Thursday, March 28, 2024

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 652

 

 

 

 

 


 

Easter Greeting

 

Happy Easter!  The postcard shared this week has a reproduced vintage illustration with a little poem.  The card was purchased from Laughing Elephant.com the small local print shop that specializes in reproducing vintage cards, books, and posters.  The illustrator is not identified, nor is an approximate date provided.  The original probably dates from the early 1900s.

 

Notice the pussy-willows at the right side of the card.  I wondered if there was a legend or story associated with them and Easter

 

In Poland there is a tradition of using pussy-willow branches with palm branches on Palm Sunday.  A Polish legend has Jesus visiting a forest in late winter, just before spring.  He commands his angels to gather pussy-willows with soft cotton buds as the first sign of spring.

 

On Easter they are a symbol of the resurrection, as these fluffy white buds sprout from a dry twig, like the flower of life. 

 

The day after Easter is known as Dyngus Day.  It is an historically Polish-American celebration of the end of 40 days of Lenten sacrifice.  There are games, music, and food.  Water and pussy-willows are used in a game of playful taps.  Pouring water was an ancient spring rite of cleansing and purification as is the complimentary practice of switching with pussy-willow branches that date back to pre-Christian times in Slavic countries. 

 

There is also a little story about kittens who fell into a raging river while chasing butterflies.  The mother cat sits on the bank pleading for help for her drowning kittens.  The willows hear her mournful cries and let down their branches for the kittens to cling to the branches and are safely brought back to shore.  Every spring, from that day on, the willows put forth fur-like buds where the tiny kittens once clung.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://www.wbfo.org/arts-culture/2013-03-22/polish-legend-of-the-pussy-willow-palm-sunday

https://www.dyngusday.com/our-story 

https://laughingelephant.com/

Thursday, March 21, 2024

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 651

 

 

 

 


 

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, in the village of Shottery, Warwickshire, England, about 1 mile or 1.6 km west of Stratford-upon-Avon.

 

Like the two previous Thursday postcards, this card also has a tinted black & white photograph and blurb at the upper left on the reverse.  It has a divided back but no identifying letters or numbers or credit to a photographer.  All three cards appear to have been published or printed by the same company.  The blurb on this card:  “Ann Hathaway’s Cottage, Stratford, England.—The house of Shakespeare.  This is a very beautiful photograph reproduction of the celebrated spot and it contains many relics of Shakespeare, and is visited by all lovers of Shakespeare who ever get within a day’s ride of this celebrated place.”

 

The oldest portion of the house is dated 1463.  Originally it was a three-roomed building on one floor.  Known as Hewlands Farm during the time of Shakespeare it had more than 90 acres or 36 hectares of land associated with it making it much larger than the term cottage implies.  Ann’s grandfather, John Hathaway was the first Hathaway to live there in 1542. 

 

After Ann’s father, Richard, died in 1581, her brother, Bartholomew, took over the ownership and began to expand the building beginning in 1610.  Eventually it ended up as a 12-room farmhouse.  Notice the multiple chimneys on the card.  The largest one was used for cooking, the others help spread heat evenly through the house during the winter. 

 

The house was passed down in the family until 1846 when financial difficulties forced them to sell it.  It was occupied by tenants until it was acquired by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1892.  The Trust removed later additions and alterations.  There was a fire in 1969 but the Trust was able to restore the building which is now open to the public as museum. 

 

The cottage gardens were redone in 1920 by the horticulturist Ellen Willmott.  Many of the plants found in the garden were mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays.  Three flower beds near the cottage entrance are named Miss Willmott’s garden.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hathaway%27s_Cottage

Thursday, March 14, 2024

If this is Thursday it must be postcads, 650

 

 

 

 


 

The Round Tower, Windsor Castle, England

 

Featured on this postcard is a tinted black & white photograph of the Round Tower of Windsor Castle.  The card has a divided back, does not have identifying letters or numbers but does have a blurb located at the upper left on the reverse.  The blurb:  “The Round Tower, Windsor Castle.—Windsor Castle is in a beautiful valley a few miles outside of London, and is one of the most historical spots of Europe, being the scene of many historical events that transpired in British history in over four hundred years.”

 

The royal residence, Windsor Castle, is located in the English county of Berkshire.  The castle was built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror and is the longest occupied palace in Europe.  The current owner is King Charles III.  There is limited access to the public.

 

King Henry II ruled beginning in 1154.  Between 1165 and 1179 he repaired and added to the existing castle; replaced the wooden palisade with a stone wall; replaced a stone keep and chemise wall.  To relieve pressure on the mound, he moved walls from the edge of the motte and added foundations along the south side to provide more support.  He also remodeled the inside the castle including the royal living quarters.  The Round Tower seen on the card was built by Henry II and remodeled in the 19th century. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

 

 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 649

 

 

 

 


 

The Great Nile Bridge, Egypt, ca 1930s

 

This is an unused, divided back postcard with a black & white photograph that was tinted.  There are no identifying letters or numbers, however, there is a blurb at the upper left on the reverse:  “The Great Nile Bridge, Egypt. – The Great Nile Bridge was built jointly by the British and Egyptian governments.  It is a modern structure, and is considered one of the greatest bridges in Egypt.  The crowded condition of this bridge gives an idea of the enormous traffic and how necessary a bridge of this character was.”

