Come Dancing! At the Prom Ballroom St Paul Minnesota linen postcard

Prom Ballroom in St Paul Minnesota linen postcard, circa 1940s. Click image for larger view

Time to trip the light fantastic at the Prom Ballroom in St Paul Minnesota.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Route 66 - Zuni Motor Lodge Albuquerque New Mexicod

Zuni Motor Lodge Route 66 Albuquerque New Mexico linen postcard

Click image for larger view 

Heading west on Route 66 we hit Albuquerque's Zuni Motor Lodge with its adobe-inspired architecture and a restaurant offering fried chicken, filet mignon, and Baked Virginia ham, with no mention of South-west cuisine. Some things have changed for the better.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Route 66 - Rock Village Court Springfield Missouri postcard

Rock Village Court Route 66 Springfield MO linen postcard

click image for larger view.

 

Get your kicks on Route 66... more linen postcards from the highway.

Heard on the Street - Town Crier Provincetown Massachusetts 1909 postcard

Town Crier Provincetown Massachusetts 1909 postcard

click on image for larger view

Keep up to date with all the local news worth hearing. Switch off the internet, cell phone, and so forth, hear it from the town crier instead.

On second thoughts, who needs all that hand bell ringing this early in the morning? Besides, Mrs Grundy next door has got all the local gossip worth knowing.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Lake Arrowhead Topographic Map California postcard

Lake Arrowhead California Topographic linen postcard, circa 1950s

Click image for larger view

For a twist on the road map postcards, perhaps topography is important on your map postcards. Maybe you need to know what kind of hill climbing your automobile may need to endure - the radiator might boil over. And worse still you might have to get out and walk or climb a hill.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Martha's Vineyard Road Map, MA postcard

Martha's Vineyard Road Map linen postcard

click image for larger view

Did one of the well-to-do invite you over to "the island"? Here's a road map postcard to show you the way to their compound. Actually, it may be best just to leave the automobile at home. It's difficult to get around the island in the summer months, or so I am told. Besides, perhaps your host is sending the helicopter for you...

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Roadside Map Wisconsin postcard

Road Map of Wisconsin linen postcard, circa 1950sclick image for larger view

Looking for that special fishing spot that no one else knows about? Visit the Fisherman's Paradise of Wisconsin as this state road map advises.

Railside America linen - Las Vegas NV Train Depot & Streamliner postcard

Union Pacific Tailroad Streamliner train at Las Vegas Nevada depot linen postcard, circa 1950s

Click image for larger view.

All this traveling by automobile may have made you road weary. Perhaps it's time to ditch your traveling companions; they were getting on your nerves anyway. Step over to the Las Vegas train depot and wait a while in the Art Deco style waiting room until the Union Pacific pulls into the platform ready to take you homeward bound.

Happy Coast Guard Day - to the Men & Women of the USCG Service!

USCG WTR-379 Cutter Unimak. Click image for larger view.

Semper Paratus! Always Prepared.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Large Letter Linen Las Vegas Nevada postcard

Large Letter Linen Las Vegas Nevada postcard, circa 1950

click image for larger view

Viva Las Vegas - for all those who like a little flutter or a "game of skill" at the poker tables.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Large Letter Linen Flagstaff Arizona

Large letter Flagstaff Arizona linen postcard 

click image for larger view

Evoking Western romanticism of wagon trains and cowboys and Indians this large letter linen postcard is a very good example of another sub category of Roadside America linen postcards.

