Greetings From

Today another jaunt into ephemera. You know those vintage postcards with the big tacky letters spelling out a place name, each filled with pictures? I have to admit, growing up I thought those were just made-up, simply kitschy takes on past trends. I still find it amusing that they're absolutely not. They were a big thing for a long time--every random, tiny little American town had one. Like much of the popular art summarily dismissed as kitsch, their tackiness to modern eyes and adherence to format conceals a variety of individual takes and creative flair. 

Also, they're just fun. 

Postcards from the mid-20th C, drawn from the endlessly rewarding postcard collection of the Boston Public Library.

Boston Public Library

Ashbury Park, N. J. Source

Boston Public Library

Galveston, Texas. Source

Boston Public Library

Spokane, Washington. Source

Postcards from Southern California

Regular blog readers might be aware of my April tradition of making a blog post for my sister's birthday. Now, regular blog readers are probably also aware that I haven't been particularly with it post-wise lately (honestly, the only reason I got the San Francisco Earthquake one together was that I'd been sitting on the pictures for months until the right date, and only realized it was that date that morning!). So, well, this birthday post is a bit late. But I'll admit....so was her actual present!

Since the sister looks in Southern California, for this year I took a dive into one of my all-time favourite collections, the Boston Public Library's collection of linen postcards from 1930s-40s America, to present this set of wonderfully colourful, semi-photographic postcards from the land of sunshine. 

Enjoy, sister, and all!

Boston Public Library

Long Beach, back when it apparently had a cool roller coaster. Source

Boston Public Library

Oranges and snow (well, a little bit). Source

Boston Public Library

A world premier at the Cathay Circle Theatre, LA. Source

Road Tripping 1960s Norway

A delightful set of photo postcards made in Norway in the 1960s. Wonderfully, nearly all the cards in the set include a cheerful red car (of various makes), merrily making its way through the Norwegian countryside. The postcards thus evoke a series of personal snapshots of one person's road-trip (better snapshots than anyone could actually take!). Of course, in a sense, they are: the car(s) belonged to the photographer. 

Since the photos' captions are only in Norwegian, which I don't speak, I've pasted them in full, so as not to mix up place names and descriptions. 

Nasjonalbiblioteket / National Library of Norway

Lillehammer. Source

Nasjonalbiblioteket / National Library of Norway

Tvindefoss. Ruten Voss - Stalheim - Gudvangen. Source

Nasjonalbiblioteket / National Library of Norway

Vik i Sogn. I bakgrunnen Hella og Fjærlandsfjord. Source

Un Baiser

What better day to have a dip into my dear collection of 1920s/30s French romance postcards? For the uninitiated, the genre is characterized by its embellished scenes of idealized romance--perfect for Valentine's Day! So, here is a selection of passionate (or at least passionately posed) kisses. Cynics can come back later. 

I've included the backs, because most of these postcards, especially the more romantic ones, were in fact sent between couples. So there's the real romance in addition to the staged, a meltingly lovely combination. 

personal collection

Written November 15, 1930, in Bourges, to a woman named Germaine. 

personal collection

personal collection

Written on September 20, 1923, in Berchon, from a man to a woman. 

personal collection

Written August 21, 1928, in Marennes, from Raoul to Eugenie. 

personal collection

personal collection

Christmas Greetings from the Trenches

Embroidered silk postcards soldiers at the Western Front sent to their families back home, for Christmas. These kinds of embroidered postcards were very popular among soldiers of World War One, and were made in large numbers by French and Belgian women during the conflict. The Australian War Memorial collection holds over 600, which I intend to return to. The themes are mostly floral and/or patriotic, their reassuring prettiness belying the conditions lived by the men who sent them. 

These postcards are especially poignant this year--one hundred years since that first Christmas in the trenches. 

A postcard with the same pattern, but a non-Christmas greeting, can be seen here. Source

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Mille Baisers II

As long-time followers may remember, I'm an avid collector of a certain genre of postcards most readily defined as "French romantic fantasy postcards of the 1920s and 30s" (though admittedly not most catchily). I've devoted a couple of posts to these, as well as, last year, starting them their own blog. Eventually I decided the blog format wasn't doing what I wanted to, and set out to create a more online collection-like site to share the postcards and the research I've done with them (there is currently no source that discusses them at any length, at least in English). I have many more ambitions for the site than are currently realized, but I feel it's reached the point of being meaningful to launch, with the caveat (or bonus) that much, much more is still to come. 

The new site, like the old blog, is named Mille Baisers, which is a French term of endearment often written at the ends of letters and postcards. It means "a thousand kisses." 

The site currently features about 150 of these postcards, front and back, with relevant tags and cataloging information; I have somewhere over 300 in my collection which shall be added on an ongoing basis. Here are a few favourites. 

personal collection

personal collection

personal collection

Homes of the Stars

Among the over 900 postcards of 1930s-40s California held by the Boston Public Library, a distinct set stands out. Apparently in this period it was very popular to print postcards depicting the private homes of movie stars. Many are even verifiable as having belonged to the named celebrity. Even then, the line between the private and public lives of celebrities was certainly blurred. 

These aren't dated (beyond the vague ca. 1930-1945 range given to the entire collection), but based on the celebrities, they seem to come from the mid to late thirties. The first postcard below, the home of Bing Crosby, was certainly created between 1936, when the house was constructed, and 1942, when it burned down. 

