Postcard Images:

Hawaiian postcard cornucopia

2012-01-23T10:59:00.000-09:00

Our good friends, the Gebauer family just returned from Kauai bearing gifts. The last trip they brought me a wonderful t-shirt imprinted with the Postcard Cafe, a well-know vegetarian eatery on the island. This time I was the grateful recipient of a wooden postcard picturing a surfer just rising onto his board on a giant wave and a beautiful packet of postcards (left).The packet contains some

Chugging into the future

2011-12-31T17:40:00.004-09:00

For the last postcard of 2011, I chose (no surprise) a train. To me there is nothing more symbolic of moving into the future than a train chugging along, especially trains powered by a steam locomotive.This postcard came from friends and neighbors who just returned from the lower 48 (U.S.) states. I collect train postcards and they seem to find the best cards for me. This card is post dated 1928

Coach, "You gotta put me in!"

2011-12-13T01:11:00.001-09:00

This guy is the personification of the kid who just wants to get in the game. This postcard came from a humorous dog-themed calendar, complete with removable postcards. I'm sending this card along with some other gifts to a friend who I think will appreciate the gun-hoe attitude. I also like this card because the ready to play dog dons the helmet of the Green Bay Packers. The packers are my

Yippie, share the serendipidy

2011-11-22T23:05:00.001-09:00

After six out of seven days of record lows (-35 to -41), the air warmed to -18 today. I thought this post card expressed my elation. It felt nice to walk outside again. Instead of the smoggy smell of city air under a high pressure inversion, walking outside today you could smell clean winter air again. It reminded me to of winters in my home state of Michigan which seem tame and mild

Cold to the Bone

2011-11-18T23:19:00.001-09:00

We're in a cold snap here. The weather turned cold the past week and there isn't any end in sight yet. On Wednesday, November 16, records fell: 54 below zero Fahrenheit at Manly Hot Springs, 41 below in Fairbanks International Airport. This post card is my favorite local cold weather image. There are lots of these hearty souls walking the streets of Fairbanks this time of year dressed up like

Landing a Big One

2011-08-22T16:15:00.005-08:00

My high school friend, Rick, has a great sense of humor and wrote on the back of this old Curt Teich linen postcard, "Here's a photo of me catching a big salmon last week. He put up a mighty fight too!" His fish story did catch the vernacular of the 20Th-century postcard greeting. How many folks back home were bamboozled or humored by stories of whoppers caught and eaten in obscurity on vacation

2011-05-30T11:53:00.003-08:00

Postcrosser and amateur photographer, Christine, sent this wonderful postcard image of her nephews eating watermelon. I think this one beats the usual kids in the bathtub. Then again, all baby pictures are like all babies, cute from the get go.

The Postcards Cafe

2011-02-15T10:23:00.004-09:00

Shame on my for neglecting my blog. I like to post weekly but life happens. My friends Kim and Dennis returned from Kauai, Hawaii, from a much needed vacation and they were so taken with the island they could not stop talking about it and reading about it. They vowed to return. I'll give them a year or two but I bet they will be back. From their descriptions, Kauai sounds like the Garden of Eden,

Oh, say can you see...

2011-01-28T19:13:00.005-09:00

This card of Fort McHenry was one of two cards sent recently by Stephen from Baltimore, Maryland. This was the fort the British bombarded for 25 hours on September 13, 1814, during the War of 1812. Had they passed and landed in Baltimore Harbor we Americans might be a part of the U.K. This is also the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem "Defense of Fort McHenry. The poem

The Music of Madonna and Child

2010-12-24T22:06:00.005-09:00

I have always had a fondness for Madonna and Child images. This antique greeting postcard with an embossed image shows mother Mary, a rather mature infant Jesus and a couple of ministering angels. A heavenly host of infant voices adds a choral dimension. On closer look it seems the child is singing, perhaps symbolizing the music of the spheres or the Word of God. The entire group is perched on a

Misspelled postcards

2010-12-06T15:09:00.003-09:00

A couple of images today from Alaska's past to show the majesty of nature and the frailty of humanity. The images above have beautiful scenes adorned with misspelled words. The titles of these two photo postcards should read, "Alaska" not "Alsaska" and "Nanook" not "Nonook." It proves, if nothing else, that people occasionally misspell words. We all know that and tend to look the other way. We

My Hometown, Wayne, Michigan, circa 1940's

2010-11-29T18:30:00.001-09:00

This is a photo postcard view of Wayne, Michigan, my childhood hometown. The view looks northwest along Michigan Avenue, U.S. 12. The scene is not so different than the main streets in many small towns of the era between Detroit, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois, before the advent of the interstate highway system and urban renewal. This glossy photo postcard was sent to me by a high school buddy,