Roadside America Postcards - Street Scene Show Low Arizona

Main Street Show Low Arizona 1950s chrome postcard

click image for larger view

This card might not win any photography competition awards but it nicely illustrates several topical areas of interest to different collectors. First there is the interest to Roadside America collectors then notice the Shell gas sign and gas pumps on the left in foreground. On the front right is a drugstore sign for the Show Low Drug Co, of interest to collectors of drugstore items. Further down the street on the right (click image for larger view) can be seen the sign for a bank. On the left, a motor lodge and of course there are cars for those you collect auto postcards. To round things out, Western or local town collectors may be interested in a card like this.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Route 66 - Longchamp Diner Amarillo Texas

Longchamps Diner Amarillo Texas linen postcard

click on image for larger view

Time for a spot of lunch. Let's pull into Longchamp's Diner in Amarillo Texas on the famed Route 66 a subcategory of Roadside America postcards keenly sought after by collectors.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Green Parrot Restaurant Houston Texas

Green Parrot Restaurant Houston Texas linen postcard 

(click image for larger view)

Getting a little peckish on your road trip? How about a chicken dinner at the Green Parrot in Houston, Texas? Let's hope it is chicken and not Polly Parrot...

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Paul's Tourist Hotel Court Chattanooga Tennessee

 Paul's Tourist Hotel Court Chattanooga Tennessee linen postcard, circa 1950s

A multi view postcard might give the traveler a fuller picture of what they might expect if they pulled off US 41 on their way into Chattanooga.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Bel-Air Motel, New Orleans, Louisiana

Bel-Air Motel, New Orleans, Louisiana linen postcard (click on image for larger view)

In town for Mardi Gras? Then perhaps we can put you up at the Bel-Air motel on Gentilly Highway, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Colonial Cottages Gulfport Mississippi

Colonial Cottages, Gulfport Mississippi linen postcad. Click on image for larger view

Why not sit awhile at the entrance to the Colonial Cottages motel in Gulfport Mississippi, watching the travelers arrive and depart? Heat and humidity getting to you? Why, then, you can amble inside and recline near one of the electric fans so prominently advertised on the sign overhanging the motel entrance.

Roadside America Linen Postcards - Maple Motel Nashville Tennessee

Maple Motel Nashville Tennessee linen postcard, circa 1950s (click on image for larger view)

Roadside America linen postcards are a popular collecting category. The vivid colors and sharp details of the linen cards certainly catch the eye. Seeing this view of the Maple Motel outside Nashville might have tempted one to stay there overnight. Of course, most guests would see the card once they'd checked into their room, rested awhile, and thought about sending a postcard to family or friends to advise of their journey's progress. Today, postcards are not much considered as a means of communication with a text message, cell call, or email being the preferred line of communication for the roadside traveler.

Golf Widow Fantasy 1910c postcard

Guys, this is what she wants to hear. Not "I'm going golfing. Have a nice day. See ya later."

Hawaiian Woman Orchids Hawaii 1952 postcard

Another in the "who is that on the postcard" vein:

"Had to have this postcard...the woman is my great aunt! :)"

Chinese Girls Chinatown San Francisco CA 1932 postcard

Another story behind - or in this case "on" the card:

I received a message thanking me for "the postcard of my grandmother". So, curiosity getting the better of me, I replied asking which one she was. 

In response: "My grandmother is the one sitting down. She is on other postcards, too. I always keep an eye out for her."

1122 Jennings Avenue Fort Worth Texas 1916 postcard

One of the joys of postcarding is the stories that one happens to come across that connect the past to the present. This often happens in quite unexpected ways.

The postcard above is a limited run privately-produced postcard that was sent by the family at 1122 Jennings Avenue in Fort Worth Texas as a Christmas greeting in 1916. I came across the card in an antique mall in southwestern Indiana a couple of months ago. I listed it on eBay and it sold within a few hours of going onsale. 

The buyer, a Fort Worth local historian, sent me this follow-up message:

" "I told a friend, a landscaper, about this card and he replied:

"...Oh MY God... OMG... I remember that house and EXACTLY where it was because guess what!!??? My swinging door between the dining room and kitchen was the front door to that house! I picked it up off the curb in 1985 when I was redoing my house the first time around and used it between the two rooms because of the glass in it and it has all this cool applied carving. AND, before the house burned and was torn down several years later, a poor kid that rented there worked for me for about three months. I remember the window hood (the decorative "roof" over the front window) very well. How about THAT?!..."

Small world, huh?" 

Small world, indeed.

