I feel like a new kid on the block. Somewhat timid at setting out in my new neighborhood, yet thrilled to see what new sights (sites) I might find and the new acquaintances I might make. This blog will display some of the cards in my collection and some comments on the cards, on collecting and on popular culture.
The post cards in the image above represent several eras of cards during the first half of the twentieth-century. They also show varied themes and subject matter typical in the U.S. and Europe.
At the bottom left is a card commemorating the surrender of Confederate Gen. Roberts E. Lee to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, April 9, 1865. Of all the cards in the sampler it is the most modern, most likely produced in the 50's or 60's. It is a photo of an unidentified painting. The card at the top of the sampler of the two lovers is the oldest. It is a black and white photo with hand painted highlights. These were typical of cards of the first decades of the 20th-century.
The black and white photo card to the right of the lovers was copyrighted 1940. It was an advertisement for the Renfro Valley Barn Dance, a radio show broadcast Saturday nights "from a real barn" in Renfro Valley, Kentucky, back in the day. I found that the barn dance is still going strong down in Renfro Valley.
The characters pictured are A'nt Idy and Little Clifford. The message on the reverse side says, "After this picture was taken A'nt Idy asked the photographer for the head-rest used in posing Little Clifford. She claimed it was the only thing that had ever kept him still for any length of time."
I'll reveal more about these and other cards in the coming days. I hope to be able to feature one card a week.
