The Blacksmith Shop Postcard

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When I was a kid growing up in Texas, I use to walk two blocks to the local blacksmith shop and marvel at the their mastery of metal. Unfortunately, the shop is long gone now but it did last at least into the 1960s. The postcard for today is a blacksmith shop but this one is really special. Post cards of a stand alone blacksmith shop are rare but you can sometimes find their shops in early street scenes if you really look for them. This one looks like a nice new one with living quarters above it and a unique front door and windows that are shaped like horseshoes. The one I remember from Texas was an old wooden building, dark and dirty. The one shown here was in Rogers City Michigan, which had a population of 705 in the 1910 census, and shows the blacksmith, R. J. Bruder standing in the doorway with two policemen with a bicycle which probably came in for repair. This is a circa 1907 Albertype postcard and can be found in my Michigan listings along with more than 10,000 additional postcards available on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Stone Buidings on Vintage Postcards

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I have always liked the beautiful stonework often used in early 1900s buildings and homes. The first post card is the First M. E. Church in Parkersburg West Virginia on a 1911 postcard published by I. Robbins & Son and printed by Curteich. The grey stonework really makes the stain glass windows stand out and the turrets and fancy entrance ways provide an impressive site.

The second stone building is the Millicent Rogers Library in Fairhaven Massachusetts and is a 1920s postcard published and printed by the New Bedford News Company in New Bedford Massachusetts. The grey stone and the contrasting red roof along with the many different shapes of the building make this an exciting visual experience. This vintage postcard is available in my Massachusetts listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Vintage New Orleans Country Club Postcards

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I ran across these two old postcards which show the front and back view of the New Orleans Golf Country Club. The first postcard below is the front view with a drive up entrance and tennis courts in the foreground. This is a 1930s E. C. Kropp postcard and on the back it proclaims "The New Orleans Country Club is the sporting place of the society folk of New Orleans. On the left is an immense swimming pool, and in the rear is New Orleans' finest golf course, where professionals from all over the nation meet in winter and early spring, giving New Orleans the title, 'Winter Golf Capital of America'".

The second view is the rear view including the eighteenth hole and is a 1916 Curteich postcard. Both of these vintage postcards are available in my Louisiana listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Vintage Savannah Postcards Part 5

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Now that St. Patrick's Day and Easter have come and gone we can get back to the last Savannah postcard article for now. The first image is a bird's eye view of the Oglethorpe Swimming Pool on Wilmington Island which is a 1930s view published by Lamas Brothers News Company of Savannah and printed by E. C. Kropp Company.

The second postcard is a 1917 bird's eye view of the Ocean Steamship Company's new Savannah terminal. On the far right you can see the railroad tracks, trucks backed up to the loading docks and five railroad tracks with trains going into the right wing of the terminal which is labeled "South Bound". In the center is the passenger terminal and offices with truck docks on each side. On the far left is another railroad terminal similar to the one on the far right with trains. This postcard was published in 1917 by the Southern Postcard Company of Asheville North Carolina and printed by C. T. American Art, Curteich. Both of the vintage postcards are available in the Georgia Listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Vintage Easter Postcards Part 3

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Happy Easter to all and I will end this series on antique Easter postcards with two more fantasy Easter postcards. The first one is a circa 1908 International Art Publishing Company Series #2018 postcard printed in Germany showing a circus scene with little chicks running the show with a dressed baby chicken performing on the back of a rabbit running the ring with an audience of baby chicks faintly visible in the background.

The second fantasy Easter postcard is postmarked 1914 without a publisher's name but it was also printed in Germany. This features dressed rabbits dancing with dressed baby chickens to the music of an all chicken band. Both of these can be found in my Easter postcard category on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Vintage Easter Postcards Part 2

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The second installment of vintage Easter postcards brings some high society chickens. Fantasy postcards, such as these two examples, show animals dressed up in clothes and/or doing unnatural things such as smoking a pipe. Both, however, are beautiful examples of the artists imagination in the creation of these Easter postcards. Both of these can be found in my Easter postcard category on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Vintage Easter Postcards

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Easter is a special holiday and there were loads of Easter postcards produced in the early 1900s. The three I want to share with you today are from an artist signed set published by B. K. W. I. of which I only have three so I am not sure how many there were. I suspect it was a set of six since the series is #4620 and I have number 2, 3, and 4. All show a large mama rabbit and one of her bunnies doing all the Easter things we still do today. I hope you enjoy these fantasy postcards as much as I do. All of these can be found in my Easter postcard category on my website at Moody's Postcards.