Stop Horsing Around - Cherrelyn Horse Streetcar Denver Colorado 1910c postcard

Horse Drawn Streetcar with Horse as Passenger, Denver, Colorado 1910c postcard (click image for larger view)

According to the caption on similar cards of the Cherrelyn horse drawn streetcar, the horse would pull the streetcar up an incline slope in Denver and would be placed on the platform at the end of the car for the ride back down on the return journey.

If the horse were a reflective sort, it might have wondered why it couldn't just ride up the slope like everyone else since that was the toughest leg of the journey for it. 

Cuban Cigar Seller, circa 1910

Cuban Tobacco Cigar Street Seller, Havana, Cuba, circa 1910.

Daily Bread Delivered By Head - Cuban Bread Seller 1916

Cuban Bread Vendor, postmarked 1916

Harris Bros. Co, Havana, publishers.

Great Lakes Rail Ferry Steamers in Ice Ludington Michigan postcard

Great Lakes Steamer Railroad Ferries in Ice, Ludington Michigan, circa 1920s. 

White border postcard. Click on image for larger view.

Great Lakes Steamer Islander, St Ignace Michigan postcard

Steamer "Islander", St Ignace, Michigan postcard. Albertype Co.

Car Ferry Steamers at St Ignace Michigan postcard

Michigan State Auto Ferries at St Ignace Michigain. Albertype Co.

One Great Lakes car steamer not enough for you and your entourage? Here's two to be going on with till others arrive.

Car Ferry Steamer St Ignace Michigan postcard

Michigan State Auto Ferry Steamer "Sainte Ignace", St Ignace Michigan postcard. Albertype Co.

Don't have the time to drive around the Great Lakes on your vacation? Shorten the journey and relax by catching one of the Michigan State auto ferries.

Boating Canoeing Cass Lake Pontiac Michigan postcard

Boating & Canoeing on Cass Lake, Pontiac, Michigan undivided back postcard. Albertype Co.

If you prefer to put your oar in rather than rely on the wind in your sails try to boating or canoeing on Cass Lake, Michigan in this circa 1905 postcard.

Yachting Portage Lake Onekama Michigan postcard

Yachting Portage Lake Portage Point Inn Michigan postcard. Hand colored. Albertype.

Sailing in Small Boats Onekama Michigan postcard

Yacht Racing, Twice A Week, Portage Point Inn, Michigan. Albertype Co.

Boys in small boats, a summer idyll. At the Portage Point Inn on Portage Lake and Lake Michigan, Onekama, Michigan. "One of The Most Complete Vacation Set Ups in the Midwest".

Someone's Going to Get Something Unexpected -Twelvetrees postcard

Someone's Going to Get Something They Don't Expect, artist signed Charles Twelvetrees, postcard

As mother used to say, "don't be so full of yourself". You may be riding for a fall. Keep your eyes peeled and  that ego of yours under control.

Road Trip Find #2 - Decorated Car House of David postcard

Decorated House of David Car, Benton Harbor, Michigan postcard, circa 1920s

Road trip find #2: The House of David, a religious community in Benton Harbor, Michigan had a range of activities that attracted many visitors including miniature train, a brass band, and it's own baseball team. Here community members proudly display their decorated car that took first place in parade.

Road Trip Find #1 - Hotel Noel Nashville Tennessee linen postcard

Noel Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee linen postcard

Found on the end of May postcard buying road trip: a nice clean, crisp linen postcard of the Noel Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee circa the 1940s. Love the clean lines and perspective of this card. Who wouldn't want to stay here?

Fishing from the Jetty, Freeport Texas postcard

Fishing from the Jetty, Freeport, Texas postcard. Albertype Co.

Looks a mite uncomfortable sitting out on the jetty under the beating sun in Freeport, Texas.

Surf Fishing Asbury Park New Jersey postcard

Surf Fishing, Asbury Park, New Jersey postcard. Albertype Co.

Don't snag any swimmers, you fishers!  Move on down the beach, please...

