If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 443

Batsto Mansion, New Jersey, ca 1976

This used postcard with a photograph of the Batsto Mansion in New Jersey was published by The Sheller Co., Hackettstown, New Jersey.  It has the number 145630 at the center bottom edge on the reverse. 

Batsto Mansion is a State Historical site located in Batsto Village, Burlington County, New Jersey.   It is in the Wharton State Forest, which is part of the Pinelands National Reserve and is listed on the New Jersey National Register of Historic Places.  The Batsto River flows through the Village.  The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Parks & Forestry is the administrator of the site. 

The area became an ideal place to establish an iron works because there was an abundance of bog ore in the area along the Batsto River and there was plenty forest land for making charcoal to be used in smelting the ore.  Charles Read, an ironmaster, built the Batsto Iron Works in 1766 and the village grew up around the works.  John Cox bought the Iron Works in 1773 and began producing cooking pots, kettles, and other items.  Batsto Iron Works also manufactured supplies for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.    The ironmaster was an important member of the society and was usually the owner of a forge or blast furnace for processing iron.  He would have had a large country house or a mansion as his residence.

The next owner was Joseph Ball who bought the works in 1779 and later in 1784 his uncle William Richards bought a controlling interest.  The Richards family built most of the buildings in the village.  Demand for iron declined in the mid 1800s and Batso transitioned to glassmaking.  Unfortunately the glassmaking enterprise was not successful and Batsto went bankrupt.  In 1876 a businessman, Joseph Wharton, purchased the property.  Wharton improved many of the buildings and was involved in a diverse array of activities from forestry to cranberry farming.  After he died in 1909 the Girard Trust Company of Philadelphia managed the properties. 

In 1952 the U.S. Air Force proposed building an arms depot at Batsto but by 1956 that plan was scrapped in favor of another location.  The state of New Jersey purchased the properties in the late 1950s and started restoring the 50-room mansion and rebuilding a dam for recreation on the lake.  The historic village was dedicated in 1961 and opened to visitors.  Today there are more than 40 sites and structures, including the mansion, a sawmill, charcoal kiln, blacksmith and wheelwright shop, ice and milk houses, a gristmill, and a general store.  About 14 of the rooms in the mansion have been restored and are open for tourist visits. There is a Batsto Post Office where collectors can have stamps hand-cancelled. 

Rev. Herbert M. Griffin with his wife, Frances McMunn Griffin, and their son, ca 1923

I sometimes get curious about the people who sent or received the postcards.  In this case Rev. Herbert M. Griffin sent the card to his niece, Dorothy Christison.  Rev. Griffin was employed by the China Inland Mission and spent many years in China as a missionary.  Two of his three children were born in China during those years.  The card shared this week is postmarked 1976, which would have been about 4 years before he passed away in 1980.  I found the photograph above of Rev. Griffin with his wife, Frances, and son, age about 3 or 4, on Ancestry.com.  Their passport application is dated 1922 and it seems most likely the picture was taken around that time, before the next child is born while the family is living in China in 1924.  It was also interesting to note on the passport application that he intended to be in China for a period of 7 years.  Their youngest child was born in China in 1928.  

The stamp is a 9-cent "Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble" issued in 1975 with a gray background and the Capitol Dome featured in green. 

 For additional information, see:

https://batstovillage.org/mansion/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMF_International
https://search.ancestry.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batsto_Village_New_Jersey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironmaster
https://arago.si.edu/category_2029040.html

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 442

 Novelty greeting postcard, ca 1910

The early 1900’s embossed novelty postcard above features four-leaf clovers, a dove and For-get-me-not flowers surrounding a gold heart. The card was made in Germany.  It is a used card sent from St. Ansgar, Iowa where the sender was attending school to a friend living in Estherville, Iowa.  The message is written in both English and Norwegian.  From the style and divided back it likely dates from between 1908 and 1915.  Novelty cards were very popular in the early 1900’s. 

Since St. Patrick’s Day is coming up next week and green is a traditional color for that holiday it seemed a good time to share this card.  A shamrock has three leaves and was used as a symbol to represent the Holy Trinity.  Four-leaf clovers, on the other hand, are rare, one in approximately 10,000 clovers, and seen as symbols of good luck.  Both are green.  This particular card also has a dove, representing peace, and a heart for love surrounded by For-get-me-not flowers as a reminder of friendship.  Because the card is embossed, it is possible to feel the raised design on both sides of the postcard.

Although white clovers normally have three leaves and four leaves are uncommon the plant is known to produce five and six leaves or even more.  In 2009 a 56 leaf clover was discovered by Shigeo Obara of Hanamaki City, Iwate, Japan! 

