Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, Roman Bath, ca 1970
Featured on this unused Plastichrome postcard by Colourpicture Publishers, Inc. and distributed by P.C. Jones of Cambria, California, is a photograph of the indoor Roman pool situated under the tennis courts of the Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California. Plastichrome was the trademark of Colourpicture of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1965 to 1987. The company published matchbooks, postcards, albums of printed pictures, picture books, calendars, movies, and multi-picture postcard folders. This is another card found in an antique mall.
The Trademark of Plastichrome
The card has the number P27751 at the top center on the reverse. There is also an explanation blurb at the upper left on the reverse: “Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, San Simeon, California, on Coast Highway 1. The Roman Pool (under the tennis courts). This famous Lapiz-lazuli gold (one million dollar) swimming pool was built by Italian artisans in 3 ½ years. There are 144 pieces of gold mosaic for each square foot of the floor, walls, and ceiling. The light standards are of carved alabaster.”
The Hearst Castle, also called La Cuesta Encantada or The Enchanted Hill in Spanish, is located on the central coast of California in San Simeon. The castle was built between 1919 and 1947 by the publishing tycoon, William Randolph Hearst with Julia Morgan and the architect. Morgan was “America’s first truly independent female architect.” The castle was originally intended as the home of Hearst and his wife and five sons. After Hearst separated from his wife in the 1930s, he continued to use the house and host gatherings with his mistress, the actress, Marion Davies. Many Hollywood stars and other famous people visited during the 1920s and 1930s.
The indoor Roman pool seen on the card, was decorated with eight statues of Roman gods, goddesses and heros. The pool and surrounding rooms were built during the time between 1927 and 1934. The blue and gold color scheme and star patterns came from the designs found in the 5th century Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The difference being only the statues are made of marble, not the walls and there are no religious murals in the castle.
Today the Hearst Castle is a museum open to the public as a California State Park. It is registered as a National Historic Landmark and California Historical Landmark.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearst_Castle
https://hearstcastle.org/history-behind-hearst-castle-the-castle pools/
https://alter.com/trademarks/plastichrome-72232642
https://trademark.trademarkia.com/plastichrome-72232642.html
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