Kauai flowers from friends

2010-11-13T13:07:00.004-09:00

This image of bright flowers were sent by my good friends Kim (a Postcrosser) and Dennis while on vacation on Kauai, one of the Hawaiian Islands. The postcard is made of wood on the island of Kauai by Hawaiianwoodys.com. The cards are laser cut and come in all custom shapes, such as surf boards. They also make custom cards to your specifications. The cards can be mailed anywhere in the U.S. for

Chainsaw Artists

2010-10-08T19:01:00.004-08:00

Though you won't probably find these works of art at the next art show in your town, unless you live in a rural town of less than 500, you can be sure that where there is a crew cutting pulp wood there is an artist among them. I found this card when I took my chainsaw into the local shop for service. My saw wouldn't start and they discovered diesel fuel in the thing. To save total embarrassment,

Guitar Dreams

2010-10-04T07:24:00.002-08:00

My son left this homemade postcard on my bedroom dresser. It is a three dimensional card made of foam cut outs he made at school. I came up with the title.

Squeeze Me! Beg Your Pardon

2010-09-30T19:51:00.003-08:00

Tracy from the United Kingdom sent this unusual and fun postcard, her first as a Postcrosser. I think this postcard will be a big hit with my middle school-age kids. If you can not read upside down, the label says "Rich Thick Obscene Noises." The card captures a common joke in many households when the over seriousness of the dinner table is interrupted by the near-empty ketchup bottle squeezed

Grass On Your Roof

2010-09-18T13:36:00.005-08:00

Diane over at Artstanding Stranger sent these great photo postcards. "Trapper's Cabin" is an "alaska joe" original postcard. The other shows the Continental Divide in Yellowstone National Park. Thanks Diane, I didn't have either card but do remember crossing the great divide as a kid on a family vacation and seeing that same sign. Sod roofs are traditional structures with many native peoples who

Speaking of Fish: or what one fish said to another

2010-09-12T17:04:00.004-08:00

This somewhat macabre image comes from Vickie in Taiwan, a Postcrosser. She translates a Chinese proverb but a lot got lost in the translation. It is something about the two fish talking to each other on the line. One asks why the other is still laughing and the other replies because I'm lucky to still see the sky and not hang in the market. I searched the Internet but couldn't come up with any

Alaska, the big one

2010-09-04T10:14:00.003-08:00

A question for your elementary school-age kids. Which U.S. state has the largest land area? This postcard answers the question.Alaska is so big you can put Texas, California, Montana within its borders and still have plenty of room for Idaho. Now that's big. Compared to the world's countries, Alaska ranks 15th in

Patrolling the Line: Alaska's Brave Smoke Jumpers

2010-08-29T19:51:00.006-08:00

This year's wild fire season was unusually active and close to home. In May, a wild fire came a quarter mile from my work camp trailer north of Healy. This summer there were several fires in Denali National Park, one in the front country where I work. A plane crashed close to our work camp, killing three, and starting a wild fire. A few weeks ago a wind-stoked fire raged through a Healy

Eskimo Whale Feast

2010-08-07T09:45:00.004-08:00

This postcard was free. My favorite kind. It is an advertisement for Alaskan artist Claire Fejes' book, People of the Noatak, published by Volcano Press. The cover illustration shown here is called "Eskimo Whale Feast." Just remember whale meat is very good the first time cooked but never eat whale meat twice cooked -- yuck.

God Walks The Central Path

2010-06-28T09:04:00.004-08:00

Luhuiwen, a Postcrossing member from China, sent this beautiful scenic postcard of the Heavenly Thoroughfare. The walkway runs from the Temple of Heaven to the Temple of Agriculture. The view is toward the Temple of Heaven to the south. The description on the card notes that the central path, known as the Heavenly Thoroughfare, was "reserved exclusively for God and nobody, including the Emperor,

Kicking Up Some Dust

2010-06-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

This scenic card came from Helga, a Postcrosser, from Germany . I liked it a lot. Just thinking of driving a VW on a desert road and kicking up some dust has a lot of appeal to an ex-Legends car racer.

Memorial Day Reminds Us Everyday is a Memorial Day

2010-05-31T11:22:00.004-08:00

Here is a postcard that reminds us Americans that there are Memorial Days of all kinds that exist with no less significance than our own civil observance to honor the war dead past and present. My experience of Memorial Day means much more, namely that everyday is a Memorial Day -- a day in which I give honor to all the dead whose lives made my life and the life of my country possible.This card

Tugging The Heart Strings

2010-05-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

A service station that changed my thermostat in November sent this card to remind me that it was time for my next service. My car's windshield would not defog at 30 below Fahrenheit so I resorted to driving dressed in full winter gear and the window down to keep my breath from condensing on the windows. The station didn't ask but I usually change my own oil and do my own lube job. Still, I

Eye of the Frog

2010-04-18T00:09:00.001-08:00

I love this postcard. I saw it at my eye doctor when I went for my annual exam last year. I asked if she had any extras and made a point of asking again when I went to pick up my glasses. I asked again a few months later when I needed my glasses adjusted. Apparently she got the idea as this card came in the mail this week.Too bad the post office mutilated the green guy's face. They seem to

Summer Hockey Time

2010-04-17T16:44:00.004-08:00

When you live in a hockey town there seems no end to the season. Here is an ad postcard for summer hockey camp in Fairbanks. That's one angry moose. He may represent the parents feelings about ice time extending not only into spring but summer as well.