For more information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-leaf_clover

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 441

Cloisters, Windsor Castle, England

This Valentine’s Series postcard has the original company logo allowing a date estimate of the early 1900s before the end of World War I.  The logo was changed just before the 1920's to include a V in the background and the word “Famous” was deleted following the war.  The card has a divided back moving the date from 1908 to 1920.   A code number of 3297X (JK) can be found at the lower left corner. 
 

Valentine & Sons original logo

John Valentine founded the lithographic printing firm of Valentine & Sons, sometimes seen as Valentine’s Co. Ltd., in Dundee, Scotland in 1825.  The company incorporated photo prints and stereo-views produced by his son, James, who was an early pioneer in photography. By 1896 the company was printing postcards with black and white real photo images and also some hand colored collotype cards.  This card appears to have a tinted photograph.  While most of the cards published by the company had landscapes they also reproduced artist drawn illustration in the early 1900s.

A cloister is a covered walk running along the walls of buildings usually forming a quadrangle.  The picture on the postcard shows only a part of the cloister at Windsor Castle.  It serves to provide an architectural barrier that separates the enclosed area from the outside world and is often associated with a monastery especially if it is associated with a cathedral. 

King Edward IV built the Cloisters at Windsor Castle between 1478 and 1481 they were later restored in 1871 by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1871.  They are called the Horseshoe Cloisters and connect to other buildings that form Windsor Castle rather than being a complete wall around the entire Castle grounds.  Today they are the home to the Chapel’s Lay Clerks. 

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloister
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Castle
https://www.rct.uk/collection/2140276/the-cloisters-windsor-castle
http://www.metropostcard.com/publishersv.html

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 440

The Conway Mastodon, The Ohio Historical Center, Columbus, Ohio, ca 1970s

This postcard has a photograph by Paul M. Rowe of the Conway Mastodon found in Clark County, Ohio in 1875.  The skeleton was on display in the Orton Museum at the Ohio State University until the early 1970s when it was moved to the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus.  The unused postcard was published by Aladdin Studio, Columbus, Ohio and made by Dexter Press, Inc. of West Nyack, New York.  The number 77889-C appears under the space allotted for a stamp on the reverse.  The Conway Mastodon skeleton is regarded as one of the largest and finest examples in the United States.

Weighing about 4 or 5 tons the American Mastodon, found in the eastern states, was built like a tank with heavy, stout limbs, broad shoulders, a low cranium, two or three teeth in each jaw for masticating twigs, branches, and aquatic vegetation.  Its distant cousins, the woolly mammoth and the Columbian mammoth, found in the western states, had more slender limbs, slopping backs, humped craniums and only one tooth in each jaw better for grinding abrasive grasses. All three stood about 10 feet high at the shoulder.  Mammoths are more closely related to Asian elephants while mastodons do not have any surviving relatives.

Mastodons lived in herds and were mostly forest dwelling with a mixed browsing and grazing diet similar to living elephants.   They probably disappeared from North America about 10,500 years ago as part of a mass extinction believed to been caused by the pressures of human hunting. 

For more information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon
https://geosurvey.ohiodnr.gov/portals/geosurvey/PDFs/Newsletter/Winter90.pdf
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-conway-mastodon/BwGDwrm_nFRCHg

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 439

Hardenberg Castle, near Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany, ca 1911

This used postcard has a photograph of the ruins of Hardenberg Castle, seen at the top of the hill, located on the river Leine, about 10 km or approximately 6 miles north of Göttingen, Germany.  The card has a postmark date of 2? 8 11 [2? August 1911].  The handwritten date in the message is 24 August with no year.   The card has the number 22407 and the name of the publisher:  Kunstverlagsantalt A. J. Bellson, Cassel, Wolfsschlucht 13, printed along the left margin on the reverse.  The picture is a “Real Photo” and A.J.Bellson was an art publishing company. 

Both the castle and the town of Göttingen have beginnings around 1100, with what became eventually a city, first part of a village called Gutingi in 953 AD.   The city was formally founded between 1150 and 1200 AD and the Electors of Mainz built the castle about 1101.  In medieval times the city was a member of the Hanseatic League and a wealthy town.  In 1409 the ownership of the castle was split between two family branches.  A thunderstorm in 1698 partially destroyed the castle and it was abandoned in 1720 eventually becoming a ruin.  Descendants of the Hardenberg family still own the castle but live in a nearby manor house.  The Hardenberg-Wilthen distillery was founded in 1700 and today is the second largest liquor producer in Germany. 

Visitors can take tours of the castle ruins and grounds.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nörten-Hardenberg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Göttingen
http://www.pizzatravel.com.ua/eng/germany/9/castle_and_palace_hardenberg

If this Thursday it must be postcards, 438

Vintage Valentine, ca 1910

Recently I stumbled upon some reproduced vintage illustrations that had been made into oversized postcards, Valentines and books of postcards.  LAUGHINGELEPHANT.com specializes in Victorian and Vintage postcards, books, greeting cards, stickers, notebooks and other gift items.  Since it is the day before Valentine's I chose three to share this week.  Although they are not dated, the name of the illustrator was given on two of the cards and the style appears to be from the early 1900s. 

