If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 626

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oriole Blackbird

 

This is an unused color photo postcard distributed by Florida Natural Color, Inc. of Miami, Florida.  FNC5468 appears at the bottom of the center line on the reverse side of the card.  There is an information blurb at the upper left corner on the reverse:  “The ‘Oriole Blackbird’ with its bright yellow breast and black back is one of the most colorful of the many tropical birds that can be seen in beautiful Sunken Gardens, situated in the heart of St. Petersburg, Florida.”

 

The oriole blackbird is about 12 inches or 30 cm long.  Both male and female birds are similar in appearance with the head, neck, shoulders and underparts a bright yellow.  The back, wings, rump and tail are black apart from stripe of yellow from the lower wing-coverts.  The eyes are brown with a black eye ring.  The beak and feet are blackish.  This bird can make several different scratchy calls and one screech that is said to resemble the sound made by a rusty hinge.  It has an extensive range, anywhere from places in South America to Mexico and the Sunken Gardens of western Florida.

 

This bird is usually seen in pairs or small groups rather than mixed species flocks.  It likes to perch in small trees or on the top of bushes.  It is a ground feeder preferring earthworms, caterpillars and winged insects, as well as frogs and fruit. 

 

The Sunken Gardens in Florida cover 4 acres or 1.6 hectares and are well established botantial gardens located in Historic Old St. Petersburg.  Founded in 1903 by George Turner, a plumber and avid gardener, they are a popular tourist attraction.  Part of the original purchase was a shallow lake 10 feet or 3 meters below sea level which Turner drained to form the “sunken garden.”  Citrus fruits, papayas along with other exotic plants were cultivated.  Turner opened a nursery and began selling fruit, vegetables and other plants.  Visitors paid a nickel to stroll through the gardens until 1935 when he fenced the garden and started charging a 24-cent admission fee.  After Turner died in 1961 his sons took over the gardens and still later the ownership passed to three grandsons.  The gardens were sold in 1999 for more than $2.26 million.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunken_Gardens_(Florida)

 

If this is Thursday it must be poscards, 625

 

 

 

 

 

Mission Delores, San Francisco, California, ca late 1940s

 

This is an unused Selitho True Color from Ektachrome postcard published by E. F. Clements of San Francisco, California.  It has a divided back.  The estimated date of the card was derived from the statement in the blurb that says the mission had been holding services for more than 150 years. 

 

The blurb at the upper left on the reverse reads:  “208—Mission Delores, San Francisco, Calif.  Mission Delores was founded in 1776 and the present mission dedicated in 1791.  For more than 150 years services have been held here and it is the second oldest building in the city.  The little graveyard is of special interest as many California pioneers are buried there.” 

 

Mission Delores, also called Mission San Francisco de Asís, is a Spanish Californian mission thought to be the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco.  The adobe mission is the smaller white building on the left, while the larger Mission Delores Basilica, built in 1918, can be seen on the right.  The Basilica replaced a brick building that was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. 

The creek, Arroyo de Nuestra Señora de los Delores or Our Lady of Sorrows, provided the commonly used name of Mission Delores. 

 

The settlement was named for Francis of Assisi who was the founder of the Franciscan Order of the Roman Catholic Church.  Although most of the original adobe mission complex has been altered or demolished, the façade has remained mostly unchanged since construction in 1782-1791.  A mural painted by native labor adored the main wall in the chapel.  Early missions were not restricted to being houses of worship but also were agricultural communities that produced all sorts of products, had hotels, ranches, hospitals, and schools.  For example, at the Dolores Mission there were 20 looms in operation turning wool into cloth.  The Mission’s holdings covered a circumference of about 125 miles.

 

During the California Gold Rush, wood siding was applied to the original adobe walls.  This siding was removed when the mission was restored.  The original adobe structure survived the 1906 earthquake but was nearly damaged when the fire following the quake stopped almost at the doorstep. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Francisco_de_As%C3%ADs

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 624

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Gate House, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England

 

This Francis Frith unused black & white postcard features a photograph of the Gate House at Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, England.  The identifier KLW.4 is seen at the lower left corner and the name of postcard company Frith is found at the lower right corner.  This card was one several I found in a jumble of cards in an old shoe-box at an antique pavilion.  It is not dated and does not have a divided back.  The quality of the print looks too recent to have been made prior to 1900, so this card may be a reprint of an older photo.

