Leap Year Postcards Part 4

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Our fourth and last discussion on Leap Year expands on the math in the first with a note on the leap year rule for century years. The reason century years must be divisible by 400 instead of just 4 is intended to rid the calendar of the annual excess of 11 minutes and 14 seconds. This rule eliminates leap years three times every 400 years and that gets the timing close enough for government work resulting in the calendar year and solar year off about half a minute annually. At that rate, it will take 3,300 years for the calendar year and solar year to be one day apart. In typical government fashion, we have managed to kick the can down the road and some of our ancestors can worry about it if they still live on earth then.

The last two postcards present the tough side and the soft side of Leap Year traditions. The first post card is a 1912 version and be sure to notice the red underlining in the word "MatriMONY".

The second postcard seems to show the boy more apprehensive than fearful. Be sure to check out all of the postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Leap Year Postcards Part 3

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I have more Leap Year postcards today and some additional information. Two more traditions I ran across concerning Leap Year is that in Greece, it is believed that it is bad luck to get married in a Leap Year and in the middle of 1900s, couples actually avoided getting married in a Leap Year. Another custom I have seen is that women who were actively seeking a man during a Leap Year were expected to wear a scarlet petticoat to serve as fair warning to all eligible men. Be sure to check out all of the postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards. The first postcard which is postmarked 1912 shows a man sitting in a cage cowering as five women try to entice him. The publisher is not shown but the back indicates it is "Leap Year" Series No. 956 and printed in England.

The second postcard was mailed in 1908 and is artist signed by August Hutaf and is a Paul C. Koeber published postcard. This one shows a woman making a "silent proposal" to a man who appears to be thinking about it.

Leap Year Postcards Part 2

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Here is the second installment of 4 on Leap Year Postcards during our countdown to Leap Day. Most of the postcards I will feature in this series show women hunting a man so she can make him her husband. Of course that goes on today, everyday, but usually without the gusto and desperation depicted on the Leap Year postcards. The source of this abnormal unwanted pursuit during Leap Year may be traced to the Middle Ages in the British Isles where it was understood that a woman had the right to propose to a man during a Leap Year and any man who refused had to give her a kiss AND either a silk dress or a pair of gloves. The Scottish Parliament in 1288 passed a law requiring the refusing man to pay a fine up to one pound unless he could prove he was married to another woman. The legend lasted into the 20th century and made great subject matter for Golden Age postcards.

The first postcard today is another member of the 1908 "Lemon Set" of 12 by E. Nash and the ladies are armed to the teeth and have a bloodhound helping.

The second postcard shows a lady being urged by the face in fireplace, cat or the parrot to catch a man. Be sure to check out all the postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Leap Year Postcards

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Leap year is here and we will soon have our extra day of February 29th. One revolution of earth around the sun, a solar year, takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds. Julius Caesar was behind the origin of leap year in 45 BC since the early Romans were using a 355 day calendar. In order to keep festivals occurring in the same season each year, a 22 or 23 day month was created every second year. Caesar simplified things by adding days to different months of the year to create a 365 day calendar year and added the extra day to February every 4th year. The Gregorian calendar of 1582 is the latest form that gave us the calendar still in use today.

We all know that the leap year is evenly divisible by 4 but did you know there are exceptions to that? A century year must be evenly divisible by 400 so while 1600 and 2000 were leap years, 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years. This means there were only three Leap Year dates, 1904, 1908 & 1912, during the Golden Age of postcards making these postcards somewhat rare and hard to find. Enough of this math stuff so on to leap year postcards.

I will do four blogs showing different vintage leap year postcards from the early 1900s. Our first two examples are from a 1908 set of 12 by E. Nash of New York and are referred to as "the lemon set" due to the yellow lemon shaped enclosue with the words "Leap Year" in it. Both of these show women in persuit of potential husbands and I will discuss the reasons for this in my next posting. Be sure to check out all the postcards on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Savannah Georgia Part 2

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More sightseeing today in Savannah Georgia with emphasis on the Union Railroad Depot. Both of these postcards have divided backs and the close up view has a postmark of 1908 although I suspect that the one with the trolley is taken from an earlier photograph. Both are available in the Georgia listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

Savannah Georgia Part 1

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I decided today to do a short series on postcards of Savannah since Georgia is my current home state and Savannah has many beautiful views. There are lots of postcards on Savannah and many dedicated collectors of those postcards. These two postcards were originally a single bifold postcard produced by the Rotograph Company. You can tell this is a late 1800s Pioneer Era post card by the "Mail Card" designation on the back placing it between 1893 and 1898. The bird's eye view looks down the Savannah River toward the Atlantic with the main part of downtown on the right. This area still looks similar with the park and some of the buildings still in use on the famous Savannah River Walk. The ship in the middle of the river has 3 masts and is split on the two cards.. These cards are available in my Georgia listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.

The Church with a View Seneca Falls New York

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Since today is Sunday, I thought this might be an appropriate topic since someone who reads this may have been staring out of the window at church today. This is the Episcopal Church on Van Cleef Lake in Seneca Falls New York with the Mynderse Library to the left. While the location is somewhat unusual, I am sure it must be inspirational and may just increase attendance. My reference to staring out of the windows could be thwarted if the windows are stained glass. This is a 1921 Curt Teich postcard and it is available in my New York listings on my website, Moody's Postcards.

City Hall and the Fire Department

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Dual purpose City Halls are the topic today with two Fire Departments located within the City Hall building. The first is on a 1907 Curt Teich postcard and is in Kewanee Illinois with the fire station in the back of the building where the doors are open. This post card is available in my Illinois listings on my website Moody's Postcards.

The second City Hall and Fire Department is in Dalhart Texas as shown on this circa 1908 H. G. Zimmerman Company post card #B289A12. This view has horse drawn fire fighting equipment proudly displayed in front of the building which adds significant value to these type of post cards. This postcard is availble in my Texas listings on my website at Moody's Postcards.