Oh Canada, where pines and fireweeds grow...

2010-04-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Terry a member of Postcrossing from Canada sent this beautiful mountain from the Valley of the Ten Peaks in Banff National Park. I like the contrast of the majestic and rugged mountains with the delicate fireweeds. This beautiful magenta petalled wild plant is common not only to both Canada and Alaska but in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The plant gets its name for its ability to

Kraken; Mega-coaster

2010-03-26T13:50:00.002-08:00

My daughter and I took on Kraken while at Sea World in Florida earlier this winter. The super (or mega) coaster is made of 1.2 million pounds of steel. It has seven inversions, including an corkscrew and an zero-G, and reaches 65 mile per hour. Because your feet dangle in the air, the sensation of vulnerability is accentuated. The G-forces, similar to those experienced on high-banked race tracks,

Bolivia's Salar De Uyuni

2010-03-25T06:56:00.003-08:00

My friend Dave has returned to the states but his postcards are still coming in. This one shows Bolivia's Salar De Uyuni, an extensive salt and mineral deposit located at an elevation of over 11,000 feet in the Andes. Bolivia holds about half of the world's lithium reserves, the majority of which are found at the Salar de Uyuni.Dave relates that getting to Salar De Uyuni took 'two buses, a kid

A Royal Box Of Bones

2010-03-23T15:27:00.002-08:00

This beautiful postcard came from Postcrosser Henneke in the Netherlands. She tells me this is the famous "box" that contains the bones of Charles the Great, King of the Franks. She noted the bones were placed in this elaborate box 15 years after his death in 814. This had to be one whale of a box. By some accounts, successive emperors opened and reopened his coffin. Otto III found his remains

Tom Foolery, Spoofing Around

2010-03-05T11:05:00.005-09:00

Another great postcard from Steve of Montana. This is an art/advertising postcard. It was sent to Steve recently as an advertisement for the Tom Foolery art exhibition at the Missoula (Montana) Art Museum of Art. Foolery's satiric and sometimes surreal dioramas poke fun at life, art and commerce, among other things. Many of dioramas are small and some are very small. Foolery created his first

Enjoy The Park

2010-03-03T16:21:00.001-09:00

This sign sent by Steve from Montana represents the nightmare of government over-regulation. There are rumors that the current Tea Party movement is debating convening here for its next annual convention. They want to add "No Taxation" to the list.I especially like rule number five, "No Parking." I guess the municipality was attempting to kill two birds with one stone: reduce our collective

Dirty Politics

2010-03-02T10:24:00.003-09:00

I don't know about the training part but this bucolic scene suggests what every citizen must do before understanding any political party's spin doctors.This is a Duckboy Card, number 423 in their often excellent contemporary 'quacked up' series. You can find their web site here. I posted another Duckboy card here, just scroll down until you see a couple of fellas in a pickup truck. I bought this

You Can Run But You Can't Hide

2010-03-01T14:59:00.000-09:00

My friend and colleague, Dave, sends this postcard testament of his travels in South America. He left Santiago, Chile, earlier in February and travelled 55 hours by bus and another 22 hours by ferry to reach Ushuaia, Argentina. The city of 53,000 people is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina's most southern province, also known as the End of the World. He's picked up a lot of local color

Never Too Young For Postcards

2010-02-19T20:23:00.001-09:00

I guess you are never too young to enjoy the wide world of postcards. Today's mail brought two wonderful postcards from members of the Postcrossing Project. The one above (Moi) is from 14-year-old Piia of Finland. If you think she is too young to collect international postcards take a look at the beautiful postcard, below, of Taroko National Park. It comes from Postcrosser

New Postmark in Georgia

2010-02-16T23:06:00.005-09:00

Chris sends this homemade photo postcard of the Dawsonville Hwy (Georgia #53) Bridge over Lake Lanier. The photo, I assume Chris took, shows the bridge a little fuzzy around the edges. The image would make a good book cover for a mystery novel set in the deep south or the CD reissue of Bobby Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe -- it looks like the Tallahatchie Bridge to me.I make a joke but its a great

Indian Blanket

2010-02-11T15:55:00.000-09:00

One of the wonderful things about postcards is that you open up the mailbox on a cold winter day and in an instant you are transported to another world. This is precisely what happened to me the other day when I received this colorful postcard from Amelia, via Postcrossing, the postcard crossing project. The Indian Blanket is the state wild flower of Oklahoma. I remember seeing them growing wild

