If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 771

 

 

 

 

 

 

Malta, Strada Reale, early 1900s

 

A black & white photograph of the Strada Reale, or main street, in Malta is featured on this unused Vintage postcard.  At the top is the title, and at bottom middle on the front of the card is “Photo The Grand Studio.”  At the bottom right corner on the reverse is:  09 3221.  No other information is available on the reverse.  It is a divided back card. 

 

The photograph featured on the card shows the main street of the Captial city of Valletta, Malta, that extends the whole length of the Capital.  Parts of the street are paved with flint stones.  This street is known variously as Republic Street, Strada Reale, or Kingsway.  Important buildings and squares are found along the route of the street.  These include the City Gate, Freedom Square, the Courts of Justice, the Parliament of Malta, Palazzo Ferreria, Royal Opera House, the Archaeology Museum, St. John’s Square, Spinola Palace, The Malta Chamber of Commerce, the Casino Maltese and others.  The Valletta Local Council together with the Maltese government manages the street.  It is mostly open to pedestrians and has highly limited vehicle use.  Commercial deliveries load and unload in the early morning.  Only electric cabs/taxis are allowed to drive up and down the street.  Even the Malta Police Forces uses Segways to patrol the streets.

 

Malta is an island country located in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and North Africa in Southern Europe.  The name Malta comes from Italian and Maltese, and means a place of honey or sweetness.  Some think the Greeks may have given the island the name after the bees that were found on the island centuries ago.  It could also come from the Phoenician word for haven or port. 

 

In 2019 archaeologist Eleanor Scerri discovered the remains of hearths, stone tools, and the bones of a number of different animals at the Latnija Cave that indicated that hunter-gatherers lived on Malta around perhaps as early as 6500 BC.  Archaeological excavations are still being worked on there. 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Street,_Valletta

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en.Latnija_Cave

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcard, 770

 

 

 

 

 

Congress Hall, Philadephia, PA, 1939

 

This is a used Linen postcard dated October 1939.  The title and number 162 appears at the top margin on the front of the card.  The number 41848 appears at the bottom right corn on the front.  On the reverse of the card a blurb is found at the upper left corner:  “Congress Hall is located at Chestnut and Sixth Str.  The site before the Revolution was occupied by a wooden shelter for visiting Indians.  The present building was completed in 1790 and until 1800 was occupied by the Congress of the Nation.  After 1800 it was devoted to criminal courts which now sit in the City Hall, the old building being empty.”  Made in U.S.A. is printed on the reverse center line. The publisher and/or distributor is not identified.  

 

Philadelphia was the capital of the United States during and immediately after the American Revolutionary War.  During that time the United States grew by three new states, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and ratified the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.  Both George Washington and John Adams had their inaugurations there.  A restoration of the building to its original appearance of 1796 was completed in the 20^th century.  Congress Hall and Independence Hall are adjacent to one another and today are conjoined.  The National Park Service maintains Congress Hall and operates guided tours of the building throughout the year. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_Hall

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 769

  

 

 

 

 

The Liberty Bell

 

Since we are near the 4^th of July and the 250the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this card and the one for next week will be featuring items of historical interest. I am also including a Vintage card that was shared in 2012 when the Liberty Bell was on a national tour in 1915.

This unused postcard above features the Liberty Bell on a souvenir card from TWA [Trans World Airlines].  It is a Linen card with a divided back.  On the center line of the reverse is “Litho U.S.A.—3-265, 9-95.  It required a once-center stamp.  TWA logo is found at the lower left corner on the reverse.  The blurb is located on the right side on the front of the card: “The Liberty Bell, Color-foto by TWA.  Symbolic of our freedom, the historic Liberty Bell stands on display in Independence Hall, Philadelphia.  Here also our nation’s founders signed the Declaration of Independence.”  

 

 

   

Liberty Bell on tour, Seattle, July 14 1915. 

 

The Seattle was one of the cities on the tour route for the Liberty Bell in 1915.  This Vintage postcard shows Washington State Governor Ernest Lister is standing beside the bell.  Thursday postcard 63, from 1 November 2012 has more detailed information about the card and the bell. 

