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Post Your Favorite Postcards Here.

Started by Rix Gins, May 08, 2016, 04:07:19 PM

Rix Gins

Quote from: Ciardelo on May 20, 2016, 12:29:10 AM
I live just off of Route 66 here in Tulsa, and ever since you posted this I've wanted to go to the The Blue Bird Tourist Court in Arkansas. Damnit.

I found a faint reference on a posting about a long-gone movie theater with the poster claiming his folks ran a Blue Bird Tourist Court...but i don't know if it was The Blue Bird Tourist Court in Arkansas.  :D

We made the trek out West to California when I was a kid. I had no idea it was a special time, with all the little roadside motels. I remember meeting kids out in the pools. Some were going East, some West. My Dad even had a Super 8 camera. Lots of video, and we even got it converted to VHS two decades ago. It's probably time to get it to a more permanent medium. Any suggestions?

As far as converting VHS tapes to DVD, I have used Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe that I purchased several years ago.  I have converted literally hundreds of VHS tapes to DVD.  My only gripe with the 5.0 is that I get a 'jittery' effect on certain parts that are being converted.  No big deal though, because I simply redo the part that was jittery and edit it in to the finished product, before any burning is done.

Looks like Honestech has updated their converter since I bought the 5.0.    http://www.honestech.com/main/index.asp

Rix Gins

This postcard is a favorite of mine because it looks so surrealistic.  All the info is contained on the upper left hand corner of the card.  'The Illuminated Fountain on Lake Ivanhoe, Orlando, Fla.  "The City Beautiful"

Of course, the first thing I did was to try and see if the fountain is still there.  Looks like not.  Of course the lake is still there and it's still called Lake Ivanhoe.  A very beautiful lake, by the way. 

This is another unused postcard...no message on the back.  There are tiny, printed words though, like 'ORANGE NEWS CO.' and 'GENUINE CURTEICH-CHICAGO C.T. 'ART COLORTONE' POST CARD REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.  And of course, the ever present PLACE ONE CENT STAMP HERE. 

Rix Gins

Quite simply, a lady sitting in a chair.  Actual photo that has been made into a postcard...people used to do that back in the day.  This is an unused, unstamped postcard so no clues on the back. 

Looking at the photo, it's plain to see that the woman was in a photography studio.  (Notice the painted backdrop?)  Judging by the clothing and hairstyle, I'm guessing late 1920s, or early thirties.  Oh, and she's obviously Italian.  "No offense, but I can spot any nationality."  (Quote is from one of my favorite movies.  Care to guess which one?)

 

albrecht

Quote from: Rix Gins on May 22, 2016, 03:44:33 PM
Quite simply, a lady sitting in a chair.  Actual photo that has been made into a postcard...people used to do that back in the day.  This is an unused, unstamped postcard so no clues on the back. 

Looking at the photo, it's plain to see that the woman was in a photography studio.  (Notice the painted backdrop?)  Judging by the clothing and hairstyle, I'm guessing late 1920s, or early thirties.  Oh, and she's obviously Italian.  "No offense, but I can spot any nationality."  (Quote is from one of my favorite movies.  Care to guess which one?)


Some still do although you can go to places online and they will make postcards of your picture I sometimes make my own but gluing the picture onto some cardboard. Usually it is just to mess with people. Like a cousin over working in Europe I send the postcards with google-translated in Hungarian quotes and use embarrassing old photos of him passed out, pimply-faced awkward teen, etc. Just to make his postman and/or neighbors or co-workers wonder: wtf?
ps: what movie was it? Sounds like something maybe uttered in a Woody Allen movie or something?

One of my postcards is postmarked Senda, Japan



Rix Gins

Cool, Trostol.  I think that Teepee place is still there.

Rix Gins

This postcard shows Westminster Bridge in London.  I have no recollection of purchasing it but I'm sure that I was attracted to that highly silvered sky behind the buildings and also the silvered water under the boat that is approaching the bridge. 

Actually, this is a Christmas card.  The person who scrawled a note on the back, didn't want it to serve for that purpose and crossed off the printed Best Wishes, etc.

The postcard appears to have been stored in a scrapbook and there is no sign of a stamp ever having been applied to it.

Re: The lady in a chair postcard.  I had entered a quote from one of my favorite movies and asked for guesses on it.  Only Mr. Albrecht hazarded a guess and it was a darn good one too, but no, it wasn't Woody Allen who said it.  It was Jon Voight who said, "No offense, but I can spot any nationality." in a movie called Desert Bloom.  Yeah, a bit obscure, but that's the kind of movie I like.  This was a good one, and it utilized A-Bomb testing in Nevada as a backdrop. 

Rix Gins

This is an interesting postcard in that it shows what was hoped for in a forthcoming installation of a subway and escalator system in the town of Chicago.  I can't hazard a guess as to when.  Info is contained on the back of the card.