Pike's Peak's Cog Rail

2010-02-09T09:52:00.000-09:00

Two examples of cog rail systems: The top postcard (thanks again Jan and Rick) was postmarked 1912. It pictures the Pike's Peak cog road steam engine with a tilted chassis. The lower postcard, from my grandmother years ago, is more recent (vintage 1940-50's) of the same track with an electric diesel engine similar to the one still used today (click here). In the bygone age of steam-powered

Spiral Tunnels of the Canadian Pacific Railroad

2010-02-02T16:44:00.000-09:00

The postcard above was sent some time ago by Glenn from Canada. He has Gem's World Postcards (here). Glenn recently sent me several rail themed postcards. I send him airplane cards when I find them. Glenn has done more than anyone to improve my stock of Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) postcards. This particular modern color postcard shows the lower spiral tunnel (one of two) at Kicking Horse

Tolagoa Bay Wharf, New Zealand

2010-01-27T20:47:00.006-09:00

Joe from New Zealand is collecting postcards from each U.S. state. You can find him and send him a message at the Postcrossing project here. I sent him an Alaskan card and he returned this beautiful card showing the East Coast north of Gisborne where the Tolagoa Bay Wharf, the longest wharf in the Southern Hemisphere, stretches into the sea. The wharf was opened December 1929. Today it being

The Last Log Cabin in Detroit

2010-01-27T15:20:00.001-09:00

Friends Rick and Jan brought me these two gems. The lower one sports what was once gold glitter to highlight the roof line and tree branches. They found these cards while on a trip to the American Southeast. They know I collect railroad postcards and anything from Michigan, especially Southeastern Michigan, and brought back a generous pack of very fine cards.Both of these cards show the same

Pioneers of the Trans-Continential Rail Road

2010-01-24T12:38:00.004-09:00

Glen of Calgary sent these two railroad themed postcards recently. Glen's has the Gem's World Postcards blog here. He has added several quality railroad postcards to my collection, especially Canadian Pacific postcards. The Sleeper Only trans-Canada trains began in 1907 on a limited basis (a three runs a week) and became more popular and frequent during the 1920s, following the prosperity after

Geronimo and Nachez, Chiracahua Apache Chiefs

2010-01-21T10:36:00.008-09:00

Friends Jan and Rick sent this photo reproduction postcard while on their travels in the American Southeast. The photo was taken by Camilius S. Fly in the Sierra Madre Mountains on March 27, 1886, during a truce in the fighting between U.S. soldiers and the Apache Nation. The reverse side identifies the subjects: left to right, Son of Geronimo, White Horse, holding Nahi's baby girl: Geronimo

Costa Rica, Hummingbird Capital

2010-01-20T10:00:00.001-09:00

My friend David sends this card while traveling in Costa Rica. He sent the card from San Jose Airport and noted that "...if I didn't know better I would think I'm in the states. Its has to be 90% Americans in here." David travels each winter taking in the sites and sounds of Central and South America. He has this terrible itch to climb mountains too. Dave just recently descended Aconcagua Mt, the

A Warm Tent Is Better Than No Tent

2010-01-09T10:00:00.001-09:00

Though it might not look like much this 16X32 foot tent was home to the Bernhardt family for 13 months in 1977-78 while they built their cabin in Alaska's Interior. Dick and Donna Bernhardt shared a love of the land and a desire to find a home away from the big city, so they left Anchorage and moved to Tok, Alaska. Like many Alaskans, they literally carved a life out a wilderness where

Chilkoot Pass Trail

2010-01-05T16:42:00.000-09:00

After nearly three weeks of crisscrossing the country, I thought this old postcard of gold seekers trudging up the Chilkoot Pass was appropriate. I've lugged my laptop, books and papers across the country with the intention of posting here but alas family visits, a hectic schedule and lack of conductivity at airports and hotels put the brakes on my best intentions. Thanks to a seven hour layover

Merry Christmas, Sugah

2009-12-13T13:37:00.005-09:00

How do you say Merry Christmas to someone far away? Today, you could phone or text or send a snail-mail, traditional, greeting card. The elaborate holiday greeting postcard from the 1950’s shows a plethora of Alaska native life scenes within the x-mas lettering. On the top left is printed “Hello, Ed Levin.” and just below the Christmas tree, center left , is ““Sugah” Levin.” Between both Ed and

Santa Claus House

2009-12-12T12:15:00.004-09:00

This is a postcard of the original Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska. Yes, there is a real city named North Pole, a few miles east of Fairbanks, Alaska. There you can visit Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus year round, except Christmas Eve when he is rather busy. Forget Christmas Day too when he's taking a well deserved rest.The original Santa Claus House, 511 Santa Claus Lane, seen in this card,

Canadian National Railway in Jasper

2009-11-15T12:31:00.003-09:00

Glenn, of Gem's World Postcards, sends me wonderful postcards of trains from Canada. Trains are one of my collection focuses, along with bridges, art prints and any views of southeastern Michigan. These Canadian National Railway diesel engines are seen at the Jasper, Alberta, station. The photo was taken by Lee Simmons.This engine was likely put into service between 1993-1995 when the