St. Patrick's Day Vintage Postcards Part 3

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This will be last article for now on St. Patrick's Day and next week we will get back to Savannah Georgia post cards. Just a short note today since I have already covered a lot of the background on this holiday. St. Patrick's Day is one of only three of our holidays that has origins specifically tied to the arrival of a specific nationality in America with the other two being Halloween and Columbus Day. The last two postcards were published by Raphael Tuck & Sons as "Saint Patrick's Day" Post Cards. The first post card with the boy on it has an undivided back making it 1907 or earlier and it does not have a series number. The second postcard with the girl has a divided back and is from Series 106 and both post cards show children trying to catch a pig in a large shamrock. Be sure to see more of my St. Patrick's Day postcards in my St. Patrick's Day listings on my website at Moody's Vintage Postcards.

St. Patrick's Day Vintage Postcards Part 2

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St. Patrick's day is fast approaching so today I want to mention some of the symbols used on post cards and their background. Of course, "green" is the most obvious and is in honor of the Emerald Isle. Many of the symbols come from stories and legends of St. Patrick such as pigs, Paddy Pig, horseshoes, green top hats, dancing an Irish jig, the shamrock, the Irish flag, pots of gold, leprechauns, clay pipes, the harp, Irish countryside, shillelagh, castles and young colleens. The shamrock was probably the most popular and it was said St. Patrick used the leaf to illustrate the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost although the good luck four leaf clover is also prominent. The harp came from the Irish flag, the pigs from stories of St. Patrick tending pigs as a boy and the farming scenes to remind all of the homeland. Slogans such as "Erin go braugh" (Ireland Forever) and "Beannacht De leat" (God Bless You) are also frequently used.

The first postcard is a circa 1908 version with the Irish flag with the harp on it and a young Irish colleen holding shamrocks.

The second post card is also a circa 1908 by Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis and shows an Irish man in a green coat with a white clay pipe looking at a typical Irish country house surrounded by three and four leaf shamrocks. Be sure to see more postcards in my St. Patrick's Day listings on my website at Moody's Vintage Postcards.

St. Patrick's Day Vintage Postcards Part 1

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Monday March 17th will bring the celebration of St. Patrick's day continuing a tradition that began in America in Boston in 1737. St. Patrick was born around 385 AD and his original name was Maewyn and he was sold into slavery at the age of 16, escaped six years later, studied the ministry for 12 years under Saint Germain in Gaul and then returned to Ireland. He traveled throughout the country for 30 years establishing schools, monasteries and churches while converting pagans to Christianity and died March 17 461.

The day was originally a Catholic holy day but spread beyond that to the broader holiday we celebrate today. The large number of Irish immigrants coming to America in the 19th and 20th century brought their traditions and celebrations with them with St. Patrick's day being celebrated here before the Revolutionary War. The first post card is an early 1900s example with Cufton Castle surrounded in a brilliant green border with shamrocks.

The second postcard was published in 1907 by The Ullman Manufacturing Co. in the Emerald Isle Series 115 and shows a boy, decked out in many of the traditional emblems of St. Patrick's day, riding a billy goat. Our next discussion will cover some of the symbols used on post cards to honor this very Irish holiday. Be sure to check the St. Patrick's Day listings on my webpage at Moody's Vintage Postcards.

Savannah Georgia Part 4 1904 vs 1956

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While I was going through my Savannah Georgia postcards I ran across this circa 1904 postcard of downtown Savannah with a Cafe and Bowling Alley on the right and a billiards or pool hall and Bee Hive store on the left.

Then I ran across this 1956 Curteich post card of the same street with Biver's 5, 10 and $1.00 store and Hogan's store on the right and Rey Jewelers, Kress and the Liberty National Bank & Trust on the left. I have no idea if they picture the same section of town or not but it was an interesting contrast of the change over 52 years of time. Both of the post cards can be found in my Georgia listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Savannah Georgia Part 3

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Now that we have the Leap Year posts behind us, I want to continue with the Savannah Georgia postcard posts with a couple of significant buildings there. The first of these is the Armory of Savannah Volunteer Guards on a 1908 postmarked post card. I did several posts earlier on Armories but this one is different from those in that it has normal businesses set up in the ground level. On the corner is Solomons & Company Drugs while one of the windows has the name "Greyline" painted on it. The second and third floors look like the usual armory. This is American News Company postcard #C2780 and was printed in Germany.

The second view is the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences which has 5 large statues in front. This is a Curteich post card published in 1924 for Lamas Brothers News Company of Savannah. Both of these postcards can be found in my Georgia listings on my website Moody's Postcards.