Rix Gins

Another unused postcard with nothing written on the back.  This one has a picture of Look Park on the front.  'Frank Newhall Look Memorial Park, Florence, Mass.'

Frank Newhall Look was an executive for the Prophylactic Brush Company.  He must have amassed quite a fortune because after his death, his wife, Fannie Burr Look, donated the land that would be a memorial to her late husband.  The park would open in 1930.

Looks (pun intended as RCH would say) to be quite a place.  The old black and white photo appears to be a lake, but actually it's a duck pond.  Here is a link to Look Park.  http://www.lookpark.org/   (Would be a great place for a Memorial Day picnic.) 

And a relatively current photo of the place, under the postcard.

Rix Gins

This postcard shows the ruins of a couple of burned out buildings.  Unfortunately this is an unused postcard so nothing has been written on the back.  I'm guessing the photo was taken in the early 1920s or thereabouts.  (Just going by the men's hat styles...but I'm no fashion expert so it could be earlier...1906 San Francisco Earthquake?  I kind of doubt it goes that far back.)

Rix Gins

These people are enjoying "cocktails in the clouds" at Stouffer's "TOP OF THE Rock" atop the Prudential Building, Chicago, Illinois.  When I first saw this postcard I thought it was the Seattle Space Needle but a quick glance at the post mark date told me otherwise.  (The date, September 1958, would be too early for it to be the Space Needle which was built in 1962.) 

Information on the back of the card says that on a clear day you'll see way beyond Chicago...to Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. The Prudential Building itself opened in 1955.  There was (is?) an observation deck at the very top and the restaurant was the next floor down from that.  Top of the Rock started out as a lounge (drinks were a dollar) and later became a restaurant.  It closed in 1976.

I found one other postcard that is similar to mine, though it looks to be a bit newer.  (Bottom photo.)     


Rix Gins

Here is a  'Love In Bloom" postcard.  These were popular in the early 1900's and (considering the times) they were mildly risqué.  This particular one has a honeysuckle theme and, interestingly enough, the honeysuckles in my back yard are in full bloom.

This postcard has a clear cancellation date of May 23, 1912.  That's a one cent Ben Franklin stamp and it has twelve perforations on each side of it.  The stamp was printed in 1910 and 1911.  A used one is worth about a quarter.  That oval shaped cancellation mark was used by lots of post offices back then.  The cancellations were done by hand and the cancellation hand stamps were commonly carved out of cork.

There is a rather cryptic message written on the back of this postcard...one that I couldn't decode.  Perhaps you will have better luck.


 


Rix Gins

This interesting post card has got to be one of my oldest...the postmark says August 27, 1906.  It shows a colorful Mt. Vesuvius erupting at night or ash filled daytime.  Whoever sent the card wrote 'This is Mount Vesuvius.  Only a little smoke coming from it now.' along the bottom of the card. 

Somebody had copped the stamp off this card but it doesn't really matter.  I think I only paid a nickel for it.

Rix Gins

I probably bought this postcard when I was hungry.  Looks like the place isn't there anymore. (Bottom photo.)

Rix Gins

A group of happy, World War One German soldiers enjoy a keg of dark beer.  (Yum, my favorite type of beer.)  At first I thought I wouldn't be able to date this card because the back had an unreadable note written on it.  I was however, able to make out a date on the upper, right hand corner...August 1, 1917.  The message is quite faded and I can't decipher the fellow's hand writing.  Wish I could make some of the words out.  The soldier who wrote it (I wonder which one in the group) did include a question of some type.  Beyond that, I know nothing.


Rix Gins

Houses of the rich and famous were also a popular subject for postcards.  Here we have the Eisenhower Farm at Gettysburg, Pa.  No message on the back, just an interesting tidbit of info on the farm...'Here President and Mrs. Eisenhower spend as much time as official duties will permit.  A few hundred yards from this site, President Eisenhower was commissioned as Major during the First World War.'  Notice the adjoining structure to the right.  It looks as though people liked to hang out there rather than at the larger structure to the left.  This postcard was definitely printed sometime during the 1950's. 

My postcard was a bit miss cut during the production process.  Look at the words to the left, just above the picture of Ike and Mamie.  The words 'Americas First Family' was nearly trimmed out of the picture.  I found a similar card online (photo #2) and that one had more space at the top but interestingly, my card has more picture space at the bottom, so go figure. 

I found one postcard site that wants $14.95 for this particular postcard and yet another one that wants $2.00 for it.

A more modern photo of the Eisenhower farm is at the bottom.
 

Lt.Uhura

Evidently the innocuous postcard may have been used as a medium to send cryptic and coded messages between spies.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1201746/Secret-spy-postcards-sent-MI5-chief-Cold-War-found.html


Rix Gins

Quote from: Lt.Uhura on June 19, 2016, 01:47:10 AM
Evidently the innocuous postcard may have been used as a medium to send cryptic and coded messages between spies.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1201746/Secret-spy-postcards-sent-MI5-chief-Cold-War-found.html

Fascinating article Lt.  Cool how they passed info back and forth disguised as chess moves.  Thanks.

