If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 601

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windmills, Mykonos, Greece

 

This is an unused postcard with a color photograph of the Mykonos windmills.  It has a divided back and the title of the photo in four languages but no other information.  Easily recognizable as windmills, nevertheless, they are quite different looking than the stereotypical Dutch windmills.

 

These windmills are an iconic feature of the Greek island of Mykonos.  They can be seen from every point of the village of Mykonos and are the first thing seen when arriving in the harbor.  There are 16 windmills on the island.  Most of them face north where the strongest winds blow almost all year round.  Seven of the windmills are located on the landmark hill of Chora.  Most of them were built by the Venetians in the 1500s.  Primarily used to mill wheat, the windmills were an important source of income for the island inhabitants.  Use of the windmills gradually declined until it ceased altogether in the mid-20^th century.  One of the windmills was converted into a museum.  All of them are similar, with a round shape, white color, a pointed roof and very small windows. 

 

Mykonos is part of the Cyclades.  Also known as Chora, or town in English, it carries the nickname of “The Island of the Winds” due to the very strong winds that are found there.  About 10,000 people live on Mykonos.  The first mention of people, the Carians, living on the island comes from Herodotus.  The Ionians followed next and then Mykonos later came under the control of Rome.  It was a prosperous trading center until the end of the 18^th century.  Sailing and merchant activity supported the economy.  Today tourism has become the dominant source of the economy. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

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

 

If this Thursday it must be postcards, 600

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cretan attire, Crete, Greece

 

This color postcard features a young woman spinning yarn and wearing a folk costume from the Greek island of Crete.  The card is unused and not dated but is probably from the 1960s.  No publisher or distributor is named, nor is the photograph credited.  The caption at the lower left on the reverse:  Cretan Attire, in four languages. 

 

Like many other folk costumes this one includes a kerchief, an apron with embroidery, a blouse. This one also has a long-sleeved velvet jacket, is embroidered around the neck, and has jewelry in the form of earrings and gold disk necklaces.  Although her feet are not fully visible in the picture on the card, the costume would also include flat boots or heeled shoes in black.  In some areas the costume might also include long trousers with a long over-shirt or tunic in place of the skirt and blouse.  The jewelry that can be worn on the head, chest, wrists, fingers, neck and waist is not just decoration but signifies the financial and social status of the woman.  The complete costume would have a small knife attached to the belt.  Each region would have slightly differing designs and colors. 

 

The young woman is demonstrating how to make yarn from wool fiber using a drop spindle.  Spinning wheels and drop spindles use the same principle of twisting fibers together for form strands of yarn or thread.  The drop spindle is a hand-held tool while the spinning wheel is a foot powered machine. 

 

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and the 5^th largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.  Besides the large island there are a number of islands and islets in the surrounding area that comprise the Region of Crete.  It is a mostly mountainous island.  The Minoans lived here from 2700 to 1420 BC.  Later Crete was ruled by Rome then in succession by the Byzantine Empire, Andalusian Arabs, the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire.  In 1898 Crete achieved independence from the Ottomans.  The people of Crete had for a long time desired join the Greek state which formally happened in December 1913. 

 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://www.crete.org.uk/traditional-crete-dress.html

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

https://www.alpacadirect.com/blogs/alpaca-direct-blog/top-6-reasons-you-should-start-spinning-on-a-drop-spindle

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards 599

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy, France, 2022

 

Here is a contemporary color postcard, this time with multiple views of Place Stanislas, Nancy, France.  It is a Editions Koidneuf Nancy product. 

 

In November 2022 my French friend had a 4-day weekend in Nancy with friends and sent this card with a note.  It came at a good time, shortly after posting another multi-view vintage card (595) not too many Thursdays ago.  Cards like this have the advantage of showing several views of a particular location and are ideal as souvenir cards. 

 

Nancy is located in northeastern France and was at one time the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine.  Place Stanislas is a large public square built between 1752 and 1756 and is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The square is named for the exiled Polish king and duke of Lorraine, Stanislas I, who was the father-in-law of the French king Louis XV.  Many of the buildings in Nancy are listed as historical monuments.  Nancy also is known for its university and especially for innovations in surgical robotics. 

 

Émile Gallé, an art nouveau glass-master and furniture maker, helped make Nancy the center of art and architecture that rivaled Paris.  Art Nouveau collections of glassware and other decorative arts can now be found at the Musée de l’École de Nancy and the Musée des Beaux-Arts.

 

As always, many thanks to my friend for sending the card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy,_France

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 598

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bar le Duc, Boulevard de La Rochelle, France, ca 1914-1918

 

French soldiers from World War I can be seen on the curbs and sidewalks of Bar le Duc on this unused black & white real photo postcard.  Visé Nancy – C and the number 27 can be seen under the title at the center top of the card.  The logo seen at the lower left on the card is identified as Visé Paris, enlarged below.  Even when significantly enlarged, the writing around the center is difficult to read.  Beginning at the bottom center and going clockwise it appears to read:  “Notnf. T.T. A. Ruwar Maitris Imprintus du France.”  The postcard back is divided with Carte Postale at the center top.  