Children at Play - Asbury Park Beach, New Jersey postcard

Children at Play, Asbury Park, New Jersey postcard. Albertype Co

If human pyramids aren't your thing, perhaps a sand castle, moat or paddling pool are more to your style and better suited to your engineering skills.

Human Pyramid on the Beach at Asbury Park New Jersey postcard

Human Pyramid at Asbury Park, New Jersey postcard, postmarked 1909

Soaking up the rays got you bored? Gentlemen, please flex your muscles for the human pyramid...

Need Some Beach Time... Asbury Park, New Jersey postcard

Beach Crowd, Asbury Park, New Jersey, Albertype Co publisher.

Click  on image for larger view.

Time to head for the beach.... don't forget sun block, hat, sunglasses, and plenty of fresh water.

Greetings from Asbury Park Large Letter postcard

Large Letter linen postcard, Asbury Park 

Tichnor Bros. circa 1940s

The popular large letter linen format with multiple views within the letters depicting all the seaside activities to be enjoyed at Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Swan Ride Anyone?

 Swan Ride on Wesley Lake, Ocean Grove - Asbury Park, New Jersey

Tichnor linen postcard, circa 1940s.

With the beginning of summer upon us, anyone for a Swan ride during summer vacation? Pack the bags for Asbury Park - Ocean Grove, New Jersey, circa 1940s. This may be a bit too sedate for today's thrill seekers. Perhaps bungee jumping instead.

Optical Allusions, circa 1910

"Optical Allusions", circa 1910s, real photo postcard

undisclosed location, Azo stamp box. Click image for larger view.

While no illusions are involved, the man and woman in the middle of this real photo postcard appear to be checking each other out by use of early twentieth century "looking glasses". He feigns viewing her through his telescope while she appears to have reversed the binoculars, looking through the large lens end of the instrument thus giving him that "far away look", no doubt. The woman at right stands at attention, shaded by her broad rim hat, observing these country shenanigans.

Road Trip: Fisk Tires Will Not Skid 1913 postcard

Fisk Tire Co advertising postcard, postmarked 1913

Off on a postcard buying road trip for the rest of the week. While Fisk tires may have protected the motorist in 1913, I'm hoping the anti-skid brakes, air bags, seat belts etc are all in tip top condition.

Let's see what finds I bring back.

Budgerigars Parakeets Budgies on Postcards

Budgies up close & personal

Barneys New York, rack card, 2000

As a kid I had a series of budgies as pets. Easy to train, gregarious, talkative, amusing, easy to care for - a great companion for kids. Sadly they tended to have relatively short lives, but that was one of life's early lessons too: living life and coping with loss.

Two that stand out in my memory are Sean and William. Sean was a completely yellow budgie - I'd never seen one this color before - and he was not only a good talker, he was a really good table soccer player, could fly well, and worked out regularly on his gym equipment. 

 

Somewhere there's a photo of Sean putting his head inside a young boy's mouth - I imagined the newspaper headline reading "Brave budgie puts head inside boy's mouth - and lives". If there is such a thing as reincarnation, Sean is probably a dentist in Topeka, Kansas.

 

William was a budgie of a different feather, but a budgie to the core. Blue like the budgie in the card above, I remember him as a great talker and, as with Sean, always delighted to see you. 

 

Memory clouds a bit as to which one of these intrepid small souls was the one who developed the habit, but as a teenager whenever I drove my car up the driveway beside the family home if the back door of the house was open there would be a torrent of "Where's Jim, where's Jim?", some exciting whistling, accompanied by running back & forth along his perch. (note - "Jim" inserted to represent my name). The budgie in question had a good ear - he was never fooled by the engines of the two other vehicles that used that driveway or those of visitors' cars. 

 

And, of course, my little feathered friend had to be the first to be greeted when I entered the house.

Here's to you, my budgie buddies - extra seed & a nibble of cuttlefish too!

Everybody's Sending Postcards

Everybody's Sending Postcards...

1968 World's Fair HemisFair San Antonio, Texas.

continental size. 

Everybody's sending postcards... so why aren't you?