Rix Gins

Now lets see here, why did I purchase this postcard so many years back.  Probably had to do with the fact that it is a typical, mildly risqué postcard that was printed up back in the 1940's.  Lots of them like this one can be found on Ebay. In fact there is one there just like this one.  The buyer wants $4.00 for it, plus $1.50 for postage.  Other sites seem to want $2.00s or so for it.

Tons of these cartoonish postcards were produced during World War Two usually showing goofy soldiers trying to score with sexy women.  This one wasn't made during the war because there are goofy guys wearing normal clothes and not uniforms.
 

Rix Gins

'Casino, Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. (2,000 Feet Elevation)'  That's what is written on the top of this postcard.  When I first got this card I thought it was the hotel itself but on closer examination I noticed it was just the casino.  In fact, the casino and tennis courts are just a tiny part of the hotel complex.  The Greenbrier Hotel is big (photo #3)...actually downright humongous...and it's still there.  It was built in 1778 so there is definitely some cool history behind it.  (President and Mrs Wilson spent their Easter Holidays there.  Oh, and an actual underground bunker was built beneath a section of it so that members of Congress could hunker down in case of a cold war suddenly turning hot.) 

http://www.greenbrier.com/HomePage-Sub-Pages/About-The-Greenbrier/History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Greek_Island

There are literally hundreds of postcards of the hotel.  My postcard was definitely part of a series. (Photo #2 shows another one.)  Oddly enough, I couldn't find my card anywhere online.  (Last photo is a modern day one.) 

   

I no longer have the front scan.  It featured a realistic drawing of a crab. 

However, the real value of this particular postcard is the personal message from grandparents to grandson.

Transcription:

NEWPORT OREGON 9-16-46

Hello, Honey Boy
You know Grandma
+ Grandpa were wishing
you were with us Today.
We are down on the
ocean beach.  I am sure
you would like it.
because there are many
Pretty shells in the sand
and and funny little
crabs that walk backwards
nothing will hurt you
but the big ones like
the picture can pinch you
pretty hard.  hey boy Gramp love you

addressed to
Pete Artz
Geneseo, N.Y.
12 Elm St

postmark:
Newport, OR
Mon  SEP 16 1946


Rix Gins

Re: Newport, Or. postcard.  Beautiful message.  Thanks.

Rix Gins

A couple of picture postcards showing damage from the 1931 Napier (Hawke's Bay, New Zealand) earthquake.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Hawke%27s_Bay_earthquake



Rix Gins

Study in knees at Cypress Gardens.  Saw one online for sale postmarked 1948.  Wanted $16.00 for it.

Notice the linen like texture on the front of the card?  Well guess what, this is actually called a linen postcard.  It really doesn't have anything to do with linen (except for the texture)...it's just a printing style that the postcard industry came up with that is way cheaper than regular photo printing and yet you still get a good picture with nice color.  (The back of linen cards are always smooth.)  Linen postcards were made from 1931 to 1959.  You can easily spot a linen postcard by the telltale up and down and side to side lines plus you can actually feel the printed lines too. 

Rix Gins

Postmarked April 6, 1910.  1910 Ben Franklin stamp (printed 1910 to 1911.)   

Rix Gins

A group of World War One German soldier's standing in front of their 'handiwork'?  It's kind of hard to say.  The ruins don't look fresh.  I think the soldiers are gathered in a safe, behind the lines rest area.  Sure, the area is in ruins but the line of combat moved back and forth for years, so the devastation could have happened well before the soldiers posed for the picture.  Half the soldiers are wearing non-combative uniforms.  No message on the back of the postcard, so no idea of time or circumstance.   

Rix Gins

Here is a special 4th of July postcard showing the great movie stuntman Yakima Canutt performing, or competing, at 'Ashland's Rogue River Round Up.'  The postcard is unused but some thoughtful person had penned a short note on the back...'Round Up.  Ashland, Ore.  July 4, 1917.'

Yakima primarily competed in rodeos at this time and he was one of the best at bronco riding.  I checked out a library book years ago and one of the things I remember from reading it was that Yakima won almost all of the rodeo events that he competed in.  His career in acting and performing stunts would begin in the 1920's and would go into high gear in the 1930's.  Yak (as his friends called him) has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was awarded an honorary Academy Award.

Oh yeah, another thing I remember from that book.  There was a certain actor making his first Western movie and Yakima was on hand to help out in some capacity.  Yak decided to unnerve the new guy by acting all furtive and jotting down notes behind the actor's back (and purposely getting caught at it.)  After awhile, the new actor had enough of the studio spy and he confronted Yakima and threatened to knock his block off..  At this moment the entire crew broke into laughter and the actor, John Wayne, good naturedly admitted that he had been had.  The two men would become life long friends.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakima_Canutt

   

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