If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 639

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year, ca 1910

This is an unused, embossed E. Nash produced vintage postcard.  Most of the postcards produced by e. nash have a logo with an N within a triangle.  On this card it is found at the lower left corner on the front, and also printed out on the reverse under the area designated for a stamp, upper right corner.  At the left edge on the reverse is:  "New Year Series No. 34."  The picture frame and maple leaves are raised and gold colored.  Nash appears to have been producing art-type postcards in the early 1900s to 1915 and perhaps a bit later.  There is not much information about the E. Nash company.  The card has a divided back, putting the date after 1908. 

Today most countries use the Gregorian calendar with 1 January as the first day of the new year.  In pre-Christian times, the Romans used the Julian calendar with January named after the god of gateways and beginnings, Janus.  It was interesting to see that from Roman times until the middle of the 1700s Christian Europe celebrated the new year in various stages on 25 December, on 1 March, 25 March and on the movable feast day of Easter.  

 

Count downs ending with fireworks exactly at midnight in each time zone across the globe on New Year's Eve have become traditional.   Making New Year's resolutions and calling family and friends to wish them a Happy New Year are also traditional for many people.  

 

In my late husband's family the old Scottish tradition of giving a small New Year's gift that included an item of clothing (socks), a coin (a dime or penny), and an bit of food (usually a small orange) was handed down through several generations.  The gift items were to be wrapped together in white tissue paper and tied with a red ribbon or string.   He called this the "little new year" and we carried on that tradition  in our own family until our children were grown with children of their own.  I never found out how many generations of his family had handed down that tradition.  However, the practice may have started as early as the Gaelic and Norse observances of Hogmanay, the celebration of the winter solstice, when small gifts were shared to bring luck to the householder by the first person to cross the threshold.

For additional information, see:

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

 

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

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 638

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas postcard, dated 1912

 

Merry Christmas!  This used Vintage postcard is postmarked 1912.  The stamp had been removed but at the lower left corner on the reverse is:  “Christmas Series 42 A.”  The illustration is not signed but there is an N in a triangle at the lower left.  

 

The first commercial Christmas cards were produced and sent in 1843 in England.  Many of the early cards contained Bible verses, words to Christmas carols, or traditional Christmas symbols, such as, holly, Christmas trees, candles, nativity scenes, and snowy landscapes.

 

Today's Thursday postcard was sent to Master Cletus Schneider of Conde, South Dakota, with wishes for a “Merry, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Grandma Becker.”  As mentioned in prior Thursday postcards, I am often curious about the senders and recipients of the used cards I find in jumble boxes.  As luck would have it, there is a photograph on Ancestry.com of Cletus, who was born in 1902.  His maternal grandmother was Mary Becker.  And, I suppose, this makes it a Christmas wish from the past and perhaps something new for a descendant.

 

 Cletus J. Schneider, ca 1912

 

 

To see the entire family portrait, use this link:

 

https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/45608494/person/6388263176/media/44076f2b-3ecb-4588-bdf4-07617b31cc21?_phsrc=KAl1639&_phstart=successSource

For more information about the history of Christmas cards, see:

 

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

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 637

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, Italy, early 1900s

 

This is an unused black & white postcard without any information about the printer/publisher.  Like some other cards of this time period, it has pink tinting on part of the picture.  The card does not have an identifying number but it does have a blurb at the upper left on the reverse.  “St. Peters, Rome, Italy.—One of the wonders of the world, founded by Constantine, the first Christian emperor in the world.  This magnificent pile of architecture took 1300 years to build.  On the right of the Colonades is the Vatican, containing the priceless treasures of the world.  The obelisk in the center is supposed to be the oldest known outside the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Egypt.”

 

The Renaissance style church is located in Vatican City.  The church complex shown on the card was a replacement for the original St. Peter’s Basilica that was built in the 4^th century by Roman emperor Constantine.  This newer building complex was planned in the 1400s with construction beginning in 1506 and completion in 1626.  Traditionally it is the burial place of Jesus’s apostle, Saint Peter.  It is said that his tomb is under the Altar of Confession.  Many Catholic popes have been interred at St. Peter’s for that reason.  

 

 St. Peter's is a famous pilgrimage site where large crowds gather for liturgies that the pope presides over throughout the year.  The interior measurement is vast when compared with other churches.  While it is not the cathedral of Rome or the mother church of the Catholic church, it is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. 

 

  The entire interior is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding.  The famous Pieta by Michelangelo is found here.   If some interior view cards can be found, then there can be another postcard Thursday about St. Peter’s Basilica.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 636

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ballingdon Bridge, Sudbury, England, ca 1911-1920s

 

This black & white, used, postcard has a cancelation but no complete date.  It features a photograph of Ballingdon Bridge in Sudbury, Suffolk, England.  J. G. Payn is identified as the printer at the lower left corner on the front of the card.  The card has a divided back and a green halfpenny stamp with the profile of King George V.  Most used postcards have had the stamps removed by stamp collectors.  As can be seen, the dark cancellation mark on this one dominates the stamp.  Maybe that is why it was left on the card.

 

 

l

 

Halfpenny stamp

 

 

The Ballingdon Bridge crosses over the River Stour.  The village of Ballingdon grew up adjacent to the bridge and is now in the parish of Sudbury.  The bridge dates back to the 13^th century or possibly earlier.  The bridge is still the only crossing of the river for several miles.  The River Stour is 47 miles or 76 km long and forms most of the boundary between Suffolk on the north and Essex on the south.  In 1705 this river was one of the first improved waterways in England with mandated navigation rights. 

 

 Ballingdon Hall, a large house, was moved half a mile up Ballingdon Hill in 1972 when a housing development was being built near its original site.  The event was watched by 10,000 people.  There is a link below to a short YouTube video by Tim Leggett showing part of the move.  Coincidentally, the postcard is addressed to a Miss Leggett, Bridge House, Three Bridges, Sussex.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Stour,_Suffolk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xM3XzFjoq4