The card above has the artist's signature, Rose O'Neill, at the lower left.  Rose Cecil O'Neill 1874-1944) had a successful career as a magazine and book illustrator.  She is the creator of the Kewpie, (from Cupid) seen on card.  Her Kewpie cartoons debuted in a 1909 Ladies Home Journal and by 1912 Kewpie dolls were being manufactured by the German porcelain company,  J.D. Kestner.  Later Kewpie dolls made of composition and celluloid were one of the first mass produced and marketed toys in the United States.  The Kewpie cartoon figure was the most widely known cartoon character until Mickey Mouse arrived on the scene.  The character and the dolls made O'Neill's fortune and fame. For a time she was the highest paid female illustrator in the world.  Besides the Kewpie characters O'Neill was active in the women's suffrage movement. She also wrote several novels and books of poetry.

Vintage Valentine, ca 1910

This second postcard, above, has an illustration by Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle (1865-1934) who was one of the most prolific postcard and greeting card artists of her era.  She specialized in one sided cards that could be used as postcards or kept as souvenirs.  She was a freelance artist and her works were often used in advertising, calendars, paper fans, porcelain goods, and on trading and greeting cards.  Clapsaddle is credited with over 3,000 souvenir/postcard designs.

Valentine, ca 1900-1910

The third card does not have the full name of the artist only what looks like the initials "LL" at the lower right by the hem of the dress.  Judging from the style of the women's dress and hat it appears to date slightly earlier than the other two cards, perhaps between 1900 and 1910.  The box I purchased has several more cards so if I can find out anything else about the other cards they might pop up for Valentine's Day 2021.

Pope Gelasius I established and designated the 14th of February as the Feast of Saint Valentine in 496 AD in honor of the Christian martyr, Saint Valentine of Rome, who died on that date in 269 AD.  February 14th first became associated with romantic love in the 1300s during a period of courtly love.  By the 18th century it had grown into an occasion for couples to express their love for each other by presenting flowers, confections, and greeting cards called “valentines.”  Candy companies, like Cadbury, were creating fancy heart shaped, decorated boxes filled with chocolates.  Besides the heart other common Valentine’s Day images included a winged Cupid, doves or lovebirds, and flowers. 

While not an official holiday, people in many countries observe Valentine’s Day.  Typical gifts in the 19th century included flowers, candies and handwritten notes and handmade lacy cards with expressions of love and romance.  Mass produced greetings cards later replaced the handmade valentines.  By the second half of the 20th century the sending of cards had grown to the giving of all manner of gifts including jewelry. Millions of valentines are exchanged each year.  Today it is also possible to send e-cards, love coupons, and printable greeting cards on the Internet.

In the United States about 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, mostly to children.  Additionally school children exchange millions of valentines with classmates, teachers and friends.  In addition to chocolates, small conversation hearts with messages on them have been associated with Valentine’s Day.  Individually wrapped Dove chocolates also contain messages and come wrapped in pink foil around Valentine’s Day.  Small chocolates, such as, Hershey’s Kisses and Hugs & Kisses are also wrapped in red or pink foil at this time of year. 

Interested in vintage artwork, cards, books etc?  Check out LAUGHINGELEPHANT.com.

For additional information, see:

https://laughingelephant.com/39503/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine’s_Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_O'Neill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Clapsaddle

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 437

Ernest Ansermet
[photo from the collection of Laurent Kasper-Ansermet]

This week’s postcard is a first day cover, a postage stamp on a cover, postcard or stamped envelope.  First day covers frequently have a pictorial cancellation, such as this one with the music treble clef, name of the city, and the date.  The card is unused; therefore, it was not sent through the mail and not cancelled as most stamps are on used cards.  This type of card is a collector item but not as coveted as a used and officially cancelled card on the exact day or first day of issue.  A card like this one might have had the first day postmark applied weeks or even months after the date indicated so there is no way to tell if the card was purchased on the exact date printed in the cancellation.  First day covers often have an illustration that relates to the theme of the stamp.  This type of illustration is called a cachet.  The photograph of Ernest Ansermet on the right side is the cachet on this postcard.

Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969) was a Swiss orchestra conductor who rose to international prominence after World War II through a long-term association with Decca Records.  Originally he was a mathematics professor at the University of Lausanne.  He began conducting in 1912 at the Casino in Montreux, then between 1915 and 1923 he was the conductor for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.   During those years he met and consulted with Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel about how their works should be performed.  He also met Igor Stravinsky and began a lifelong interest and association with Russian music.  In 1918 he founded his own orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse romande (OSR).  He became famous for accurate performances of difficult modern music on his travels in Europe and America.   He was also one of the first in the field of classical music to take jazz seriously.

For more information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_day_of_issue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Ansermet