If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 665

 

 

 

 

 

Historic London

 

“The friendship post card” is printed at the right on the reverse of this used souvenir postcard from London, England.  Like the Danish postcard that was shared a couple of weeks ago, this one has 5 different views of popular tourist destinations, this time featuring historic London.  This is a Golden Shield card with the number 142 at the top of the center line on the reverse.  It is one of the cards Marge Engler kept and was sent to her by her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren who were traveling abroad.

 

Beginning with the large picture of the Tower of London complex at the upper left and going clockwise around.  The second photo is of the guard wearing the tall bearskin hats and standing in front of the entrance.  The famous clock tower, Big Ben, is next, then a Yeoman Warder or Beefeater, is seen talking with children, the last picture is of Saint Paul’s cathedral.

 

The Tower of London is located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London.  It is officially His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London.  Founded toward the end of 1066 as a result of the Norman Conquest.  William the Conqueror built the White Tower in 1078 and is the symbol that gives the entire complex its name.  The complex has several buildings and two rings of defensive walls plus a moat.  Historically significant the complex it was besieged several times.  It has served different purposes at different times, from being an armory, a treasury, a menagerie, a prison, home to the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England.  It is a popular tourist attraction and is also protected as a World Heritage Site. 

 

The King’s Guard is one of the Household Division’s five regiments of foot guards.  The Household Guard duties include the sentry postings at Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Palace in London.  They are recognizable symbols by their red coats and tall bearskin hats.  They participate in the ceremony called the changing of the guard which is held Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at Buckingham Palace Forecourt and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at Windsor Castle.  The ceremony starts at 10:45 am and lasts for about 45 minutes. 

 

 

“Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster.”  It stands at the west end of the Palace of Westminster and was once known as the Clock Tower.  When Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 the it was renamed Elizabeth Tower.  The clock has five striking bells.  Designed by Augustus Pugin it was completed in 1859.  It is one of the most prominent symbols of the United Kingdom.

 

The ceremonial guards of the Tower of London are popularly known as Beefeaters but are officially named Yeoman Warders.  They serve as the palace guard and are responsible for safeguarding the British crown jewels as well as looking after any prisoners in the Tower.  They also conduct some guided tours of the Tower.

 

St. Paul’s Cathedral is another of the most recognizable symbols of London and a popular tourist destination.  TheEnglish Baroque style building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.  The dome has been part of the skyline of London for over 300 years.   

 

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

https://www.householddivision.org.uk/changing-the-guard-overview

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Guard

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

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 664

 

 

 

 

 

“Enten” [Ducks], painting by Alexander Max Koester (1864-1932)

 

At first, I thought these were swans but a closer look, plus the title, identified them as ducks.  This is an unused color postcard featuring an oil painting by Alexander Max Koester.  The identifying code:  SC 13026 is found at the lower left corner on the reverse.  There is also a blurb at the upper right corner on the reverse:  Charles and Emma Frye Art Museum, Terry at Cherry, Seattle, Washington.  “Enten” (Ducks) (oil) is by Alexander Max Koester (pronounced Case-t’r) (German:   1864-1932).  In the Frye Collection of 230 European and American paintings, emphasis is on Vienna and Munich masters of the nineteenth century.” 

 

Koester was a German landscape and animal painter who specialized in scenes with ducks.  His parents wanted him to take an apprenticeship in pharmacy which he did; however, after completing his training there he chose to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe, where he studied with Karl Hoff and Claus Meyer.  While an art student he supported himself by painting portraits. 

 

In 1893 Koester married Isabella Kantioler.  Isabella’s father had a colony of ducks and Koester became interested in them.  He began learning about them including studying their anatomy and behavior.  He became an expert on duck breeds and breeding while at the same time painting portraits of them.  His paintings became very popular.  Even though he was offered a position at the art school in Darmstadt he declined preferring to do free-lance work instead.  Most of his works are in private collections.

 

For additional information, see: 

 

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

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 663

 

 

 

 

 

“Clean Cat,” photo by David McEnery, 1992

 

Postcards come in all shapes and sizes, and a variety of subjects.  This unused postcard issued by Graphique de France features a black & white photograph by David McEnery.  It is dated 1992 and has the identifying code:  ME106 on the reverse center line.  The title appears at the upper right on the reverse “Clean Cat.”   

 

This type of card might be termed a humor card or a novelty card.  As someone who has been around cats and owned [by] cats most of my life, I found myself chuckling at this image.  Cats are independent and do what they want, not necessarily what you want.  The idea that any cat would stand for soap bubbles on its head long enough to take a picture borders on ridiculous. 

