog, you never know what you will find out there!  

Postcard description:  The postcard is a photograph postcard-a real actual photo vs a print.  The paper is thicker and the front has that old photograph texture.  It shows Barmouth Estuary, an open water area with boats, a distant bridge and in sepia. The neatest thing is the sender wrote an "X" showing where they were staying.

Postcard information: Postcard Picture by Judges LTD., Hastings England 

Postmarked on 14 June 1939

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“Write to us once in a while.”

This Valentine postcard from 1925 (coming up on its 100th year) has a one cent postage stamp.  The writing instrument that was used looks like pen and ink by the way the lettering runs heavy and light.  You can tell the end of the pen was a small flat tip vs a round ball point or felt pen of today.  The text is brief and there is NO address or zip code!  Interesting to think about that!  In todays’ world, I doubt many of us write an address like that.  

I did a search on Tumblr for Valentines postcards and found the most hilarious one ever! (Pasted at the end).  There were quite a variety of Valentines postcards on Tumblr, but I had to go with the funniest one I could find!

https://66.media.tumblr.com/d9707157570de0f473ae446282807ef3/tumblr_plmsvyuV5g1uayjad_640.jpg

Postcard description:  MY VALENTINE MESSAGE to you this little line I send with my heartiest greeting at the end. This message is printed along with a naked cherub angel holding a fishing stick with a heart on the end. There are also two blue birds.  It looks to be in watercolor or pen and ink. Red border.

Postcard information:  (watermark) This side for correspondence

Postmarked on Washington, DC. FEB 12 11PM 1925

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“Dear Lollie- We drove our car up to the 11th floor of this big hotel.”

This postcard is very fun seeing this architecture (1966) and hearing about the attached parking structure.  I love how the inside of the hotel has a pool and for this time period, this shows the lap of luxury.  The postcard also mentions the weather “very little snow and no chains needed”.  Being that the card was being sent from San Francisco to Seattle Washington, you can imagine the various weather situations the writer drove down in.  

I looked online and found the hotel is still there, much larger, improved but they still have the pool outside on the roof.  The parking structure is enormous now, as you can see to the rear, right (pasted at the bottom).

On Tumbler, I found a post with old historic hotels, many designed with a pool with the hotel wrapped around it, so a similar design from the same time period.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/0d4f369ff8e082f2188f7fe3bb4e1fbf/tumblr_p959si2ES41r9h4tno10_1280.jpg

https://collectorsweekly.tumblr.com/post/174156734187/jack-tar-hotels-and-motels-1960s

 Postcard description:  The front of the postcard is an ariel photo of the San Francisco Hilton, a huge boxy monolith square of windows with an open center and a huge blue pool in the center. There is a parking structure attached to the hotel.

Postcard information: The San Francisco Hilton with 1200 guest rooms is the City's newest and largest hotel.  Motoring guests may drive their automobiles direct to their rooms along the unique interior ramp which spans seven floors.  All registered guests enjoy free parking.  A heated swimming pool on the 16th floor terrace is a San Francisco 'first;. At Mason and O’Farrell streets. (Adjoining the Downtown Airline Terminal) 

Postmarked in 1966

What it looks like today:

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“Looks like to-day the sun is going to shine.”

This hilarious postcard was sent to a daughter in Oklahoma.  Even though it was sent in 1991, the writer is still using formal titles and calling the daughter Mrs. Kenneth _____, as compared to just using her first name.  You can also tell the author is older by her return address label, her husband is in bold print vs her name.  The card is a nice family and friend update and mentions going to visit a friend or relative in a hospital.  The author also mentions the weather, as expected :)

I looked up Jackrabbit on Tumblr and gee wiz, so many folks using Jack Rabbit but nothing to do with the actual animals. Then I stumbled on this one, how perfect!  This is a recent acquisition at the Library of Virginia.  I have actually found quite a few interesting old postcards on their blog.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/1f161fad0b93101973766d7c1a0dcced/7b37c98d12ea0f7c-6d/s1280x1920/55de2b80514c8149a71e6af301763da67a5e399d.jpg

Postcard description: The front of the card is comical with a man riding an enormous jackrabbit.  It is made to look like an actual real photograph with cattle behind in the field that are much smaller.  The man is saddled on and is just longer than the ear on the jackrabbit.  The text says "Oklahoma Cattle Punching on a Jack Rabbit".

