Bird's Eye View of Harlan Kentucky

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Every once in a while a post card will really grab my attention and imagination and that is true today. I just sold this postcard today and when I was packing it up I remembered how much it caught my attention when I listed it. Harlan Kentucky had a population of 375 in 1910, grew to 2,647 in 1930 and is now about 2,100. When I looked at this view, I thought "What a beautiful peaceful view of a small town nestled in the hills of rural Kentucky". I wondered if it had ever been flooded since it had grown to the river's edge and what it would look like today, 86 years after this postcard was printed. After all, their slogan was "Ain't what it's going to be". I grew up in a small town in the middle of Texas and have loved small towns all of my life. I hope you enjoy this great view as much as I did. There are lots of similar postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Venice of the South Tarpon Springs Florida

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I wanted to give you a glimpse of quieter times and a beautiful setting in in Tarpon Springs Florida known as "The Venice of the South". The 1926 Curteich postcard (printed for Ashville Post Card Co.) gives a great bird's eye view of the Spring Bayou lined with beautiful homes. This view appears to be taken from a multi story home or building with a stairway in the lower left corner leading down to a large pier so it may be a clubhouse of some kind. Feedback and corrections from locals are always welcomed and will be used to update this post. This item is available from my Florida listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Inter-State Automobile Company Muncie Indiana

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Today's post card shows a great circa 1912 bird's eye view of the huge Inter-State Automobile Company which was incorporated in Muncie, Indiana, in 1908. Production began in 1909 and Inter-State manufactured its own complete cars from 1909 to 1913. After that Inter-State built component cars all the way until 1919. There are few examples that have survived until today. An Inter-State automobile ran in the first Indy 500 in 1911 and came in 16th out of 40 entrants. The car completed 192 laps of the 200 lap race and was still running when it was flaggged since the top 12 finishers had completed the race which only paid twelve places. This postcard can be seen in my Indiana listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Logansport Indiana Fire Department 1920s

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I have shown local fire departments featuring horse drawn fire equipment in the past here so I thought I would feature the Logansport Indiana Fire Department Central Station and "modern" equipment in the 1920s. This great post card shows five spiffy fire engines and the Fire Chief's automobile in front of the station. Fire Department post cards are very popular probably because there are so many firemen and ex firemen around and they are very passionate about their profession. This E. C. Kropp postcard can be seen in my Indiana listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Florida State Fair in Tampa

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Everybody loves a state fair so today I wanted to show a postcard of the Florida State Fair in Tampa Florida. This one is a great aerial view so you can get a good idea of the layout. There appears to be a large crowd trying to get in the entrance in the lower left hand corner and you can see about half of the horse race track with lots of spectators lining the fence. The grandstand is in the upper right and full of people and there are two baseball diamonds on the infield. I'm sure a good time was had by all. This is a 1925 Curt Teich post card and can be found in my Florida listings on my website, Moody's Postcards.

Murray Theater & Vaudeville in Richmond Indiana

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The postcard for today is a great view of the Murray Theater, or Theatre, in Richmond Indiana. It appears that the theater is upstairs as the street level has a barber shop on the right corner and an unknown shop on the left. There is a barber pole on the corner of the building and a horizontal sign painted on the window like a barber pole which says "The SANITARY Shop". Between the two shops is the theater entrance and you can see a standing billboard there with advertisements for the shows and Vaudeville performers. Directly above the entrance is a sign which reads "Murray" at the top and "Vaudeville" vertically and the top of the building has "Murray Theatre" incorporated in it. This is a circa 1908-12 post card and can be found in my Indiana listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Oasis Dancing Pavilion in Michigan City IN

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Back in June and July 2007 I covered several dance halls and I would like to add another. Today's dance hall interior is the beautiful Oasis Dancing Pavilion in Washington Park on Lake Michigan in Michigan City Indiana. Be sure to notice the draped blue cloth on the ceilings with lights shaped like stars to give the appearance of dancing under the stars. Palm trees line the floor and on the right are buildings painted on the wall with openings which probably led to refreshments and a place to refresh. There are six ceiling fans hanging down to provide the evening breeze and the bandstand is located at the far end of the room. Information on the back indicates "It is one of the largest and finest Pavilions in the country, where dancing is enjoyed nightly during the summer resort season." This is a Curteich postcard which was produced in 1930 and can be found in my Indiana listings on my website, Moody's Postcards.

Postcards on Philadelphia Neighborhoods

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I have just finished one of the newest of Arcadia Publishing's books, "Philadelphia Neighborhoods", by Gus Spector. This is one of latest in Arcadia's "Postcard History Series" which features early local history of specific areas through postcard images with detailed descriptions by the author of each postcard. And Gus Spencer knows Philadelphia since he was born and raised in South Philadelphia and graduated from South Philadelphia High School and Temple University. This is his third book on Philadelphia and this one concentrates on the city of homes and neighborhoods. There are over 200 postcards shown in near full size and most of them are real photo postcards so the detail is great. This is life as it was in the early 1900s in this city when many of the homes, apartments, row houses and businesses were new. Each neighborhood is covered in its own chapter and Gus's narrative defines the neighborhood and reveals the unique aspects that bound that area together. Great photos, great narrative and a quality book for only $19.95 which is scheduled for release 21 April 2008. Available at area bookstores, independent and on line retailers or through Arcadia publishing's website.