Dog Team 1920; uncanny resemblance

2009-11-09T15:29:00.002-09:00

I bought this postcard at a flea market at our neighborhood mall a couple of weeks ago. A wonderful find for a retired dog musher and postcard collector. The card is postmarked from Juneau, Alaska, July 19, 1921. Published by the HHT Company, the card was addressed to "Mrs. Wm. Watson Jr., Monto Rio, Calif." The

Scandolous Kiss

2009-11-02T10:47:00.006-09:00

Was it the polite kiss or that the man had lost his hat that made this image so scandalous? Than again, maybe it was all that wild vegetation and the woman's exposed ankle that told the real story. This neatly bordered postcard was published in 1910 by Bamforth and Company of Hanfirth, England, and New York. For a more than a century, Bamforth's produced scads of postcards. They were best known

A Halloween Muse

2009-10-30T15:01:00.001-08:00

This postcard shows a 1st-century Roman fresco of a frightful muse. I wonder if Stephen King, American author of a multitude of horror classics, is acquainted with her? We've all heard that one's muse is an inconvenient companion, coming and going at whim, yet I might have second thoughts about calling for her help to write my blog if she regularly arrived carrying a decapitated head. The

In Another Life

2009-10-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

Echos of Tienanmen Square. This postcard's photo was taken by Michelle Barnes-Ness and printed by Alaskan Postcard Classics on environmentally friendly inks and paper. The card was a gift along with 24 other cards from friends Jan and Rick. They are serious garage sale folks and found the cards at an ongoing garage sale in Fairbanks. The caption on the reverse side said this particular moose

Tossed Alaskans, Part IV

2009-10-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

I picked up this great postcard at my local grocery. It is a welcome addition to the other three blanket toss postcards I posted previously. This one, like the others, shows natives and tourists having a great time throwing people into the air. I like that all the folks in this shot have big smiles on their faces.These blanket toss postcards are popular with my blog readers. It seems people are

Denver Zephyrs

2009-10-16T10:19:00.006-08:00

The Zephyrs of the the Burlington (railroad) Route which passes through the American Midwest was once site of the world record holder for high speed trains. On October 23, 1936, the Denver Zephyrs set the record for long-distance non-stop runs from Chicago to Denver (1,017 miles) in 12 hours, 12 minutes for an average speed of 83.3 miles per hour. This particular run beat the previous record held

Dancing with the Gods in Taiwan

2009-10-11T11:56:00.002-08:00

The incredible image came from Neil in Taiwan, a Postcrosser. The oversize photo postcard shows a dancer from a traditional ceremony called Dancing with the Gods. Neil explains that dancers decorate their faces and dance in front of temples. I'm sure there is more to this but a search did not reveal much. Again, a mystery.

Collage Postcard Art of Diane Glass

2009-10-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

Northern California artist, Diane Glass was kind enough to let me post one of her original postcard art works today. She sent this card with some others in a beautiful greeting card with a note related to my blog this spring. We stop in to each other's blogs now and then and offer a comment or two. You can find her blog Artstanding Stranger: Art with a Heart, here. Diane's work speaks for itself

Birchwood Postcard

2009-10-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

This week the Ken Burns historical documentary on the U.S. National Parks is being broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Network, so I thought I would present this wooden postcard to remind people what a wonderful resource we have in the national parks. I also thought I might offer a note of caution to prevent my readers from getting burned while visiting the parks. Whether shopping, booking your

Wild Music

2009-09-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

This untitled photo postcard taken by an unknown photographer will definitely go into the mystery category. It is one of over three million postcards sent through the Postcrossing Project. Go here to find out about the project. This whimsical postcard image came from postcrosser ananaks, a graduate student from Russian studing biology in the U.S. Could we give it a title? What does this image

Mother and Child

2009-09-20T23:55:00.004-08:00

This beautiful mother and child photo postcard was sent to me in July by Postcrosser Jying. She is an 18-year-old student in Taiwan studying communication design. By the looks of this homemade card she is well on her way to success in her chosen field.In the photo Jying's hands hold a photo that was taken of her mother holding the infant Jying. She said she likes the photo because it reminds her

Golden Gate Bridge

2009-09-18T20:28:00.001-08:00

Vic, one of my postcard swappers from Postcrossing, sent me this wonderful historical reproduction postcard. The postcard's picture shows Fort Point (now a National Historic Site) in the foreground and San Francisco Bay -- the future site of the Golden Gate Bridge. (Now if we can just get the postal service to quit ink-marking the face of our valued postcards.) For an unmarred view of this

Conquering Fear: Farol de Rodillas

2009-09-14T11:35:00.001-08:00

This postcard of a moment in a bullfight (La Fiesta Brava) is strikingly beautiful. It depicts the daring move of the matador called, farol de rodillas, literally, “light of knees.” It refers to a maneuver in which the matador drops to his knees before the bull and as the animal charges waves his cape over and around his head.The bullfighter painted here is the renown Carlos Arruza (1920-1966),

