Postcarding Update

Long time no see! Even though it has been awhile since I last posted, the postcard searching and buying has been going strong! I have been focusing on my Dwig cards lately, as I have made a checklist of all his series and I am working through completing it. Life has been busy with work, going to grad school, travel, and getting ready to move, but rest assured, more posts will begin soon!

To hold you over, below are two cards from tuckdb.org. This is a series I stumbled upon in one of my saved searches on eBay, but I don’t own any right now. They are part of the “Window Garden Series” from Tuck, and there is also a “Window Garden Series II.” These postcards were meant to be cut out and then you would have little paper pots with paper flowers in them. Keep your eyes peeled- TuckDB has the estimate for these cards at $75/each!

Message from a Solider: P.F.C. Arthur Zellner

“Hello Hank, Hoping everything is fine. Had a chance to visit Brussels, Belgium. What a place. Everything is as modern as New York. Nite clubs and all, and just as expensive. Everytime I opened my mouth it cost me a couple of bucks. Art.”

Garfield Park Conservatory

The Garfield Park Conservatory was built in 1908 on 4.5 acres in- guess where- Garfield Park! You can still visit there today, and I have yet to be there.

The card above was mailed to Philadelphia when the conservatory was 9 years old in 1917. It was published by Henry Heininger Co. According to MetroPostcard, the publisher’s “Fac-Simile Hand Painted Nature Views” (noted on the bottom left of the front of the card) were “of course not hand colored but reproduced hand colored work in four color lithography through the use of paper grains. These cards also have a false plate mark.” You can see the “plate mark” on this card- the rectangular ridge around the image.

This is a real photo postcard of the “Fern House Garfield Park” per the sender. It was postmarked in June 1907, almost exactly 10 years before the first card. But per the Garfield Park Conservatory website, it wasn’t built until 1908. Maybe this was a precursor to the full-blown conservatory during construction?

Give me some beer!

This group of guys may be on their lunch break, hanging out and drinking what I assume are some cold brews. The dog is in the middle wondering where his is?!

Too Good to be True #2

I have totally slacked over the last month! The weather stopped being nice and I started to get lazy after work.

At my club’s meeting last weekend I got a bunch of soldier’s mail cards, including the “Too Good to be True!” card below. This is one of my favorite series of WWII comics. The scene shows an ice cream/soda/hot dog truck driving through a battlefield. Out of the group of 3 guys on the upper right hand side of the card, one is drinking soda while the other two are firing. Nearby is a dog that is sniffing an empty soda bottle.

 

Beach Day in February

Today it was in the mid-60s, so I drove down to the shore to Ocean City. The weather was perfect, and there were so many people down there today. I had to wait 35 minutes for Mack & Manco’s (now called Manco & Manco’s, whatever). You would have thought it was the beginning of May! A few people were in bathing suits and in the water.

Greetings from Ocean City, NJ mailed September 4, 1955 to Mrs. J . Zimmerman in Mansfield, Ohio.

 

I had to strategically place myself on the beach  to not get people in my photos.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“Said Romeo Kewpie to sweet Juliet “I hope you’re as happy as can be, you bet,” And that’s just what I say In the same fervent way. ‘Cause I hope you are happy on Valentine’s Day.”

I recently got a free trial of Sirius and heard this throwback Taylor Swift song below. I keep listening to it, and this card goes along with the video! It was mailed from Clara to her cousin Mabel in the 1920s.

 

 

Fort Benning, Georgia

Fort Benning’s history goes back to October 1918 for basic training during World War I. Per armybases.org–

“Today, the Infantry School as well as the permanent buildings that were completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps are still at Fort Benning. In 1940, the 2nd Armored Division was also formed at the camp. It was first seen in action in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the Operation Torch in North Africa.

When World War II took place, Fort Benning immediately became the home to the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, popularly known as Triple Nickel. Members began training in December 1943, which was also an important milestone for Black Americans. They played a huge role in shaping the history of the Home of the Infantry, which eventually expanded to become the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. The group was trained at Fort Benning but they were not deployed overseas. During this period, the Triple Nickel also had over a thousand parachute jumps that played the role of smoke jumpers.”

Large letter “Greetings from the Infantry School Ft. Benning, GA.”

“Demonstrations in all phases of modern warfare and combat make the course at Fort Benning an interesting one which combines theory and practice to train the men for future emergency.”

Dawn Attack, the Infantry School

Partial View of Lawson Field, the Infantry School

 

Finally!!!

I finally found a postally used March Dwig Zodiac card on eBay. I know I am a month early in posting it, but it was too exciting. Now, I only need January and my series will be complete!

Happy for Family Photo

What I love about the card below is the three different facial expressions of the children. The boy on the right makes the card, it looks like he’s thinking “I’m too cool for this.” The girl in the middle looks mad, but she’s trying to hold it in, whereas the girl on the left is in the middle of saying “What are we doing?” The dog is just chilling and trying to have a nice family picture.

It was mailed in June 1908 from Falconer, New York to Randolph, New York. The message references Helen, Ethel, and Clarence being sick with the measles, which are probably the three children on the front of the card. It all started with Myrtle, who was perhaps a cousin or another sibling not shown below.