 

Francis Frith (1822-1898) was an English photographer who traveled extensively, sometimes to exotic places, with very large cameras (16” x 20”) on at least one of his trips.  Sometimes working in hot stifling tents, he used the collodion process.  For readers interested in this process, there is a link included with a video from the George Eastman Museum.  

 

 Originally apprenticed in the cutlery trade, Frith later became a grocer and then a printer.  In the 1850s he became interested in photography and was one of the founding members of the Liverpool Photographic Society.  He reproduced many of his photographs in illustrated books which became quite popular.  In addition to taking scenic pictures during travels to foreign places, he was one of the first photographers to establish himself as a retailer of scenic photos on a large scale.   

 

After his marriage to Mary Ann Rosling in 1860, Frith began a project to photograph every town and village in the United Kingdom, focusing on historical and interesting sites.  It was during this period; he began publishing his own images and founded F. Frith & Co.  The father of 5 children, two daughters and three sons, his sons, and later a grandson, took over the business following his death in 1898 at age 75.  The company was the vanguard of postcard development after the divided back was allowed in Britain in 1902.  The divided back allowed for a full-sized picture on one side of the card with spaces for a message and the name and address of the recipient.  The company was active until it finally closed in 1971.

 

The Kenilworth Castle is located in the town of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England and managed by English Heritage.  The castle was founded in the 1120s during the Norman conquest of England. Construction, additions, and renovations, were done over several centuries.  Historically, Kenilworth was subjected to what is thought to be the longest siege, 6 months, in 1266, and formed a base for the Lancastrian operations in the War of the Roses. 

 

The picture on the card shows the Gate House built on the north side of the base court.  It replaced an older gatehouse and provided an entrance from the direction of Coventry.  The exterior battlements, and towers reflect architectural styles popular a century or so earlier.  The interior has wood paneling and is a more contemporary Elizabethan style.  The gatehouse is one of the few parts of the castle that still remain intact.  Another building that survived is the stables built in the 1550s, constructed mostly of stone and found on the east side of the base court.  Gardens fill much of the right-hand curt.   

 

The castle passed out of private hands in 1958 when it was gifted to the town of Kenilworth.  English Heritage has managed the property since 1984.  Attempts to restore the gardens to more closely resemble the original were made between 2005 and 2009 at a great cost and criticism since not enough archaeological information was available to accurately complete the work.  In 2008 new plans were submitted to re-create the look of the castle including a lake that could be used for boating and waterside recreations.  Since 2017 an exhibition “Speed and Power:  John Siddley, Pioneer of the Motor Age” has been on display.  Also, in 2020 an episode of Antiques Roadshow was filmed at the castle.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

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

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

https://www.francisfrith.com/us/pages/frith-postcards

 

Link to video:

https://smarthistory.org/the-collodion-5-of-12/

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Note:  Fans of Beth Brower's fictional "The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion" may recognize Kenilworth.

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 623

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loch Katrine and Ben Venue, Trossachs, Scotland

 

In the foreground of this unused black & white Real Photo postcard we see a ship on Loch Katrine with the mountain, Ben Venue, in the background.  The card was published by J.B. White Ldt. Of Dundee.  The card has a divided back but is not dated. 

 

Although the picture does not show all of Loch Katrine, the lake is a narrow serpentine lake about 8 miles long.  This lake is a popular scenic attraction for day-visitors and tourists from Glasgow and other nearby towns.  It is a freshwater lake that offers both boat and fly fishing from spring to autumn for trout.  When I first noticed the name of the lake, I thought it might have been named after a girl.  Upon further looking, I found it has a Pictish or Celtic root meaning a dark and gloomy place, probably because of the densely forested shores. 

 

Ben Venue is a mountain in the Trossachs.  In Scottish Gaelic it means, the miniature mountain.  It is a popular walk of about 5 km or about 3 miles and can be accessed from several different places including a car park at the head of Loch Achray.  Approaching or descending directly from or to Loch Katrine is discouraged due to the very steep dangerous cliffs.  Ben Venue has two summits a short distance from one another.  Both summits are almost 2400 ft (east summit 727 m, west summit 729 m).

 

The Trossachs is an area of wooded glens, hills, and lakes.  The Trossachs National Park also includes Loch Lomond.  The area is popular with walkers, cyclists and toursits.  Scenic boat rides are offered on Loch Katrine and are popular with visitors.  The steamer, SS Walter Scott, was launched in 1899 and is still in operation, and quite possibly seen on the postcard. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

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

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