If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 527

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!  The cards shared this week are reproductions of Halloween greeting cards originally produced by the Beistle Company.  Laughing Elephant is a local shop that specializes in reproducing vintage art, cards, postcards, posters, and books.  The card above is stamped Copr. H.E. Luhrs on the Jack-O-Lantern’s cheek.  Below is another card from the same company, showing a black cat wearing a hat and a monocle with the same imprint on the bow tie.  

 

 

The Beistle Company or Beistle manufactures holiday decorations and party goods.  The company was founded in 1900 in Pennsylvania by Martin Luther Beistle.  A line of Halloween products was introduced in the 1920s and helped popularize Halloween decorations in the United States.  The company is still producing decorations and party goods today making it the oldest continuing manufacturer of such items.

 

 

Martin L. Beistle was working as a salesperson for the Pittsburg Art Calendar Company around 1900 when he had an idea to create artificial plants made from paper.  He started the company in his home basement where he made artificial flowers and wooden products.  The company expanded and was incorporated in 1907 and had moved from his basement to the second floor of a wagon shop in Oakville, Pennsylvania.  Eventually further expansion allowed the company to move to larger facilities in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.  In 1910 Beistle was using imported technology and manufacturing honeycomb tissue, previously only available in Europe and Asia. 

 

In 1920 Beistle partnered with the Paper Novelty Company and began creating a variety of paper decorations for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  By this time the Beistle catalog had become popular and was best known for Halloween-themed items.  In the 1920s and 1930s fortune-telling games for Halloween parties were added.  Over 1,000 different Halloween-themed designs and decorations have been produced since the line was first introduced.  Creepy Company, founded in 2015, also offers apparel, pins, and other products based on the Beistle designs. 

 

After the death of Martin Luther Beistle in 1935 the ownership of the company passed on to his son-in-law Henry E. Luhrs and his family.  Since the cards shared have the Luhrs mark on them they were either reproduced from earlier cards or were new designs from 1935 and onwards.

 

For additional information, see: 

 

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

https://laughingelephant.com/

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 526

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snowdon [Yr Wyddfa] seen from Llyn Llydaw, Gwynedd, Wales, ca 1960s

 

Printed in Great Britain by J. Arthur Dixon, this unused postcard dates from the 1960s and is another card from the collections shared by friends.  PGD/23532 is found at the lower left corner on the reverse.  The subject of the photograph is Snowdon, or Yr Wydffa in Welsh, the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 ft or 1,085 m above sea level. 

 

There are six main paths to the summit as well as the rack railway, Snowdon Mountain Railway.  The paths vary in difficulty, distance, and elevation gain.  The railway opened in 1896 and carries passengers almost 5 miles from Llanberis to the summit station.  At the summit there is a café that is open when the railway is operating.  The railway operates between March to the end of October, the running schedule depends on the weather and customer demand. 

 

The cliff faces on Snowdon are significant for rock climbing.  Before ascending Mount Everest in 1953, Edmund Hillary trained on them.  The rocks are the result of ancient volcanic activity and glaciation resulting in the pyramidal peak of Snowdon. 

 

The lake in the foreground is Llyn Llydaw.  It is a long narrow lake found about 1/3 of the way up the mountain.  Thousands of people visit Snowdon and walk past this lake each year.  Llyn Llydaw is the largest of three lakes found on Snowdon.  Water is piped from the lake to a hydro-electric power station below. 

 

A number of rare plants found on Snowdon led to its being named a national nature reserve. Established in 1951, Snowdonia National Park, provides some protection to the plants and animals. 

 

Snowdon and Llyn Padarn, Gwynedd, Wales

The second unused postcard shows Snowdon from another angle and another lake.  Llyn Pardarn is about 2 miles long and is an example of a moraine dammed lake.  This large natural lake links to a neighboring lake, Llyn Peris, and its water is also used for hydro-electric power.  Llyn Pardarn is designated as a Bathing Water and is open to recreational activities in the summer. 

 

 Thank you K and J for sharing the postcards.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llyn-Llydaw

 

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

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 525

 

 

 

 

 

The Avenue at Middelharnis by Meyndert Hobbema, 1689

 

The unused postcard shared this week is art card with a painting titled, “The Avenue at Middelharnis,” by Meyndert or Meindert Hobbema, and dated 1689.  The original oil on canvas painting measures 40 3/4 inches by 55 ½ inches and is found in the National Gallery, London, England.  The card is numbered 1033 (830) at the lower right corner on the reverse.  It was printed in Great Britain for the Trustees.  This is another one of several cards shared by friends from an estate.  The card dates from the 1960s.

 

Meyndert, sometimes spelled Meindert Hobbema was a Dutch Golden Age landscape artist who was born in 1638.  He specialized in woodland views, although “Avenue of Middelharnis” is a slightly different scene.  It is notable also for being a very accurate depiction of a specific spot.  Looking closely at the lower right side of the painting it is possible to see a man tending the saplings.  The addition of a man working the land was unusual in 17^th century Dutch landscapes.  Other figures are also discernible as well as known buildings in the background.  This is Hobbema’s most famous painting.  Hobbema was not well known in his lifetime but became more popular in later years.  Not all of his paintings are signed and some have been passed off as the works of others of the same time period.  He was married and had 5 children.  His wife died in 1704 and was buried in the paupers’ section of the Leiden cemetery.  Hobbema died in 1709 and was buried in the paupers’ section of the Westerkerk cemetery, Amsterdam.

 

Thanks go to K and J for sending the card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

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

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

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 524

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ram Statue, Moffat, Scotland, ca 1960

 

Today’s postcard is one that falls into the category of informational.  The blurb is found on the front of the card next to the subject of the photograph.  In this case it is the Ram statute in Moffat, Scotland.  On the reverse of the card the number PT37058 is found at the bottom of the center line.  At the top of the line is DF 164.  The picture is credited to Photo Precision Limited, St. Ives, Huntingdon, Cambs.  It is a TextView Series card.

 

The town of Moffat is located 16 miles north of Lockerbie and about 59 miles or 95 km southeast of Glasgow.  It is held to be the ancestral home of Clan Moffat.  The sulfurous and saline spa waters were believed to have healing properties as early as 1633.  Later in the 1700s iron springs were added and the water was piped into a tank and on to a specially built bath house.  In the 1990s the old well was refurbished and is still accessible by vehicle and on foot.  The water smells strongly of sulfur. 

 

The Scottish sculptor, William Brodie (1815-1881), created the bronze ram commemorating the wool trade of the Moffat marketplace.  A local businessman, William Colvin, presented the statue to the town in 1875.  Trivia:  the ram arrived without ears and they are still missing.

 

Thanks again to K and J for sharing this card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brodie_(sculptor)