Postcard information:  OKLAHOMA Most cowboys use their favorite Bronc for Cattle Punching but some, as you can see, prefer the Jack Rabbit.

Postmarked on June 12, 1991

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“It’s nice and sunny here. I layed out on the beach a couple of days ago- boy it was nice!”

This postcard is written by someone I know.  She visited her mom in 2003/4/. This was sent in the winter time, so this was significant that she could be on the beach.  She mentions that she hopes the winter has been kind to her AZ family.  She also mentions giving the dog Annie a hug. We see humans connections with pets reflected in notes in many formats.  Instagram can sometimes be just pets.  

One of the blogs I found that is all pet based that has some hilarious shots and videos: https://cutepetclub.tumblr.com/

One specific one is of a hedgehog having their belly rubbed! Adorable!

 Postcard description:  The front of the postcard has an amazing tower with painted geometric shapes. There are a dozen bands of different patterns, all with red and some integrating some other colors.  

Postcard information:  The front of the postcard says “This beautiful Minaret with its painted motifs dominates the courtyard of one of the Bahrain’s oldest Mosques.  The back of the card has text in Arabic.  

Postmarked on unknown, estimated 2003/4.

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“Give Annie (the dog) a big kiss from me.  If you see Buddy (the hamster), tell him that I love him.”

This postcard is from someone I know.  Seree is my boyfriend’s daughter.  She visited her mom over in Saudi Arabia in her early 20’s. The estimated year is 2004. What is especially intriguing about this postcard is what the camel is eating- cacti!  The camel doesn’t seem troubled at all chewing on this sharp prickly plant.  The subtitle of the postcard says “having a snack!” hahaha.  I love how Seree says hi and love to the humans, but specifically mentions the pets.  This card is significant because this was Seree’s first time flying and she was excited to visit her mother who was a nurse.  I believe they still have a lot of artwork that her mom purchased.

Checking out some blogs with cacti, I found some amazing shots on a blog called Cactus Jerk, how clever! https://cactusjerk.tumblr.com/  Along with his blog I found other and a lot of them also included succulents.  There was a huge variety.  I also looked up Saudi Arabia and found a plethora of interesting blogs.  Check out this rock formation in Saudi Arabia that is quite impressive and also has rock art on it: https://unexplained-events.com/post/613068638338039808/al-naslaa-rock-formation-this-is-located-in

 Postcard description:  This postcard is a close-up of a camel eating a spicy cacti clump.  The sky has gray and cream colored clouds.  

Postcard information:  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  Having a snack! (Publisher info in Arabic).

Postmarked on unknown, estimated 2003/4.

[postcardprobe]

"Hope the weather will turn warmer and be fine"

This postcard from the UK seems to be a notification of sorts.  I looked up the address on Google Earth and it seems to be a residence vs a business.  Of course, being that this card is from 1961, things could have changed.  Once again we see the thread of mentioning the weather or showing concern about it.  The image on the postcard is interesting as the back only says “All Saints Church, Brixham” but we can clearly see there are two images.  In the lower image there is a church on the upper left side but there is also a church in the lower region.  Upon visiting the church via Google, I see it is the taller church on the upper left.  

I found some interesting shots of churches in the UK, here is one example on Tumblr: https://thelastenchantments.tumblr.com/

All entries I found were simply captured images, no text about the structures themselves.  This is interesting as there were quite a few different Tumblr accounts with churches in the UK.  

 Postcard description:  The postcard shows two photographs in a sepia (shades of tan) shade.  The top photograph shows a shoreline with cliffs and some farms in the distance.  The lower photograph shows Brixham and All Saint Church within a hill covered with buildings.  

Postcard information:  All Saints Church, Brixham “Solosnap” series Real Photo, Photographed and Printed by E. A. Sweetman & Son.  Tunbridge Wells

Postmarked on 26 May 1961 Bournemouth Poole, England

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“Our guild meeting was quite a success I guess.”

