Weird Postcards

By no means boring, but all a little strange...

Boring Postcards II

You probably had an event-filled and exciting weekend, so this is a perfect opportunity to relax with some very boring postcards. If you're going to collect boring postcards, be sure to include at least a few aerial views of parking lots.

You might also want to include some dark caves with stalactites.

And a few puzzling landscapes...

Boring Postcards

Boring postcards need lovin' too.
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.

Me and Billy on Vacation

Uh-oh!
Please tell me they didn't let these two check in together.

Looking for Bears

These time saver cards can be pretty amusing.  The first one is from Sayner, Wisconsin, but appears to have been sent from Boulder Junction, Wisconsin.

The card was sent to Mrs. Jennie Weeks in Colfax, Illinois from her niece Ruth. The message reads:

Dear Aunt Jennie

The 30th we went out to look for bears. But we did not see a bear. The 28th we went to a lumber camp for dinner. love Ruth

Here's another time saver card, although this one doesn't have any check marks and was never sent.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

I don't think I've ever seen a message quite like this one. Is it vindictive or is it an insider joke? I couldn't find any information on Adam Faque, M.D., who charges $10.00 for chloroform, but only 30 cents for a politician or $1.50 for a Wall Street Banker. I'm definitely missing some sort of historical or political reference here. Any ideas?

Here's the message on the card:

take this how do you like it. ha ha ha  how do you like it. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha etc.

The card was sent to Jesse Rinkenburg of Martinsburg, New York in 1907. It turns out that Jesse Rinkenburg was born in 1883. He then married Seraphena Rose Beron in 1916--long after this card was sent, so it can't be a joke about any immediate wedding plans. The caption on the card says: Do it now. Take a wife before forty. Take chloroform at sixty. _____ I'm just not sure what it means, and the card is not signed.

In any case, census records show that Jesse worked as a laborer at a box factory. Seraphena worked at the same factory as an accountant, although by 1930 she was employed as a school teacher at the local elementary school. Records don't indicate that they had any children.

Missing Ingredient

The 'Young Men Wanted' sign in the background is probably a coincidence, but these ladies might indeed enjoy the company of some young men for  a fun night on the town.

This lady's a little more direct.

 Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

The theme for Sepia Saturday this week is 'going out.' To participate or to just have a look, click on the picture below.

What is it about those Mainers?

I've just been reading through an amusing little book of Maine postcards from 1900-1920. The book was compiled by Deborah H. Gould and is entitled: Father is Here...He's as Fat as a Pig. Believe it or not, the title comes from a message on the back of one of the cards.

 
Some of the fronts of the postcards are featured in the book too, but the real focus is on the messages.  The book is tiny, barely larger than a postcard itself, but it is full of great messages:

Monday Morning I am feeling fine expect to get a new leg today.

Everything went fine, except the fire...

Do you remember the fat man we saw out here Aug 2

Sister I did not go to the fair after all. Jimmy brought home some real bananas kinder think he'll die before morning.

I have looked at a lot of postcards and I also tend to focus on the message side, but I have never seen so many unusual, cryptic, and hilarious messages on postcards. I wondered how Deborah was able to find these. She must have spent years going through boxes in antique stores and flea markets.

I also wondered if the unusual nature of the messages had something to do with the fact that they are all from Maine.  I have a number of Maine postcards. Here are a few.

Very few of my Maine postcards have any message at all on the back, including the ones that were sent. None of these do, not even the last one, sent in 1925 to Miss Elizabeth Hall on Great Diamond Isle in Portland, Maine. No message, not even a signature. I know that Mainers have a reputation for saying very little, so I assumed that this might account for the lack of messages.

Maybe the cards with the great messages never make it out of the state. I don't know. I noticed something else about the messages in the book though. Fat is mentioned in a number of the messages, something I found very unusual. I have also never seen haint written on a card, as in Dear Sister I haint heard from you for some time... I think it was a good idea to limit the cards in the book to Maine cards, because you get a sense of the place as well as the era.

