In any case, it would be unfair of me to keep them in a box just to say Blech! every time I see them, without sharing them so you can say Blech! too. And I guarantee that there will be some people who think these cards are not boring at all.
Postcards with deer on them nearly always fit in the boring category, more so if you can't even see the deer. This one adds an element of mystery though. In looking for the deer I imagine I also see mountain lions and other animals, including a bear stuck in the snow and waving for help.
And then there are the aerial views of bleak landscapes. I wonder if colleges attracted any students by printing cards like this one.
Here are the backs of the cards in the same order. The first one is surprisingly nice.
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Wow Christine, you've reached new heights with this post! Boring postcards are certainly a unique genre, and one that, sadly, may never never get its due. Too bad....I've got lots of them!
ReplyDeleteBoth places of learning are still going strong, but with slightly new names.
ReplyDeleteBroome Community College: http://www.sunybroome.edu/
Harford Community College: http://www.harford.edu/
I'm sure the wildlife aroundt Brandreth Lake, NY, are still in abundance as well.
The college cards are always a good choice as a thank you note to grandparents for the money they gave you as you headed off to, well, college :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree they are boring at the time, they become interesting, when it no longer looks like that.
It seems whoever bought these cards, didn't have quite the right person to send them to ;)
I love your idea of a waving bear!
ReplyDeleteI agree, the bear is very cool. Well spotted!
ReplyDeleteNo wonder the deer stands amazed!
ReplyDeleteThis postcard would have been lifted out of the 'boring postcards' category and into the 'amazing postcards' category if the publishers had simply renamed the title to 'Bear Stuck in Snow, Waving for Help, Brandreth, N. Y.'
ReplyDeleteI am often amazed at the subjects of some postcards! The interchanges and overpasses are especially baffling to me, but I suppose at the time, they were pretty exciting.
ReplyDeleteThis post had me laughing out loud and feeling so much better for it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWow, I guess that first one is sort of a Rorschach test post card, or like one of those 'find the hidden objects' scenes from the old Highlights magazine for kids- at first I thought Christine just forgot to take her meds, but then I started seeing the stuff too (and I took my meds...)!
ReplyDeleteNow you gotta be careful about your comments on the Broome Technical College, since I went there for my first year of college, and my family home was about 9 blocks into that subdivision on the right. Loosely based on the architecture at IIT in Chicago by Mies van der Rohe, it was indeed boring from a building perspective, but for a place to ride my bike around and go play in the surrounding fields when I was a kid, it was actually awesome. The campus has substantially grown at this point, and some of the architecture is improved too. I think Christine did a previous post (but I couldn't find it) on the Broome County Alms House/Farm, which was just off the photo on the bottom left corner.
All hail the Boring!
ReplyDeleteI remember Martin Parr brought out an entire book of boring postcards and yes, they were very boring. Wonder which country has produced the most boring.
ReplyDelete