This is the first post in my new Postcardy 2.0 blog, which is about postcards and postcard collecting. Scroll down to see my newest posts, or click the “More Postcardy Sites” link in the top menu to see my other postcard websites and blogs.
This postcard is an example of one of the postcard topics I collect, “Postcards About Postcards.” You can see some more examples of this type of postcard on my Postcardy.com website here.
Yes, I would be glad to hear from you too!
I originally bought this postcard because of the greeting in Spanish and just recently started examining it more closely.
The first thing I noticed was that it has a Cuban stamp and was mailed from Cuba to the U.S. with a message in English. It was sent to Mr. Alberto Guech, who may have been a fireman, in St. Bernard, Ohio.
From what I was able to learn, stamps with this design were first printed in 1917 and were issued with some variations for many years. The stamp is part of the Cuban Patriot Series and features Maximo Gomez, a hero of Cuba’s War of Independence (1895-1898).
This postcard was probably made in the early 1920s. There is a publisher’s name Amag and a series number 62448|3 in the lower right corner of the picture side.
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This is a 1907 Christmas advertising postcard from Stearn & Co., a Cleveland store specializing in children’s toys and women’s clothing. The store claimed to have a good selection of children’s books deposited by the Good Saint Nicholas from his overflowing pack. The postcard recipient was advised to make an early selection in behalf of the children’s Xmas.
National Food Store Holiday Savings
National Tea Co. was founded in 1899. By the end of the ’20s, National Tea had over 600 locations in the Chicago area alone and another 1,000 stores nationwide. Sales grew to about $90 million a year. Many of these stores were closed or sold during the Great Depression, but National Tea remained among the 10 largest grocery chains in the United States for most of the 20th century.
This advertising postcard from National Tea Co. Food Stores was mailed locally in Chicago on December 20, 1934.
The prices advertised on this card seem absurdly low by today’s standards. For example, apples would cost around $5.99 for 3 pounds, compared to 20¢ in 1934.
I was surprised to see veal roasts prominently advertised, because veal is rarely even found in stores today. The most recent National Retail Report listing Advertised Prices for Lamb and Veal at Major Retail Supermarket Outlets does not even list any prices for veal shoulder roasts. Last week, boneless veal roasts were advertised at $21.99 per pound.
EAGLE FALLS–OVERLOOKING EMERALD BAY–The undescribable beauty of Lake Tahoe represents a challenge for both professional and amateur artists.
When you think of “art postcards,” you usually think of postcards with reproductions of artworks by famous artists. It is easy to find those at museums. A much rarer and unusual topic related to art on postcards that I like to collect is “artists at work” on view postcards. I have found these with two subcategories of artwork: scenic views and portraiture. The scenic view cards sometimes, but not always, have a good view of the scene by the postcard photographer and the artists depiction of the same scene.
PYRAMID LAKE, Nevada–Nearly 40 miles long, 15 to 20 miles wide, this large lake sets in an area of unusual scenery, North of Reno.
GRAND CANYON AND LOWER FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER FROM ARTIST POINT–A favorite vantage point from which to enjoy the thrilling splendor of the falls which are 308 feet high. Although a mile away the roar of the falls can be heard distinctly.
Rocky Peggy’s Cove, has a perennial attraction for artists and photographers.
LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA–Colorful view of artists at work on the pation of Victor Hugos — Laguna Beach is the site of the annual world famous Art Festival.
PIRATE’S ALLEY, New Orleans, La.–Here artists can be seen painting French Quarter scenes that have been portrayed countless times. Portraits sketched on the spot for a small fee.
During summer months Art Festivals attract many visitors to Mystic, Westerly, Snug Harbor, Narragansett, Wickford, Exeter, Coventry, Newport, and other communities of Southern New England.
ARTIST — CAPE COD — MASS.
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1963 Rambler American 220 Sedans: There’s room for all the family in the nimble, smooth-running Rambler American 220.
Rambler American automobiles were manufactured by the American Motors Corporation between 1958 and 1969. The Rambler American’s target audience was motorists who wanted reliable, economical transportation in a package that was small without being crowded. It was most often the lowest priced car built in the U.S., although it was possible to add many options that could increase its price substantially.