Don't forget to check out my Pennsylvania postcards and over 10,000 more post cards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

"Block" Buildings on Postcards Circa 1908

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It was a common practice in the early 1900s, when new towns were springing up across the country, for a business to use a city block for their building while renting out the excess space to other businesses. These were not unlike the current fad of outdoor malls. Often on the early postcards you will see a reference to the "Moody Block" or something similar and you will often see that title on the top of the front of the building. The circa 1908 postcard today is an excellent example of that practice and features the impressive "Coon Block" in downtown Estherville Iowa. You can see the name prominently displayed near the top of the building and businesses reading left to right of Nau Brothers Clothing, Williams & Anderson and the Bank of Estherville. Above these street level stores were offices for lawyers, doctors and such and often meeting places for fraternal organizations such as Masonic lodges, the Elk's Club or the I.O.O.F. Go back and check your post cards for these blocks and frequently you can find the date of construction included. This post card can be found in my Iowa listings along with 10,000 more postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

College Horse Judging Elk Horn Iowa

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Today's title comes straight off the post card I am featuring. This great 1908 E. C. Kropp postcard shows three beautiful horses surrounded by lots of folks looking on. Elk Horn was incorporated in 1901 and was the center of Danish immigration in the mid 19th century. The 1910 census shows a population of 750 and the 2000 census placed the population at 649. Despite the large buildings in the background, I was unable to find mention of a college there at any time so this was probably a field trip for some hands on experience with the town's people looking on. You can find this postcard in my Iowa listings and 10,000 more post cards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Shrine Mosque & Fox Theater Atlanta GA

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The post card of the day is from Atlanta Georgia and is a great aerial view of the Shrine Mosque and Fox Theater complex which looks like it is out in the Georgia woods but today it is surrounded by Atlanta. This is a circa 1950 postcard so the surrounding area may have been altered by the publisher to improve the view. The Fox Theater has been renovated and is still going strong today. It is a very beautiful venue for everything from concerts to Broadway plays. I have seen the play Les Miserables there and a great Ray Charles concert where his version of "Georgia on my Mind" brought the crowd to their feet. If you ever have a chance to attend an event there, don't pass it up. This postcard can be found in my Georgia Listings along with 10,000 more post cards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Wright Brothers Fly Over Kewaunee Wisconsin?

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This is a follow up to my 5 April blog concerning doctoring of real photo postcards in the early 1900s. I wanted to include this image but couldn't locate it then but ran across it the next day. While I'm not sure Orville or Wilbur Wright never flew Kewaunee Wisconsin, I do not believe this early biplane was caught by some lucky photographer who just happened to be taking a picture when one passed over.

Once again, this is a good job of adding something unusual the the real photo post card that was done to improve sales and catch the eye of of the sender and recipient. This is an unused postcard with an AZO 4 triangles pointing up stamp box which places the date between 1904 and 1918. This real photo postcard can be found in my Wisconsin listings along with 10,000 more great postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Is it a Palace, Apartments or Hotel? Yes!

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The postcard for today shows a fantastic building that offered a suite hotel ahead of its time. The Palace of Florence Apartment Hotel on the Davis Islands in Tampa Bay in Florida offers a unique look and many unique features for the 1920s. The text printed on the back lists the many unusual features offered to visitors as follows: "All apartments consist of a double bed room, bath, living room, electrically equipped kitchen with individual Frigidaire; heating in each room; linen, silver, kitchen utensils, china, glassware furnished; rented by the day, week, or month, with full hotel service. This is a Curt Teich post card produced in 1926 and can be found in my Florida listings along with 10,000+ post cards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

"Real" Photos That Are Not Real

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Most people today realize that some of the pictures they receive in emails have been doctored but that is nothing new. Postcards in the early 1900s were sometimes no better and I'm talking about "real photo" postcards as well as the printed ones. These exaggerations are usually easy to spot, such as an ear of corn on a railroad flatcar, and many postcards were altered just to improve the general appearance of the the town such as deleting the manure from the streets or removing some of those telephone/power poles and lines so you would see a nice clean town. However, sometimes printers, publishers or photographers went a little farther and added some "progress" to the small towns such as new buildings or even a trolley or streetcar line. The first "real" photo shows Main Street in Iola Wisconsin, post marked 1912, and shows a 10 story building in a town whose 1910 population was 850 people. When I put this post card in my Wisconsin listings on my website Moody's Postcards, I soon got an email from a town historian who assured me there was never such a building in Iola.

The second "real" photo postcard is from Hustisford Wisconsin and shows a quite little town with a trolley or streetcar with the power line extending into the distance while the track ends at the back end of the streetcar. The population of this "metropolis" was 615 people in the 1910 census and the postmark is 1911. Maybe it is time to pull out some of your postcards and see if you can find some examples of the additions and deletions.

Hercules Powder Co. Vintage Postcards

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We have an explosive subject on today's post cards and begin with a great aerial view of the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hattiesburg Mississippi. This is a nice detailed view of the plant with the railroad depot in foreground, a huge supply of cut tree trunks in the lower right, buildings along the left connected by a conveyor system and numerous other buildings and storage tanks. This is a 1936 Curteich linen postcard which is available in the Mississippi listings along with more than 10,000 more old postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

The second old post card is a view of the Hercules Powder Company employees store and club room in Hattiesburg. This is a circa 1950 E. C. Kropp postcard which can also be found in the Mississippi listings on the website.