 

David McEnery was an English photographer who specialized in humor, mostly involving animals and quite often cats.  He was born in 1936 and passed away in 2002.  His photographs are often comedic, contain jokes, and/or irony.  He was dubbed “The funniest photographer in the world,” by John Saunders the editor of Photography magazine.  A retrospective collection of his black & white and color photographs called “Creatures” was held at Officine Fotografiche I Rome between December 2019 and January 2020.  A computer search produced many recognizable images that I had seen before but not known were his.  If you like animals and quirky things, look him and his images up online.

 

For additional information, see:

http://magazine.photoluxfestival.it/en/david-mcenery-%C7%80-humour-please/

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 662

 

 

 

 

 

Five views of Bremen, Germany, ca 1982

 

This is a typical traditional type of tourist, souvenir postcard with five representative views of Bremen, Germany.  It is a used postcard, mailed from Bremen in 1982.  There is a blurb at the upper left on the reverse that identifies each photo.  From the top left:  1.  U.[Unser] L. [Lieben] Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), 2. Altes Rathaus (Bremen City Hall), 3. Mühle am Wall (Am Wall Windmill).  Bottom left 4. Überseehafen (Oversea port), 5. Banhofsplatz (Main Station, railway).  The card is a Günter Reinhardt product, printed in Bremen.  Cards like this one were often available for purchase at the locations shown on the card.  Sadly, this card did not have a photo of the famous statue of the Town Musicians of Bremen from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. 

 

1.      The Church of Our Lady is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Bremen.  This building dates from the 13^th century and has brightly colored stained-glass windows by the French artist, Alfred Manessier.  An earlier church dedicated to Saint Vitus stood here and was replaced by a newer building around 1020.  Only the crypt decorated with medieval frescoes exists today.  In the 12^th century the building was extended to form a basilica.  Then around 1220 it was consecrated to the Virgin Mary.  Renovations and rebuilding have occurred several times throughout the years.  Although the pictures only show one, there are two towers.  In 1973 this church was listed under the monument protection act.

2.     The Bremen City Hall has also been protected since 1973 as an historical building.  It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2004 in part because of its prime example as Brick Gothic and Weser Renaissance architecture.  Located on the northeastern side of the market square, a statue of Roland stands directly in front of the building.  This “new” structure was built in the 15^th century and is the seat of the President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen.  The first townhall had been on the southern end of the block near Our Lady’s Church. 

3.     Am Wall Windmill was built in 1898.  It is open to the public and has a restaurant.  The first windmill on this site was built in 1699; however, it was destroyed by fire and then rebuilt several times.  The windmill is located in the middle of a city park.  It has four shuttered sails, sits on an eight-sided base, and is steered by a wind vane.  There are several different types of windmill sails.  Spring sails, invented by Andrew Meikle of Scotland, in 1772, are divided into bays, each having a number of shutters.  The shutters are joined together by a shutter bar.  The photo on card may be too small to provide the detail necessary to see the individual shutters on the sails.  Each sail has a separate spring that adjusts the shutters depending on the force of the wind.  Visitors pay a nominal fee to tour the building which is open every day.  During the winter months it is only open in the afternoon.

4.      Überseeshafen was located in the urban area and is now called Überseestadt.   Überseehafen or Oversea harbor was opened in 1906 and taken out of service in 1991.  In 1998 the harbor was filled with soil taken from the current main shipping lane of outer Weser.  This allowed has allowed reclaimed land to expand the urban area, hence the name change to Überseestadt.  Other harbors include Medieval harbors, outer harbors, Emigrant harbor, Weser Correction and modern basins.  In the last decades overseas travel has switched to air transport; mixed cargo is now by container transport, using sea vessels of increased size. 

5.     The main rail station, Bremen Hauptbahnhof, is the most important railway station in the city.  Bremen’s first rail station opened on the current site in 1847.  By 1870 rail traffic had increased so much that the station could not cope and an additional new station was built north of this one.  Within 10 to 15 years it was decided that one single station would be better than two stations.  Today’s station was built between 1886 and 1891, in 1907 more tracks were added.  Even though the station has been remodeled several times, as late as the 1990s and early 2000s,  the exterior still resembles the original 1880s building.

 

 

 

Stamp and postmark on the postcard

 

 

 

 From:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_Musicians_of_Bremen

 

We were in Bremen for a quick stop in 1982; however, we were not near the statue and did not get a picture of it.  As an ode to the fairy tale, here is a photo of the statue from Wikipedia.org

 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Our_Lady,_Bremen

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

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

https://en.wikpedia.org/wiki/Wind-sail

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

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

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

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