1963 Rambler American Sedan: Rambler American is the recognized Economy King.
Automobile advertising postcards were common in the mid-twentieth-century. Most of the cards are of interest mainly to automobile enthusiasts rather than to the average postcard collector. Typical automobile advertising postcards feature “glamour” photographic shots of the cars.
1963 Rambler 440-H Hardtop: Here is sports-car style, family-size!
My interest in automobile advertising postcards is limited to what I call “lifestyle” advertising. What I mean by that is that the cars are shown in settings and situations that illustrate how the car could be used by a potential customer.
1963 Rambler American Station Wagons: You get all the riding comfort and luxury of a sedan — combined with generous cargo-carrying capacity for travel or shopping.
This series of 1963 Rambler American advertising postcards is unusual in that it uses artwork rather than photography. It illustrates how the cars could be used for FUN by active families throughout the four seasons of the year. The settings represented are iconic Americana: classic river boats, patriotic fireworks, local carnivals, and winter sports. Now, the way that they illustrate mid-twentieth-century life also provides a strong dose of nostalgia.
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The Family Car : Unknown Subjects and Location (Isobel Wales Collection)
Kodak Girl Velox Postal, circa 1911
This postcard, which features the “Kodak Girl” and advertises Kodak’s Velox paper, is one of my favorites. There are preprinted Kodak advertising messages on both the front and back of the postcard touting the ease and fun of making and sending Velox postals.
The message on the front is as follows:
On the bright days I Kodak; on the rainy days I print these Velox postals – that makes all the days bright.
Peggy
The back has a Velox stampbox, the name of an Ontario dealer, and the following message:
Your own vacation fun will be doubled if you take along a Kodak to photograph the interesting places and people and the folks at home will enjoy the Velox postals you can send them.
Its all very simple – no dark room you know. Let us show you.
Kodak model 3A cameras were used to make postcard size negatives that could be contact printed on Velox paper postcard stock using artificial light. Velox paper was not very sensitive to light, so a darkroom was not needed.
Kodak issued other Velox postal advertising postcards around 1910. Many of these are shown on the Kodak Girl website. The Kodak Girl website also has examples of Kodak Girl magazine ads and covers, sheet music, etc. The image below is a colorized version of the Kodak Girl featured on my postcard (source: Pinterest)
Kodak Girl Magazine Ad, circa 1911
Let Kodak keep a picture record of your every outing. There’s a new pleasure in every phase of photography–pleasure in the taking, pleasure in the finishing, but most of all, pleasure in possessing pictures of the places and people you are interested in.
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Exterior of “Mexicali” Beer Hall, The Longest Bar in the World, Tijuana, Mexico
These two postcards show the Mexicali Beer Hall which was located in Tijuana, Mexico. These postcards were published in 1935, after the end of prohibition in the United States. However at least one of the images is from an earlier date and is shown at the website of UC San Diego Library . That image is numbered 123375 which indicates a date of 1928.
Wikipedia has an article in German about the Mexicali Beer Hall. An English translation by Google is as follows:
Mexicali Beer Hall was a large beer bar in the Mexican city of Tijuana . With a length of about 50 to 60 meters, she took a complete block on the Avenida Revolución . Known as La Ballena (The Whale ) in Mexico , the restaurant is described on old postcards as the largest bar in the world at that time. The beer brand Mexicali, which at that time was the only Baja California brewed beer brand and from which the bar took its name, was given away.
The Mexicali Beer Hall was probably created as a result of prohibition in the United States, or at least benefited from this. It was on the Avenida Revolución, where in the 1920s and 1930s, at the time of Prohibition, which lasted from 1919 to 1933, a number of pubs had been set up to offer beer and liquor at reasonable prices, and thus a multitude lured by tourists from the US .
Possibly due to the end of Prohibition also went down the sales of the beer houses and some of them closed. The Mexicali Beer Hall was eventually closed and replaced by a Woolworth branch, which already no longer exists.
Interior of “Mexicali” Beer Hall, The Longest Bar in the World, Tijuana, Mexico
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Postcardy 2.0 