I Will Always Be A Zebra; Save the Zebras

2009-09-08T10:47:00.010-08:00

How I came in possession of this postcard is, like many in my collection, a mystery. There is no written message on the back and no canceled stamp but I think it is from the 1960's, maybe 1970's. Whatever its date or origin, I like the mother and child composition. They seem so stately and serene, yet they, like many of their kind, are running for their collective lives.This postcard of a mother

Women with Deer

2009-09-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

I worked as a Humanities Department archivist at Eastern Michigan University nearly four decades ago. This was in the era before power points or computer assisted classroom instruction, so the work was slow and meticulous. I took photos of art history antiquities from books that were later developed into slides for

Tossed Alaskans

2009-08-31T09:36:00.011-08:00

This is a postcard photo of the Inuit (Eskimo) people of Kotzebue, Alaska, from the sixties or seventies (1960-70's). It seems here they are just having fun showing some tourists in stuffed shirts and ties how to cut loose. Like the previous pictures of the blanket toss posted on this blog, this "blanket" is made from walrus skins. This card was produced for Wien Alaska Airlines of Fairbanks. The

More High-Flying Alaskans

2009-08-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

This postcard was postmarked August 5, 1975 from Kotzebue, Alaska. It was sent to a R.V. O'Brien in Springfield, Massachusetts. The message is brief: "Greetings from Kotzebue. L &B." I bought this card at Candy Waugaman's recent garage sale for charity in Fairbanks, Alaska. Candy is a collector of ephemera, including postcards from Alaska's past. This scene, like the one published August 12 on

2009-08-23T20:46:00.005-08:00

This commercial postcard advertises the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus's winter quarters in Sarasota, Florida.Wouldn't you just love to clown around with an elephant? It looks like these guys are having a ball.Though the guy leaning on this pachyderm's shoulder seems a little down, the guy on top seems on top of the world. I've heard that riding an elephant is one of the things that

Revealed: The Origin of the Cold Shoulder

2009-08-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

Because this is one of the hottest summers in Interior Alaska, I thought I would cool things off a bit with this card which claims the origin of the phrases "Cold Shoulder" and "Icy Stare" came from the land of the Midnight Sun where men still outnumber women. Postcard and photo by Tom Sadowski, 1983. This card was published by Tom Sadowski Films which unfortunately seems to have stopped filming

Getting Some Air

2009-08-12T21:13:00.004-08:00

Long before the X Games and motorcycles were invented people were "getting air." Here an Eskimo gal from the 1940's shows how its done. The blanket toss is an event at many native gatherings. It is one of the official games at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics. Though it is a lot of fun, the practice had a practical purpose. It was used to spot game in hunter-gatherer societies. Maybe she can see

Stripping Along The Rocks

2009-08-02T19:05:00.016-08:00

I went to a garage sale Saturday and found a treasure trove of postcards. My wife beat me to the punch by a day and bought me ten postcards. (Thank you, my love.) She presented them to me when I returned home after a week away at work. I couldn't believe my eyes. These were some of the best Alaskan postcards I'd ever seen. The next morning I was out of bed early so I could be the first at the

Fantasy Farm Motel

2009-07-19T21:27:00.003-08:00

I always thought the No Tell Motel was a family joke . This picture postcard proves places with names like the No Tell Motel and the Half Way Inn really exist. The Fantasy Farm postcard was sent by friends of my grandmother to an address in

Grist(for the)Mill

2009-07-12T10:43:00.006-08:00

The summer season is a busy one for most Alaskans, especially with those of us who make their living seasonally from fishing, hunting, construction or tourism. If you work in remote areas, far from computer access, there are few opportunities to post on this or any other blogs. The image on the postcard above is of a gristmill in Appalachia. These big water wheels were used in the U.S. to grind

Planet X

2009-06-20T15:10:00.005-08:00

During a recent trip to the southwest U.S. we stopped one evening at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. We lined up with 50 or so other tourists to take a peek through the 101 year-old Alvan Clark Telescope telescope, pictured in this black and white photo above. On view was the planet Saturn, and though small, its rings were visible. The telescope and building housing it were a big

The Revolution Is Complete

2009-05-24T08:14:00.001-08:00

This 3x5 postcard shows the starting field of the 1965 Indianapolis 500 mile race. The eventual race winner, Scotsman Jimmy Clark, is in the middle of the front row. He is flanked by defending champion A.J. Foyt, on the pole (furthest right) and Dan Gurney.This was the first year that a rear engine car won the 500 mile race. Since 1911 the front engine roadster-style cars were the vogue. The rear

1950 Indinapolis 500 Starting Bomb

2009-05-22T11:24:00.014-08:00

This postcard shows the starting field of the 1950 Indianapolis Motor Speedway race, 69 years ago. It was photographed in Kodachrome and Ansco color by Robert Martin for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation. The description on the reverse side is vague but contains one note of specific interest. It records that the 33-car starting field awaits "the starting bomb" -- the speedway's signal

