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

Fly Pan American

A selection of stunning early to mid-20th century airline posters, from a collection donated to the San Diego Air and Space Museum. 

San Diego Air and Space Museum

Source

San Diego Air and Space Museum

Source

San Diego Air and Space Museum

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

Flying, 1920s Style

A terrific set of cigarette cards depicting a flight from London to Amsterdam in the early days of commercial air travel. The images (each "from an official photograph supplied by Imperial Airways") are accompanied by text detailing "our" flight, from check-in and take-off, to views over the Channel, France, and Brussels (where we land for lunch), to the final landing in Amsterdam. I've included the backs with the text, as the little details are fascinating insights into a time when planes held "as many as" 20 passengers, reached cruising altitudes of 3,000 feet, and got from London to Brussels in "only" two and a half hours. 

(The cards aren't specifically dated, but Imperial Airways existed from 1924-1936, the plane named (the [Armstrong Whitworth] Argosy) was used from 1926-1935, and the clothing is solidly late 1920s)

New York Public Library

New York Public Library

Check-in ("weighing-in"). Source

New York Public Library

The Alps in Photochrom

High time for photochroms! Today, the Swiss Alps, in images published in 1905. 

Photochroms, for the uninitiated, are a kind of photolithograph, made commercially in the late 19th and very early 20th centuries. 

Library of Congress

Gemmi Hotel and Leuk, Valais. Source

Library of Congress

Bernese Alps, from Stanserhorn. Source

Library of Congress

Frutigen, church and Alps. 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

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

A Return to the Battlefield

A photo series from 1947 following an ex-GI and his new wife re-visiting the battlefields of France where he fought in the war. I find it so striking that he felt compelled to do this, and especially that she felt compelled to do it with him. 

By Tony Linck for LIFE magazine. From the LIFE archives. 

The ex-GI, Ernest Kreiling, and his wife overlook a valley where he fought in WWII. Source

The woman puts a helmet on her husband in the foxhole where he first heard an enemy shell. Source

The man gives his wife a demonstration of how he washed his socks during the war. Source

Travel by Eurail

The adventures of young student backpackers with Eurail passes, 1970. (many thanks to commenters who've helped identify some of the unnamed locations!)

Photographs from by Carlo Bavagnoli, from the LIFE archives. 

Carlo Bavagnoli, LIFE © Time Inc.

American Eurail backpackers hang out at Amsterdam station, contemplating their next destination. Source

Carlo Bavagnoli, LIFE © Time Inc.

Waiting to get on a Norwegian train. Source

Carlo Bavagnoli, LIFE © Time Inc.

Passport check at the Swiss border. Source

I Love You, California Photochroms

Photochrom series day! California, c. 1900.

From the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress

Alcatraz and the Golden Gate (long before the Bridge), San Francisco. Source

Library of Congress

Glacier Point and South Dome, Yosemite. Source

Library of Congress

Orange Grove Avenue, Pasadena. Source

Wales by Photochrom

Photochrom time! Today, Wales. (as a side note, I've been to most of these places-- they come highly recommended!)

c. 1890-1900. 

Dolbadarn Castle (free to visit!), Llanberis. Source

Capel Curig and Snowdon. Source

Beddgelert (an adorable town). Source

Tunisia by Photochrom

More photochroms! Tunisia, this time, 1890s.

A mosque in the main street, Kairwan. Source

A crowd gathered around a snake charmer, Tunis. Source

Museum garden in Carthage. Source

Tombs and a view of Goletta, Carthage. Source

Outside a Moorish cafe, Tunis. Source

Souc-el-Trouk, Tunis. Source

Tresure Street, Tunis. Source

Sadiky Hospital, Tunis. Source

Men in Tunis. Source

Another view of the museum garden at Carthage. Source

The private drawing room in Kasr-el-Said. Source

Marr Street, Tunis. Source

A view from the minaret of the Great Mosque, Kairwan. Source

Mahomedia, the "lost town", Tunis. Source

Bab Suika-Suker Square, Tunis. Source

Mosque of St. Catherine [that's the caption!], Tunis. Source

Couscous sellers and a cafe, Tunis. Source

A view of Tunis from the Paris Hotel. Source

Another view of the private drawing room in Kasr-el-Said. Source

A nomadic group near Tunis. Source

A procession in Kairwan. Source

A street in Kairwan. Source

Men leaving the mosque, Tunis. Source

Kabah market, Tunis. Source