This interesting waterworks tower postcard sounds like it is between two female friends.  I am interested how Emma, the writer, mentions the guild meeting she had.  This is an uncommon word in today's world, perhaps Society, league or association are more common terms now.  The postcard also mentions a ‘sweater from Portmans’.  How fun!  I looked up Portmans, Chicago and didn’t find anything except an online store from Australia that has clothing items, some of which have ‘Chicago’ in the title.  I can’t imagine in the 1940’s there was a clothing store from Australia in Chicago.  I did some historical searching with no luck under the name Portmans.  So I went to the Library of Congress and looked in the Chicago phone directory from 1942 and looked for a shop called Portmans and didn’t find one.  It was super interesting to see how the phone numbers were listed.  WEL ngtn-6010 and BEL mnt-2824 which is amazing to think about- having your phone number based on the location in town but now a days, we have area codes, so it comes full circle.  Of course our numbers are 10 digits now.

I searched for waterworks towers on Tumblr and there were endless amazing photographs.  One particular one that was impressive is one that shows water towers in Canada : https://canadawatertowers.tumblr.com/

Postcard description:  This postcard is a painting of the Waterworks Tower in Des Moines, IA.  The colors are vibrant and smooth showing a fantastic water tower with ten doric style pillars and the tower itself is very wide.  There are trees, grass and flowers surrounding the tower that is on the left hand portion of the image.

Postcard information:  Waterworks Tower, Des Moines, IA.  Published by Hackley News, Des Moines, IA.  

Postmarked on May 18, 1942 7pm, Des Moines, Iowa

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“Cold & blustery here. I'm ready for spring- I'll bet you are too!!”

Once again we see the quaint connection of weather!  This does seem to be a common theme with the written postcards.  It is delightful!  This card is unique in that writer used a colorful marker and drew hearts on it for a valentines greeting.  Even though the card is from 1974, we are still seeing some formal address use with saying “Mrs.” Vs her friend’s first name.  I noticed a change in the 1980’s with address titles.  This makes me ponder about valentine’s greetings and the variety of greeting cards used.  What did your valentines look like when you were a kid?  I remember having small paper cards with mini envelopes which I see in stores in February.  It is interesting to think about the different ways of communication from when we were kids.  Nowadays you can make your own Valentine’s Day cards and send them virtually.  Companies that used to only make print cards, such as Blue Mountain cards, now have rich websites for ecards.  I have a friend that sends me one each winter holiday.  

In an interesting contrast, Tumblr blog ash-gif-imagines has a hilarious variety of memes for Valentine’s Day.  One of them shows the main character from “Dear John” on Netflix and it says “i love you more than i love calling 911”.  Somewhat shocking but ironic, which I suppose some memes are.  

Postcard description: The postcard shows the outside courtyard of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.  There is a long outside hallway with dozens of columns that looks to be made of marble and possibly concrete.  There is a nude statue to the right of the image and in the courtyard to the left you can see some other statues of human figures and animals.  

Postcard information:  View of East Loggia; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida

Postmarked on February 1, 1974 1pm

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“Everyone passed us while going at 60 miles (per hour).”

1957 from Oregon to Washington

This post shows a postcard that didn’t have to travel far.  The card shares about some about the usual weather report (sunny, hazy, colder, and windy) as well as describing some of the driving situation.  From being passed going 60 MPH to running into football traffic. I am finding these old postcards are like a moment in time, in this case we hear of a couple things they experienced in their car.    

I found an Oregon based Tumblr site, treeswithoutbranches, and her visuals are like small one line postcards including “A POP of vintage green” that shows two shots of a square back Volkswagen, just like the one my dad had and it was the first car I learned how to drive, and “this is what dreams are made of” which shows the view out an airplane and you can see the wing with the ocean and rolling hills below.

Postcard description: Glacier Lake on the crest of Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains.  The postcard image is of a line of 6 pack trains horses with riders and the view is of a large lake with three small rock islands and large mountain range in the background.  

Postcard information:  Ray Atkeson Color Photo

Postmarked on November 9, 1957 3pm, Pendleton, Oregon

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“Saw a whole bunch of surf-boys”

1964 from S. California to Washington state

In 1964 a woman names Nancy Lee wrote to folks in Kent, Washington and mentioned “It's RAINING here & I hear it’s not up there.  Darn!”  I am finding a common denominator with old handwritten postcards mentioning the weather. It makes sense as usually folks send postcards when they are traveling.  She was visiting San Diego and also mentioned “Saw a whole bunch of surf-boys”, such an interesting and honest description and using the language of the times. Notice the fun title in the address, “masters”.  This sounds like a sister on a road trip writing to a sibling and their spouse. When she says “say hi to mom and dad”, this indicates clear relation.