The "Cool and Unshakeable" Parnelli Jones

2009-05-09T22:37:00.013-08:00

Perhaps the perfect name for a race car driver -- Parnelli Jones. (Of course, he dropped his first name, Rufus, which rhymes with dufus.) Jones was an incredible talent in a racing machine. He won the Indianapolis 500 once in 1963 but came close to winning in 1967. Leading the race with three laps to go he was forced out by a mechanical break down. In his autobiography, They Call Me Mister 500,

"Grand Prix" postcard advertisement

2009-05-09T22:03:00.010-08:00

This postcard is an advertisement for the movie Grand Prix. My mother, and later myself, worked for a cinema theater company near Detroit, Michigan, which showed the film after its release in 1966. I think it opened first in Michigan at the Summit Theatre in Detroit, which is printed in large letters on the lower reverse side. The reverse side's top inscription reads: "The International Star

Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Main Gate

2009-05-09T20:11:00.010-08:00

THIS MONTH'S THEME IS OPEN WHEEL RACINGI bought this Curteichcolor postcard on one of my visits to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I might have picked it up when I was eleven years old when my family attended the 1964 Indianapolis 500 but more likely it is from later years. It is a picture of the main gate to the speedway. Our family could not afford to attend each year so every two or three

Rio's Christ on High

2009-04-27T13:47:00.002-08:00

This post card was sent by Luiz, a Postcrosser from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He wrote a very promotional note on the back that gave a lot of cultural-geographic background in the smallest script I've ever seen. He obviously loves his city of birth. He describes Rio as a "...city high on life, a city of beaches, football , samba and Carnival." I can't wait to go there. It is on my top ten cities

Cleaving to the Cross

2009-04-25T19:47:00.001-08:00

Printed in England, this Raphael Tuck & Sons "Oilette" is labeled "Easter Postcara (sic) No. 23." Used as an Easter greeting card, it is addressed to a Mrs. Adam Brown in Durham Canada. The addresser is A & GW Brown. The message reads: "How have you folks stood the winter, all well I hope. We are well. Hope you may have a fine time Easter..." The post mark over the green one cent stamp is

Crucified Jesus Sold on Auction Block

2009-04-18T21:00:00.001-08:00

Like an empty Easter tomb, this sculpture of Christ has disappeared.This post card shows the crucifixion scene, one of more than 30 biblical scenes, once known as the Biblical Gardens in the Wisconsin Dell's area. The statues were carried away by an army of evangelical youth in the summer of 1997. The 3/4 scale to life sculptures were bought by the Commission on Youth Services and WELS Lutheran's

Petoskey's Underwater Crucifix

2009-04-12T00:09:00.000-08:00

There is one crucified Christ that endures each Easter submerged in the icy waters of Lake Michigan. Only once a year is he saved from obscurity and curiously that is usually around Valentine's Day.Few know or will tell you where the underwater crucifix is located but it lies not far off shore from the Northern Michigan city of Petoskey. It is west of the city's picturesque waterfront waterfall,

Indian River's Crucified Christ

2009-04-05T04:00:00.004-08:00

In April I am featuring a few post cards of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. To begin, I recall a site near my former home in Northern Michigan -- the 7- ton bronze cast of the crucified Jesus that hangs from a 55-foot tall redwood cross in Indian River, Michigan. I remember visiting the gift shop there but not the massive cross. I bought this card there. Why I didn't visit the cross is lost in

Spring Flowers and Love Blossoms

2009-04-03T22:39:00.021-08:00

Cherry Trees Bloom in April at the Jefferson Memorial In Michigan the Cherry Trees Do Not Bloom till MayBut Love Blossoms are Eternal in MontanaJefferson Memorial post card is a Kodachrome Reproductions of L.B. Prince Co, Arlington, Virginia. Michigan Springtime post card is from Perrin Sourvenir Distributors of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Montana Double Date is a "Duckboy Cards" by Paul Stanton, PO

Thinking of Spring

2009-03-29T20:58:00.001-08:00

Though it will take some time to disappear, the ice and snow began melting today. I bought this card, post marked in 1908, last November at an antique shop in town. I was intrigued by its symbolism. The verse on the card is attributed to a "Mitchell. " I found this poet difficult to track down. Plus I'm having trouble with my eyes again and can't look at the monitor for more than half an hour at

A Glass Rose

2009-03-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

This post card is a photo of the South Rose Window of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. To the french, the cathedral is known as "Our Lady of Paris." It's south window, with its Mandela-like appearance, is a beauty yet the panels have undergone artistic changes over the centuries due to poor construction, damage from fire, vandals and war. The original window was constructed in the thirteenth century,

A One-Up-Your's Classic

2009-03-23T09:36:00.010-08:00

"CURTEICHROM REPRODUCTION BY CURTEICK FK-3 FLORIDA STATE SERIES" Though I am posting flower postcards this month, I thought this card might fit the season -- at least for those of us who still have snow on the ground this time of year. This is a classic American post card theme. It is not simply a "wish you were here" card but rather a rub it in you face card. It is more like a good natured -

An Old Flower House

2009-03-19T22:18:00.001-08:00

This early 20th-century post card is without a message or address yet at one time had a stamp removed. I suspect my grandmother removed it for her stamp collection. She kept several stamp books for a number of years before giving her collection to one of her great grand children. It is possible she was given this post card as a gift from a friend after their return from a trip to Milwaukee.