Boston Public Library

Home of Bing Crosby, 1936-1942. Source

Boston Public Library

Home of Gary Cooper. Source

Boston Public Library

Home of Ginger Rogers (I). Source

Motels in Technicolour

The other month I discovered the Boston Public Library's amazing collection of over 25,000 linen postcards of the United States from the 1930s and 40s. Of course I dove right in, sharing a postcard each from the 48 states represented. Though the majority of those were scenic view cards, the view cards are only a portion of the postcards in the collection. A very large number are postcards that double as advertisements, for businesses, restaurants, and motels. Especially motels. The motel cards go on and on.

I think these kinds of superficially boring cards (or photos) can be amazing. They all look the same, and they all look different. Their sheer quantity and repetitiveness bear testament to their roles as objects of popular culture. These cards especially are so earnest, their bright colours cheerful and optimistic. This was the age of motels, the period when highways were flourishing and Americans were just discovering the fun of the road trip. The postcards promote the appeal of this new pastime with a touching sincerity.

Boston Public Library

Coquille, Oregon. Source

Boston Public Library

Seneca Falls, New York. Source

Boston Public Library

Newman, Illinois. Source

Sweden, Tinted

Hand-tinted postcards are generally associated with the early decades of the 20th century. By the middle of the century, colour photomechanical printing had mostly taken over. 

I was thus delighted to find these hand-tinted postcards from Sweden in the 1950s, published by the Swedish postcard company Almquist and Cöster. The modern clothes and cars contrast with the old-school selective stencil tinting in such a striking way.

Swedish National Heritage Board

The Square in Haparanda. Source

Swedish National Heritage Board

The bar at Skrea beach in Falkenberg. Source

Swedish National Heritage Board

The camping ground at Skrea beach in Falkenberg. Source

Postcards from America, Part Two

Continuing our postcard journey through the United States, thanks to the collections of the Boston Public Library. Nebraska to Wyoming!

Boston Public Library

Nebraska. Source

Boston Public Library

This little Nevada town... is Las Vegas. Source

Boston Public Library

New Hampshire. Source

Postcards from America, Part One

I recently discovered the Boston Public Library on Flickr, and it was instant love. They have over 90,000 images in 380 sets, from photographs to posters to trade cards to produce crate labels. Though they're not on the Flickr Commons, most if not all of their images are available to share under an attribution Creative Commons license. I am very excited to explore, and if anyone on the Boston Public Library team ever happens to read this, thank you!

One of the highlights of the collection (at least in my eyes) is a collection of over 25,000 postcards from the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. These are proofs of postcards that were sold by the Boston-based Tichnor company. Every state (at the time) is represented, although some are represented much better than others. As well as a wide variety of views there are huge numbers of advertising postcards depicting roadside motels, diners, and other businesses; total old-school Americana. I plan on sharing some of these fellows in the future, but I thought I'd start a journey through the collection with a journey through the states. For this post and the next, I've picked one card from each state (with no deep thought; just ones I think are great). Hawaii and Alaska, of course, weren't states at the time; there is a single postcard of Alaska but it's just a map so I skipped it. For some reason Minnesota and Kansas are hardly represented at all; there are a few business-related cards but none of the nice view cards every other state has. So sorry, Minnesotans and folks from Kansas (Kansasians?)--no offense is intended by the cards I chose! 

These are in alphabetical order. For each state I've linked to the corrosponding state set on Flickr, so you can have a look at the rest of the ones you like-- some states have over a thousand!

Boston Public Library

Alabama. Source

Boston Public Library

Arizona. Source

Boston Public Library

Arkansas. Source

Happy Birthday Postcards!

A batch of early twentieth century birthday postcards, for my sister's 23rd birthday!

New York Public Library

Postmarked 1910. Source

New York Public Library

"Congratulations on your birthday" just isn't something we say anymore... Unwritten. Source

New York Public Library

Postmarked 1907. Source

The First Batch of Christmas Postcards

It's been about a year now since the start of my addiction to the holiday postcard collection of the New York Public Library. It began with a heap of Christmas postcards, followed by postcards for most major holidays this year. Now we're back to Christmas--fortunately the Christmas category has over 700 postcards! Here's a sampling to start the season. 

New York Public Library

Written on verso: "Dear Cousin / Isn't this an appropriate message for the times-- [illegible] for you from Lizzie / I am trusting that two little girls won't scrap in taking their pick." Source

New York Public Library

No date on postmark. Source

New York Public Library

Written on verso: "Dear Laura, the hat pin and cushion are for you  the brush and comb handkerchief and hair ribbon for Anna. Please give Abram the tie and Charlie the suspenders. Wish you all a Happy Xmas. Your loving sister Lotty. Source

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Happy belated Thanksgiving to the American folks! To go with those leftovers, how about a few early 20th century Thanksgiving postcards from the New York Public Library? 

New York Public Library

Postmarked 1909. Source

New York Public Library

Postmarked 1915. Source

New York Public Library

Written: "Why is it I never hear from you?" Postmarked 1909. Source

La Fête de la Sainte-Catherine

St. Catherine is, among other things, the patron saint of unmarried women. On St. Catherine's Day (25th November, ie, today) it was traditional in France for unmarried women to pray to her for a husband, and, especially if they were over 25, to send each other cards on the day. The colourful 1920s postcards I collect and feature in my other blog, Mille Baisers, were popular for this in the 20s and 30s, especially as they typically feature single women looking fabulous or women looking fabulous with the attention of an adoring man. Today, a selection from my collection! The verso of each card are included. 

personal collection

personal collection

personal collection

personal collection

personal collection

personal collection