Comparing that is the San Diego Zoo Tumblr account, I learned a lot about bears, specifically polar bears. On Tumblr there are lots of images and a description on how the bears stay cool such as snow machines and “fishicles”.  One of the Tumblr posts linked to the San Diego ZooNooz about bears.  I learned things like they love lettuce and they have black skin.  Here is the link to check out.  https://zoonooz.sandiegozoo.org/2018/11/07/the-cool-bears/

 Seeing the Zoo Tumblr site and thinking about this postcard from 56 years ago makes me ponder the changes in technology and communication.  Now a text, email, digital postcard or video seems to be the norm.  It makes me reflect on when the last time I mailed a postcard was. I couldn’t even tell you how much a postcard stamp would cost now.  (looked it up, 35 cents)

Postcard description:  Photograph of a Himalayan Black Bear standing in a red rock looking environment.  The bear is black except for a tan snout and a stunning white “collar necklace” band around his shoulder/neck area.  

Postcard information: Animal Color Series From the San Diego Zoo

Postmarked on March 25, 1964 Sand Diego, Calif.

Publisher: none listed

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Here we have a postcard from 1931 going from Ohio to Washington.  The postcard is somewhat difficult to read although we can get the gist of the text. It is to a gal named Hazel and it is from her dad.  He doesn’t mention the weather but he does mention letters from ‘the girls’ and how he was out on Lake Erie in Canadian waters, which is interesting.  It sounds like he entered a drawing for a TV but didn’t win, that portion is hard to read.  He may mention a specific TV model which would tell of the times.

A travel blog entry from umpquawinding on Tumblr really did show the times as they had to leave their trip early from Thailand due to the Coronovirus.   This isn’t something that last year at this time we would have read about.  They had planned to stay in the region for two more months but that changed.  They said just as they were leaving governments were starting to shut schools and transportation down in areas they were planning on traveling.  Because they had to come home early, they are going to do a coast to coast road trip from Oregon to Florida.

In comparing these two pieces of written history, I found a different language use for sure.  The postcard, with only a small amount of space, is limited to how much can be said.  An online blog gives more room for space and it is for a wider audience.  The commonality that each of the entries somewhat depict a time is interesting to me.  If anyone figures out what the TV line says, let me know! I would love to look it up.  

Please note the address- no street address or zip code.  Super interesting!  

Thanks for reading.

Postcard information: 36 Toledo Club, Cor. Madison Avenue and 14th, Toledo, OHIO

Postmarked on August 13, 1931, 6:30PM Toledo, OH

Pub: Toledo Post Card Company.jist

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I am exploring the similarities and differences between used postcards and social media posts.  I have collected dozens of postcards sent between the years 1900-1999 Broad comparisons that will go throughout the blog include language use, address concepts and regional/non-regional discussions and how different today’s communication is that in the 20th century.  The first comparison I want to examine is subjects and how they may overlap.  The main common denominator in the postcard research has been 90% of them mention the weather.  In this first postcard sent in 1913, we see a mention of the weather, “It is nice & cool & has been hot but once.  Winter clothes feel good”.  This postcard is going to Kansas from Oregon.  Notice the way the address is with no street name and no zip code. This is very unusual in today’s world of course.  This card not only mentions the weather but some tasty things, “We are living on cherries and raspberries”.  This food element brings in some of the physical sense experience.  In today’s world, I would guess not a lot of us have the opportunity to ask how the crops are doing.  So fascinating!

In a comparison, I found a wonderful Tumblr blog heretotravel and in the few posts I read to compare to the first postcard, I discovered they mention the weather as well.  “ but it was so flipping hot that we ended up spending the entire day at the public lido”  (a lido is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports).  Multiple photos of the area are included and coincidentally enough, the post was from a post in Lugano, Switzerland which I visited when i was 11.

I am already seeing interesting parallels between postcards and travel blogs and am looking forward to reporting what I discover.  Thanks for reading.

 Postcard information: On the Road of a Thousand Wonders (Oregon)

Pub. By the Pacific Novelty Co. of S. F., Cal.

#postcard #oregon #mthood #postal 

[postcardprobe]

I am interested in historical photos and how they are shown on social media, specifically old postcards.  In comparing social media to old postcards, there are some interesting emerging themes.  There is also quite a contrast between old formal writing styles, shown on some postcards, versus the casual language of today in social media.  I will look for common denominators in subject and language.