 

Today the bridge is named The Qasr al Nil Bridge, sometimes written as just Qasr el Nil Bridge.  It was formerly known as the Khedive Ismail Bridge and dates from 1931.  There was an earlier bridge at this same crossing built between 1869 and 1871 name El Gezira Bridge.  These bridges all spanned the Nile River in central Cairo connecting the east bank of the river to the southern end of Gezira/Zamalek Island facilitating transportation of people and goods between the two banks of the Nile.  Prior to the bridges being built the crossing was done by sailing boats placed next to each other and connected by planks of wood for people to walk on to get across the river.  The current bridge is a popular place to stroll across in the evenings. 

 

The bridge has eight parts, including a movable part that was manually opened with gears to allow boats and ships to cross.  There are four bronze lions each set upon a pillar at the ends of the bridge.  One of the pillars can be seen left on the card.  The bridge is about 10 meters or 33 feet above the Nile to accommodate the river in its flood stage.  

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/116567/Qasr-al-Nil-bridge-a-reflection-of-Egypt%E2%80%99s-golden-era

 

Thursday, February 29, 2024

If this is Thursday it must postcards, 648

 

 

 

 

 


 

Titled:  Benvenuto Cellini, The Rospigliosi Cup (Altman Collection) Italian XVI Century, 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 31

 

This unused postcard does not have a divided back nor an outline for a stamp on the reverse.  It is credited as “Collotype by Max Jaffé, Vienna, Germany.”  Max Jaffé (1845-1939) was a photographer working and living in Vienna, Austria.  Germany took over Austria in March of 1938, hence the place identification as Germany rather than Austria.  Since Jaffé died in December of 1939 the date for this photo card can be narrowed to between March 1938 and December 1939. 

 

Another interesting thing concerns the Cup itself.  It is not what the title on the card says it is.  It was not made by Cellini in the 1500s. The cup is an original work, but in the style of Cellini; therefore, considered a forgery, made by Reinhold Vasters (1827-1909).  Vasters was a German goldsmith, who in order to support his family, made reproductions in historical styles.  This might never have been uncovered if Vasters' original sketches had not been found.  After the drawings were found, the cup was taken apart and discovered to have been made in ways that were only available in Vasters' own time.  Today the Cup is dated “between 1840 and 1850 or somewhat earlier.”  The Cup remains at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and is on view at:  The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 556.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

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

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

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

https://de-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Max_Jaff%C3%A9_(Fotograf)?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

 

Thursday, February 22, 2024

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 647

 

 

 

 


 

Devils Oven, Alexandria Bay, N.Y.  – Thousand Islands, ca 1949

 

The picture featured on this unused, divided back, reproduced black & white print that was color-tinted for a postcard, is of a place called Devils Oven located in Alexandria Bay, New York.  Santway Photo-Craft Company, Inc. of Watertown, N.Y. published and distributed the card.  There is no blurb on the reverse but the identifying code:  R-73689 appears at the upper left center on the reverse.  The photographer is not credited.

 

I’m not sure that this is his picture, but an almost exact, black & white copy of this photograph is listed as a public domain image and is credited to a well-known photographer, William Henry Jackson, 1843-1942.  He worked for the United States Geological Survey expeditions in the 1870s.  Most of his pictures are of the American West.

 

Alexandria Bay is located in the Thousand Islands area of New York near the border crossing of Canada and the United States.  There are several places named Devils Oven.  Although it cannot be seen in the photo there must be a water-level cave on this small island that would get flooded during tides.  The name seems to refer to caves on islands where very long ago, suspected criminals might be left to drown for their crimes.  Some people believed that such caves were portals to the underworld, hence the name Devils Oven. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Bay,_New_York

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

https://garystockbridge617.getarchive.net/media/devils-oven-thousand-islands-8394e7

Thursday, February 15, 2024

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 646

 

 

 

 


 

Litchfield Law School, Litchfield, Connecticut

 

Dexter Press, Inc., West Nyack, New York, printed this unused, divided back postcard, published by Morgan’s Photo Shop in Bantam, Connecticut.  It has the identifying code:  23706-C at the left bottom edge on the reverse.  It also has a blurb at the upper left corner on the reverse:  “America’s First Law School, 1774-1883, Litchfield, Connecticut.  Founded by Judge Tapping Reeve, it prepared more than 1000 students for the bar who eventually distinguished themselves in politics, diplomacy and education.”

 

The lawyer, judge, and law educator, Tapping Reeve was born in 1744 and died in 1823.  He founded the first independent law school in America not affiliated with any college or university.  The William & Mary Law School was the first law school connected with a university.  In 1965 the law school and Reeve’s house were declared National Historic Landmarks.  Tapping Reeve House and the Litchfield History Museum are now owned and operated by the Litchfield Historical Society.  Reeve served as a judge in Connecticut’s Superior Court beginning in 1798 and was later appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut in 1814. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

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

https://londonpostcardsca.wordpress.com/2017/12/22/international-publishers-dexter-press-pearl-river%E2%80%8B-n-y/