These 3 came from The Garden State Postcard Club show last weekend.
Click to enlarge
"ALONG LINE OF CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY."
Photographer: Byron Harmon, Banff, Canada
"Polar bear cubs." Norway.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Cyanotypes
These 3 came from The Garden State Postcard Club show last weekend.
Cyanotypes are a form of Real Photo Post Card (RPPC). Not terribly rare, but much less common than the black & white silver print card. Fun to find. The cyanotype required fewer & less toxic chemicals to develop, and were often -- if not mostly -- made by amateurs, as in the top & bottom card here.
If you want to collect them, beware of fake cyano's that were mechanically printed in blue. Online, enlarge the image to look for offset dots. At PC shows etc, bring along a magnifier.
Stalwart against the wind. Watch yer bowler!
Viriginia Woolf look-alike
Sure, let Grandma do all the rowing.
Gender Fluid - RPPCs
These 3 came from The Garden State Postcard Club show last weekend.
Click to enlarge
Convincing.
Just jesting?
Boy toddlers in dresses were common.
But this seaside suit for an older boy(?) is unusual.
National Mud Pack Day - September 30
Celebrate whacky holidays with old postcards & photos!
Click to enlarge
Comic & risque Gruss Aus card from Germany or Austria.
Comic & risque Gruss Aus card from Germany or Austria.
"Enjoy a Health Bath at Moor (Mud Bath) Hotel, Waukesha, Wisconsin.
An ideal spot for an enjoyable vacation offering the ultimate in
luxury accommodations at prices to fit any budget..."
Hotel Mudlavia near Williamsport, Indiana, circa 1917.
Originally built beside a mineral spring discovered in 1884 by a Civil War vet
who discovered that his severe arthritis eased when he sloshed in the mud.
The sprawling spa, popular with the rich and famous, ranked among
the great mineral baths of the time.
Publicity still for movie Quick (1932). German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 141/6.
Photo: Ufa. Actors are Lilian Harvey & Hans Albers.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Superlative postcards: recent additions
Here are some new superlative postcards, acquired at the September meeting of Metropolitan Postcard Club of NYC. Almost all are from the 25-cent box!
A "superlative" is an ultimate: Something described "to indicate the greatest degree of a particular quality." E.g. the fastest car, the finest horse, the smallest violin, the tallest bartender. It also includes "exaggerated or hyperbolical expression of praise." E.g. The Niagara of Pennsylvania, The Daddy of Them All (re a stage coach). In my collection, I also include "only" -- ultimate uniqueness -- as well as first, oldest, newest, last, and "capitol of" or "center of."
Many collectors confuse superlative with exaggeration cards. But they are not the same. Exaggeration cards are overtly tongue-in-cheek while superlatives are for the most part factual or allegedly so. There's a gray borderline area though: Superlative parodies or wildly bodacious claims.
Part of the fun is that superlatives can apply to anything. This is why you might see me sitting for hours at one dealer's table at a show. I can find a superlative in any category. They're really encyclopedic -- and the encyclopedia was always my favorite book!
I can't say when I began collecting superlatives. It started unintentionally, perhaps decades ago. Once I noticed I had a bunch, it became a passion to find more, and sort them into subjects to better understand them. My collection now overflows 9 notebooks. Fair to say I might have "the largest collection of superlative postcards in the world."
Enjoy!
All text © 2015 Marilyn Stern
To be used or copied with written permission only
Click image to enlarge & view in slide show mode
Most beautiful hotel in the world, The Fairmont, San Francisco
Largest air-conditioned hotel in Baltimore
Most spectacular cocktail lounge in the world, Top of the Mark, San Francisco
Orchid center of the world, Hawaii
Largest grower of winter-blooming cut gladiolas in America, A&W Glads, Inc, Florida
Oldest windmill on Cape Cod, Yarmouth
(already in my collection, but this is such a nice old white-border version)
Largest banyan tree in the U.S., near Ft. Lauderdale
Black bass, nowhere bigger and better, Devils Lake, Wisconsin
Largest astronomical observatory in the world, on Palomar Mountain, California
World's Greatest Highway, Pennsylvania Turnpike
New England's Highest Peak, Mt. Washington: Winter Wonderland
The Safest Skiing Place in the World, The Concord, New York
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Oldest People
On July 6 Susannah Mushatt Jones celebrated her 116th birthday in Brooklyn, determined by Guiness World Records to be the world's oldest living person. In honor of centenarians everywhere, here's a sampling from my Superlatives collection. Enjoy
Click on any image to enlarge & see slide show view.
Click on any image to enlarge & see slide show view.
Ka-we-tah-ke-shig, oldest American, a Minnesota #Chippewa. Born 1784. Age 127 in this photo. Died at 138. According to the postcard anyway.
Translated from Danish: "#Denmark 's oldest woman, Ane Maria Olesen, #Vejle #Søndermark. Born March 25, 1806." Mailed July 24, 1911, making her ca. 105 years old. (Printed card)
Oldest man in the world, Zaro Agha, allegedly 156 years old. Born 1775 in Turkey.
Fought against Napolean in 1799. Married 11 times. Has 35 children and 522 great great grandchildren. With #BertramMillsCircus. UK?
Oldest bookseller, Paris. Photo by Yvon. (Printed card.)
Written message on back IDs him as the oldest #freemason in the world.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Mexico!
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