Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Tram Tuesday - Aachen, Germany

Although this postcard doesn't provide us with a nice close-up of the streetcar, it does provide some interesting stamps, stickers, and handwriting.

Aachen is located in German near the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands. Back in the days when Aachen had a streetcar (1880-1974), the cars also crossed the border into Belgium and the Netherlands. For the first 15 years, the streetcars were pulled by horses, but by 1895 the entire network had been electrified. Expansion of the network continued until, in 1913, Aachen's streetcar network was the fourth largest in all of Germany.

By 1974, all the streetcars had been replaced by buses. While this progression is typical for American cities, many European cities have kept that streetcars, if at reduced levels. But Aachen, like many American cities, started looking at re-introducing streetcars. They looked at it in the 1990s, but plans stalled. Now it's being considered again. Stay tuned.

Here's the back of the card, sent from Maximillian Joesten in Aachen to Eugene Bloesch in San Francisco on August 30th, 1908.  Eugene Bloesch corresponded with a number of postcard collectors. Whenever possible, they put the postage on the picture side. I think it adds something special to the card.
Here's the back of the card.


The message says:

Heartfelt greetings from afar!! M Joesten

I'm not sure what's written under the signature.
Here's another Eugene Bloesch postcard with the stamp on the front.
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6 comments:

  1. Lisa BNovember 1, 2011 at 6:47 AM

    I like cards with the stamps on the front too. This one certainly has some challenging handwriting :)

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  2. Alan BurnettNovember 1, 2011 at 7:21 AM

    Aarchen is the twin town of my home town - Halifax. That is a splendid card : the combination of the stamps, the stickers, and the writing make it a satisfying image.

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  3. Cappuccinoandartjournal.blogspot.comNovember 1, 2011 at 9:21 AM

    Love trams and love that card -- the back is as good as the front. Great cursive writing and postmark.

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  4. Planet SusanniaNovember 2, 2011 at 2:02 AM

    I like the "Besuchet Aachen" stamp very well too. It´s a real old mail art!

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  5. Archie TechtNovember 2, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    The back of the card has the energy of a small circus act, with a variety of geometry, color and text in suspended animation!

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  6. TrishiaNovember 3, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    Christine, I didn't know Aachen was a town. I just knew it as a font:)ha!

    ReplyDelete