Flower of Earth

2009-03-12T08:44:00.023-08:00

This is one of the most beautiful portrait post cards I own. Unfortunately, the history of it is murky. I suspect, my grandmother's neighbor friends, who immigrated from Poland, brought this card to her, along with eight others of similar vintage, as a gift after a trip to the homeland. It was not written on or mailed.The card is printed in Germany and is divided on the back. It has no other

A Blooming Desert

2009-03-10T09:25:00.007-08:00

This post card, showing desert cacti and flora in bloom, is an example of snail blogging. Before the Internet, post cards were passed between people as a way of sharing news and images from afar, not only to the addressee but to the addressee's friends, neighbors and acquaintances.This post card was sent between two of my grandmother's church friends on February 24, 1972. The card was later given

Flowers: roses

2009-03-01T12:34:00.019-09:00

This month my theme is flower postcards. I recently picked this simple yet delicate beauty at a local antique store. It is embossed and hand painted. The stamp on the reverse side is dated by hand "11/30/07." The written message on the reverse side says: "Mary, if you go to preaching tomorrow come over this way and I will go along. I guess you will get a lot of postals today. From a friend,

Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race Winner

2009-02-24T14:45:00.007-09:00

This is the sled dog team of Sebastian Schnuelle, winner of this year's 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. The photo was taken this morning on the Chena River in Fairbanks, Alaska, one mile from the finish line. The temperature was minus 2 Fahrenheit, ideal for dog mushing. Schnuelle's team of ten dogs are confidently passing by the Hamilton Acres and Island Homes subdivisions.

A Canine Disagreement

2009-02-20T21:29:00.001-09:00

In contrast to the peaceful resting fellows of the previous post, these two canines have issues. There may be a piece of meat between them that one chose not to eat but is nevertheless protecting. Or it could just be two males who can smell a female in heat up ahead in the line and they are "discussing" who might lay claim to her.Note that the dog on the right is tethered by a tow line (longer)

Straw Beds In The Sun

2009-02-15T09:55:00.012-09:00

Used with permission, Copyright 2008 Scott Chesney"The best long distance runners eat raw meat, run naked and sleep in the snow." --From an Alaska Airlines adThough the above quote describes sled dogs well, more often than not they sleep on straw beds, like those in this postcard, rather than on the cold snow. These beautiful canines were photographed by Scott Chesney, a fellow Fairbanksan,

A 1,000-Mile Sled Dog Race on Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T13:32:00.009-09:00

This postcard of lead dogs in harness is a very accurate representation. Not only does it show a typical pose of leaders while the rest of the team is hooked up, it includes booties on the dog's paws and a common x-back type harnesses.Today is the start of the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. This year the race runs from Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, Canada, to Fairbanks,

Enjoying a day out with the dogs

2009-02-03T22:02:00.008-09:00

The caption on the reverse side of this card states: "The sport of sled dog mushing is becoming a popular way to enjoy winter."This was true in the early 1990's in Northern Michigan as several sled dog races were founded and many people began running dogs simply for the pure joy of riding the runners behind a team of panting huskies. Though sprint mushing (10-30 mile events) had been popular in

Europa on choppy seas

2009-02-03T21:18:00.001-09:00

This is not the German luxury liner, Europa, of today. Rather it is the SS Europa, built in the late nineteen-twenties for the Norddeutsche Lloyd line. She was one of two transatlantic passenger ships built for the German company. Her sister ship was the Bremen.Both ships were designed to have a cruising speed of 27.5 knots. The ships were capable of weekly crossings in an era that required

Religious humor

2009-01-31T13:57:00.010-09:00

I enjoy the tongue in cheek depiction of the apostle Peter's attempt to walk on water. The crowded row boat, complete with dangling oar, the disciples, depicted literally as sheep, most not paying attention, and the extra biblical addition of scuba gear on one who is willing to back him up, make this cartoon a hoot, yet conveys the story's intent: lack of faith. The caption reads: "Ye...(of

Frost flowers

2009-01-27T14:23:00.002-09:00

"Mt. Fuji and trees with frost-flowers. Oshino Hamlet. (Yamanashi Prefecture)" is the label on the back side. The card was printed in Japan by the Nippon Kotsu Shuppan Company of Tokyo. "Frost flowers" is a lovely phrase, isn't it?I wrote the following three weeks ago before leaving town on an unexpected trip. In the haste of leaving taking and unable to access a computer while away, I was