 

Originally, at the time of the founding of the city in 1682, Philadelphia had a city bell that was used to alert the public to proclamations or civic danger.  The city’s founder, William Penn, brought that bell.  In 1751 a new bell tower was being built and the civic leaders wanted a bell of better quality than the original one so it could be heard at greater distances.  The new bell was known as State House Bell, or Old State House Bell.  The first casting resulted in a crack and the bell was re-cast.  It is the second casting of the bell.  Later the new bell was officially named the Liberty Bell  The crack seen on these cards occurred between 1817 and 1846.  The most common story about the cracking says that it happened when the bell was rung upon the death of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835. 

 

The Liberty Bell was transported by railroad to seven expositions and celebrations between 1885 and 1915.  The train would make extra stops so that more people could view it.  The bell was put in a glass fronted oak case for protection.  Concern over continued cracking worsening and to prevent souvenir hunters chipping at the bell it was returned to Philadelphia where it is now houses in Liberty Bell Center where visitors pass through exhibits about the bell before reaching the bell itself.  Today visitors can no longer touch the bell.

 

First called Transcontinental & Western Air, operating from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops was one of the big domestic airlines.  The name was changed as service expanded to overseas travel.  Howard Hughes began buying TWA stock in 1939 and eld a controlling interest in the company by 1944.  He gave up control in the 1960s.  Trans World Airlines operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001.  It was listed as a trunk carrier, also known as trunk airlines or trunklines.  This type of airline existed between 1939 and 1941.  Trunk airlines flew the main domestic routes. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Bell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_Airlines#Ambassadors

https://en.wikipedia.lorg/wiki/Trunk_carrier

To see the previous blog post #63, put Liberty Bell in the blog Search field

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 768

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman on horseback, photo courtesy RCMP

 

Here we have another unused souvenir postcard.  This one features a color photograph of a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  The card was made in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada by Grant-Mann Lithographers, LTD.  The photograph was used with courtesy of the RCMP.  The space allotted for the stamp on the reverse has a 4-cent stamp postage as needed.  The code:  SS-432 is located at the base of the center line on the reverse.

 

The RCMP is a national police service of Canada, in French “Gendarmerie royale du Canada or GRC.”  It provides police services under contract to 11 provinces and territories, exceptions are Ontario and Quebec, 150 municipalities and 600 Indigenous communities.  Commonly called Mounties, the RCMP was established in 1920.  Today the mounted police use horses only for ceremonial events and certain other occasions.  The red jacket, Stetson hat and boots are also only worn at those times.  The Government of Canada considers the RCMP an unofficial national symbol.  In 2013 a survey taken of Canadians showed that 87% of those interviewed said the RCMP was important to their national identity.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Mounted_Police

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 767

  

 

 

 

 

Turnagain Arm, Alaska

 

This is an unused “Alaska Joe” original souvenir postcard with scalloped edges.  It has C-ANCH-11 at the bottom reverse center line and Plastichrome, Boston just underneath that code.  The publisher/distributor is identified as Alaska Scenic P.C. of Anchorage, Alaska.  The price of the card is found at the lower right corner on the reverse as 10 cents.  A blurb is found at the bottom of the left side on the reverse:  “Showing the paved highway to Portage Glacier and Seward, Alaska; also scenic route of Alaska Railroad."  As noted previously cards with this type of edging date mostly from the 1950s to 1960s but some can range from the 1945 into the 1970s. The title on the front of the card is:  "Turnagain Arm in the Fall."

 

The waterway called Turnagain Arm is found in the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska.  It is known for climate extremes and large tide ranges.  It is one of two narrow branches, or arms, at the north end of Cook Inlet.  The British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer, Captain James Cook (1728-1779), spent ten days exploring the inlet that was named after him.  Hoping to find the Northwest Passage, he was disappointed to discover that there was no outlet in either arm.  He then had the additional bad luck of running aground on a sandbar on his way back out of the shallow water, hence the name Turnagain or River Turnagain.  The area is also known for its mineral resources, notably gold placers and gold quartz lodes.  Large numbers of placer claims were made here from 1896 to 1898.  