 

 

 

Postcard logo – Visé Paris

 

Cards with this logo appear during World War I and often have soldiers in the pictures.  The number on this card, 27, is considerably smaller than most of the war cards that usually are numbered in the 700 to 800 range.  It could mean that this photo was taken earlier than those with higher numbers.  Also, many of the war cards were produced by P. Gaultier, Boulogne-s-Mer or P.G. Visé Paris 800.  This particular card, while it does have soldiers shown has Visé Nancy – C  27. 

 

It is a city street seen, hence the 5 or more hay wagons shown along both sides of picture suggest that cavalry horses may have been in use. 

 

Bar le Duc is a community located about 46 miles or 74 km from Nancy in northeastern France.  From 1354 to 1480 it was the county seat for the independent Duchy of Bar.  After which it was acquired by the Duchy of Lorraine.  Bar was a fortified town with steep narrow roads and staircases.  The 16^th century remains of houses, clock tower, college, and the castle of the dukes of Bar are found in the Ville Haute area.  The lower part of the town has official buildings and churches.  During the Battle of Verdun in 1916,  Bar-le-Duc served as an assembly point for essential supplies.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar-le-Duc

http://www.fergusmackain.com/2014/07/what-is-the-meaning-of-vise-p...

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Logos_of_postcard_publishers

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 597

 

 

 

 

 

Schloss Nussdorf [Nussdorf Castle], near Vienna, Austria, 1910

 

This used vintage postcard that features black & white photos of Schloss Nussdorf is dated 16 XII (Dec) 1910.  It has a divided back, a written message and a stamp with the profile image of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria.  This stamp design was issued 1908 to 1910. 

 

 

 

The card was mailed to Miss Selma Schricker of Davenport, Iowa.  The message is “Since the end of November I am staying with my sister here and I am enjoying the country live [life] on leave.  On the 1 Nov. I arrived in Vienna from the East then I went to Pola [Austria] and then I [extended?] for 3 months leave.  How are you and what are you doing?  I wish you a Merry Xmas and I hope that you are healthy and happy.  Yours sincerely with best greetings, A. Dolene"  And on the front of the card is written:  "my present address is:  Schloss Nussdorf, Prestranek Krain. .. I will be here till the ei[ghth] of February.”

 

I am often curious about the people who sent and received these old cards.  When I looked for Selma Schricker on the U.S. census records, 1880-1930, I discovered that she was a single woman, not employed, but enjoying a life of independent means, who had one to three servants depending on the year.  She was born in 1880 and died in 1931.  She was the youngest daughter of lumber baron, Lorenzo Schricker.  Her father was married three times and had a total of 9 children.  One of Selma’s sisters, Harriet, married Frank Dvorak, “a captain of the marines.”  The Dvoraks lived in Vienna, Austria.  Harriet died in 1912 in Vienna, just two years after this card was send to Selma.  Another sister, Ottillie Von Pietruska of Pola, Austria is also mentioned in the obituary for Harriet.  It is not possible to track all the places this card may have traveled or whether A. Dolene was a friend or relative; however, a brother, William Schricker, lived in LaConner, Washington, which may be partly why this card ended up in a jumble box of postcards at a Seattle antique mall.  Selma’s father, Lorenzo Schricker, was born in Bavaria. 

 

 

Selma Schricker House

[Photo:  Wikipedia]

 

Selma’s house, known as the “Selma Schricker House,” in Davenport, Iowa, is on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is a Georgian Revival style house.  The house was designed by Clausen & Burrows, a prominent Davenport architectural firm of the time, and built in 1902, about 4 years after Selma's mother died.  Selma never married and died in this house in 1931 at the age of 50.  She was known for her love of flowers, her beautiful gardens, and her charitable work.  After her death, the house was purchased as the official residence of the bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in 1933.  The diocese sold it in 1996 and in 2000 the new private owners did extensive restoration work on the house. 

 

 

Selma Schricker, ca 1900

[Google image; photo also found on the Scott Count Historic Preservation Society Newsletter, October 2013]

 

A Google Search of her name pulled up a couple of pictures of her when she looks to be about 20 years old or around 1900.  The above photograph of her can be found on the cover of the Scott County Historic Preservation Society Newsletter, October 2013.  Another picture, with a different pose, was taken at the same time and is found in the book “Scott County Cemeteries,” published by Arcadia Publishing, 2011.  The Davenport Public Library has a brief obituary with a picture of Selma taken when she was older. 

 

It may be a coincidence but, Selma’s father, Lorenzo Schricker, was born in Bavaria.   Nussdorf, where the writer of the postcard message is staying in 1910, is identified as located in Central Bavaria. It sits on both banks of the Nussbach, where the brook meets the Danube Canal.  The name of the town is thought to have come from the numerous nut trees and hazelnut shrubs that grew in the area.  It was a separate municipality until 1892.  Today it is a suburb of Vienna. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nussdorf,_Vienna

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

Ancestry.com  [Lorenzo Schricker]

Ancestry.com [Selma Schricker]

The Daily Times [Davenport, Iowa] obituary for Harriet Schricker Dvorak

http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/.../Scott-County-Cemeteries

http://www.umvphotoarchive.org/digital/collection/scdpl/id/2700/