From the category archives:

Postcards

The Toonerville Trolley

May 7, 2010
Toonerville Trolley

Toonerville Trolley and Tahquamenon Falls River Trip “A 5½ mile ride over an old narrow gauge logging road through Michigan’s wildest game area where no automobile can travel. The trolley stops at Hunter’s mill where passengers embark on a 21 mile cruise to the Tahquamenon Falls. The trolley is boarded at Soo Junction, Michigan.”

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Romantic Highways

May 7, 2010
Southern California's Romantic Highways Postcard

On the back: “Southern California’s highways are the most romantic in the world. It is literally but a moment from thriving modern cities to the sleeping haciendas of the early Spanish Rancheros. An hour’s drive takes one from the shores of the beautiful Pacific to snow capped peaks, with golden flecked orange trees nestling in [...]

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Barely Able to Write

May 6, 2010
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I’ve come across many variations of this theme, comical postcards with multiple choices to select, sort of a “build your own” correspondence.

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The Colorful Southwest

May 6, 2010
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Colorful indeed! Copyrighted in 1942, this is a “Reg Manning Travelcard”, Reg Manning being a cartoonist of some renown. Born in Kansas City, Missouri on April 5, 1905, Reginald Manning would move to Phoenix, Arizona as a child, where he worked for the Arizona Republic, primarily doing editorial cartoons, for fifty years. Reg Manning died [...]

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I’m in New Mexico

May 6, 2010
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Serving up a little southwestern humor, this postcard by Curt Teich Co. originated in 1939. The front is marked “© J. R. Willis” a name that appears on a number of cards with southwestern subjects.

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Grill Point

May 5, 2010
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This Curt Teich postcard dates from 1940. On the back: “Lake Arrowhead, a mile high, with its picturesque pine-clad shores, is situated in the heart of the San Bernardino Mountains, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles. Grill Point is a popular playground for the picnic crowds at Lake Arrowhead.”

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Hotel St. Paul

May 4, 2010
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Some postcards with architectural subjects would present the structure in an abstract landscape, with none of the adjacent buildings present. That’s what we have with this card from the Hotel St. Paul. Mailed in 1958, the cars would indicate that the card’s design probably originated in the ’40s.

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Century of Progress

May 4, 2010
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Here’s the reverse of the Morrison Hotel postcard I posted earlier. It’s not often that one finds tri-color printing on the back of a postcard, but this one has just that, in the form of a promotion for Chicago’s 1933 World’s Fair. Called, A Century of Progress, that’s definitely a must-see event for when I [...]

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Morrison Hotel

May 4, 2010
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Initially I was unimpressed by this postcard from Chicago’s Morrison Hotel, the muted colors and simplistic artwork failing to spark my interest. But when viewed larger than its original 3½” by 5½” the drawing comes alive, with vibrant pen work and subtle but effective details.

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Minneapolis Skyline

May 3, 2010
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This view of the Minneapolis, Minnesota skyline probably dates from around 1970. The postcard is larger than the standard format, measuring four inches by six inches. Oh, and does anyone else find it odd that what appears to be a highway is posted at 30 mph?

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Valley Forge Motor Court

May 2, 2010
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Valley Forge Motor Court U. S. Route 202 & 83 Valley Forge, Penna. Located at Entrance to Historic Valley Forge Park. Near to Penna. Turnpike – convenient to Philadelphia. New and Modern Motel with Tile Baths and Television. Member of Pennsylvania Motel Association. Owner-Operators: Mr. and Mrs. B. Martin Telephone: Valley Forge 9-5474

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Wishard’s Motor Court

May 2, 2010
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This postcard was never mailed, but has handwritten on the back, “We stayed here one night, June 29, ’52.” There’s also a description on the reverse: Wishard’s Motor Court On U. S. 15 – 12 miles north of Historical Gettysburg York Springs, Penna., Phone 40-R-11 20 modern units. Adjoining restaurant serving best in foods. Each [...]

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Augusta House

May 1, 2010
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This view of the Augusta House in Augusta, Maine was published by the Miller Art Co., a Brooklyn, New York postcard company that was active from 1922 until 1941.

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Nortonia Hotel

May 1, 2010
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Published by the Portland Post Card Co., this postcard was mailed in 1909. Cards from that era didn’t usually provide information about the depicted scene, and there is no description of the Nortonia Hotel’s Grill Room to be found on this one.

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