 

One of several beautiful glaciers found in Alaska is Portage Glacier, located between Prince William Sound and Turnagain Arm.  It was discovered in 1898 by Thomas Corwin Mendenall, a member of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.  It is so named because it is on a portage route between the two bodies of water.  This glacier once filled the entire Portage Valley, a distance of 14 miles or 23 km.  Now there are five separate glaciers. In the summer a boat ride across the lake is required to view the glacier up close.  

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnagain_Arm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James-Cook    

 

https://en.wikpedia.org/wiki/Portage_Glacier

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 766

  

 

 

 

 

Pantheon, Rome, Italy

 

This unused, divided back, postcard is another one that has had some reddish tinting added to a black & white photograph of the Pantheon in Rome, Italy.  Halftone printed cards, such as this one, date from the early 1900s through 1930, A flat red or blue color was applied to specific areas of a black & white image.  There is a blurb at the upper left side:  “The Pantheon, Rome, Italy.—A celebrated temple in Rome built 27 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa, and known as the Pantheon of Agrippa.  It has the finest dome in the world, 142 ½ feet [or 43.4 meters] internal diameter and 145 feet high [or 44.19 meters].  It is considered one of the most interesting sights of Rome.”  The card does not provide the printer/publisher/distributor or photographer, but only indicates that it takes a one-cent stamp.  Note:  The present building shown on the card is not the original one, but one that was built by the emperor Hadrian and dedicated in 126 A.D. to replace the one built in 27 BC which had burned down.  Hadrian chose to re-inscribe the newer temple with Agrippa’s original inscription from the older temple. 

 

The Pantheon is one of the best-preserved of all the Ancient Roman buildings, most likely because it has been in continuous use throughout its history.  Since the 7^th century it has been a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Mary of the Martyrs.  The square in front of the building is the Piazza della Rotonda.  Today the Pantheon is a state property managed by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism.  Millions of people visit it each year. 

 

The oculus or eye of the dome is open to let in light; however, it also lets in rain, hence the marble floor is inclined and has drains built in to promote rainwater runoff.  When the Pantheon was dedicated for Christian worship in 609, the icon of the Virgin and Child was given by Phocas to Pope Boniface IV.  The present altar and the apses were commissioned by Pope Clement XI (1700-1721).  The choir, designed by Luigi Poletti, was added in 1840.  Numerous paintings and sculptures have been added over the years. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 765

 

 

 

 

 

L'Abue et Mathaux, France, 1910

 

Featured on this Vintage postcard is a black & white photograph of the devasting flooding in France that occurred on the 20^th and 21^st of January 1910.  The location is in the Aube department in north central France.  The number 10 and L’Aube et Mathaux is found at the bottom center.  At the upper right, the event is identified as the floods,  “Les Inondations á BAR sur AUBE (20 et 21 Janvier 1910. (G.L.)”   The initials (G.L.) may be the photographer’s.  No other information about the publisher or photographer is found on the card.  This is a used card with a divided back that is postmarked 7/3/1910.  The handwritten note has the date 3/7/10.  This makes it difficult to tell if the date was the 7^th of March or the 3^rd of July.  Usually European dates read DD/MM/YYYY unlike American dates that generally are written MM/DD/YYYY. 

 

In the winter of 1909-1910 there were historic storms in Marseille and Toulon and higher than usual rainfall in many other parts of the country that saturated the ground.  In addition, exceptionally warm weather caused snow melt resulting in rivers rising to flood stage in many different areas of France.  There were several French rivers that reached flood stage causing considerable damage. 

 

This would be considered a historically interesting card since it shows the result of a notable and catastrophic event.  Although there are no people shown in the photograph it is possible to see flooding impacting the lower levels of the buildings, the road over run with water, and the trees with water up the trunks.  The place is Mathaux, a small community within the Aube department. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathaux

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1910_Great_Flood_of_Paris

https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/January_1910_Doubs-river-flood