If you want to take a closer look at the book or order one for yourself, you can find it here on Amazon.com.

Beware of Free Samples

When someone offers you free samples, this is what they may have in mind. Well, they are pretty cute. O.K., I guess I'll take a couple.

I have seen this 'Nit' on cards before. I seem to recall that it stands for something, but I can't remember what. Does anyone else know? Any guesses?

Also, I have only seen Washington state abbreviated as WA, never as WN.

Here's the back of the card.
The message to Master H.G. Modrell of Tekoa, Washington reads:

Dearest dear:

Why don't you ever write to me? Gee but I would like to have you here now. How are you feeling now? How is your Mama? Well so long and ans soon.Love to u'all. How's my kitty are you taking good care of her for me? 

Lovingly 

Aunt Elsie

Tekoa is a small town in eastern Washington near the Idaho border. It currently has a population of around 800 people, but back in 1912 when this card was sent, the population was closer to 1,500. Cheney, Washington, which is located in Spokane County (also eastern Washington) had a similarly-sized population in 1912, but their population has continued to grow and is now over 10,000.

What Were They Thinking?

If you had been a fly on the wall, this is the conversation you might have overheard:

Museum Director: We really need to do something to attract more visitors to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.
Marketing Director: Well, perhaps we should print a postcard.
Museum Director: Great idea, but which exhibit should we feature? There are so many good ones to choose from.
Marketing Director: Well, we could feature a photo of the atomic bomb along with a catchy slogan.
Museum Director: Or something about the Cold War or Israel...
Marketing Director: Maybe we should go with something less controversial.

As you can see, the results were very good. The eye is drawn to numerous points of interest: flags, lectern, electrical outlet, presidential seal, heating vent, wide expanse of wall, metal windows with photos attached to the glass. You can't go wrong.

And then there's this memorable postcard. I don't know. Am I missing something? Who would send this? And who would they send it to?

Here are the backs of the postcards.

Take the Leap!

Did you notice that we have one extra day this month? Leap year is better news for people who are paid by the hour than for people who are on a monthly salary, so it all depends on your perspective whether you appreciate it or not. Here's a card from some previous leap year, circa 1920.

Initially I was puzzled by this card because I didn't make the connection between leap year and 'taking the leap', i.e. getting married. I can't say I've heard the expression used in conversation. More often it's something about tying the knot or making an honest man/woman out of someone. In the early 1900s there were plenty of humorous postcards that pointed out the perils of marriage and courtship, mostly, though not always, presented from a man's perspective.

This one's a little odd, isn't it?

And this one's pretty unusual too.

Here's the back of that last card, sent in 1909 to Miss Verlene Hall in Sargent, Nebraska. You didn't think the card was that old, did you?

The message reads:

Made good connections in Joe 8:45 there is little difference in weather conditions here and there. The weather is gloomy and so ___ _. ha: he, he!

I am mad at that hello girl because she wouldn't let me say all my say. 

X---

I think 'Hello Girls' were telephone operators.

The Wurst Family

Do you happen to recall a previous post of the Whole Dam Family?  No matter, I'll put it at the end of this post. The Whole Dam Family postcards were printed to publicize a movie entitled The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog. I am guessing that the following two cards were inspired by the Dam Family phenomenon.
First we have The Wurst Family. I never 'Sausage' Wursts.

Then we have the Gunn Family, with a message written in shorthand on the front.

Both of these cards were sent before 1907. There is no message on the back of the card because postal regulations didn't allow it until 1907. The first card was sent to David Kampf in Brooklyn, New York.

The second card was sent to Miss Lena Frink in Bryn Mawr, California.

According to Rootsweb, Lena Frink was born in 1881 in San Bernadino, California and died in Bryn Mawr, California in 1959.

Oh, and here's the Whole Dam Family, which may have served as the inspiration for the other two.

More Dutch Stereotype

These funny cards arrived as a surprise gift from Pamela Gerard of the Cappuccino and Art Journal. Every time I look at dem I must laff so hard my belly does hurt.

Here are ze backs of ze cards.