If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 475

 

 

 

 

Near Pitfure Church, Rogart, East Sutherland, Scotland, ca 1950s

Today’s used postcard, published by Anne Baxter, Golspie & Train, features an image by Photo Precision Ltd., St. Ives, Cambs.  The number R7711 is printed at the bottom center on the reverse.  This is another card that was found in a shoebox of mixed cards in an antique mall.  

The country scene is appealing and includes a little patch of heather, lower right corner.  Heather is one of the traditional flowers of Scotland but it also grows in the mountains in the Pacific Northwest.  The road winding through the valley of Strathfleet leads to Lairg a village in the Highlands.  While most of the settlements in the Highlands are along the coast, Lairg is inland.  It used to be known as the Crossroads of the North from the four roads that meet in the village.  

Rogart is a small village in the Highlands that was the home of Major Andrew MacDonald.  MacDonald is known to have fought in the French and Indian War.  The Rogart railway station opened in 1886 and allowed the village to expand around the older village.

Open-air preaching was traditional before 1900 when there was a division in the United Free Church.  In 1929 most of the United Free Church joined the Church of Scotland but there were still some bad feelings and the congregations remained separate until around 1948 when they were officially united into one congregation.  

One story regarding the church building was that in the old days prior to the split, the site for the building was refused by McLeod, the land owner.  McLeod claimed as “Lord of the soil and therefore entitled to prevent God’s creatures from enjoying that soil for any purpose which he does not approve.  He will let it out for culture, and give houses in which to eat and drink and sleep, but not a spot on which to build a house of God, to worship.”  Prior the building of the church, the community asked if they could meet on the beach above the high-water mark.  The answer was that they could put up a tent and meet there for worship.  Between 1900 and the completion of the building members met in local homes and sometimes in the open-air.  In 1906 fundraising was started to build a new church at Pitfure.  The project was completed in 1910.  Robert J. MacBeth of Inverness was the architect.  At the jubilee celebration in 1960 an open-air meeting was held behind the church just as the sun was setting over the hills.

The stamp shows a profile view of Queen Elizabeth with the Lion of Scotland at the upper left.  This design with various values was printed for use in Scotland in the 1950s.  

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogart
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lairg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Skibo_and_Strafleet
https://rogartheritage.co.uk/places/pitfure-church
 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 474

Skipjack, ca 1960

F.W. Brueckmann is credited with the photograph on this unused postcard.  The card was distributed by Tingle Printing Co., Pittsville, Maryland.  The picture was reproduced using Plastichrome by Colour Picture of Boston, MA.  Plastichrome reproduction began around 1939 and still used today.  The code P72374 is found at the upper center on the reverse.  There is also an information blurb on the reverse that says:  “A Skipjack at anchor in the harbor at Ewell, Smith Island, Maryland.  This famous style of sailing vessel has plied the waters of the Chesapeake Bay country for over a century.  It is a work boat used in the seafood industry and is also a popular entry in annual sailboat races in the Bay Area.”

The skipjack is wooden hulled with a square stern and a V-shaped bow.  It has a long boom, about the same length of the deck of the boat, and is sloop-rigged.  The mainsail is usually triangular.  There are rollers and bumpers mounted on either side to guide the dredge line and protect the hull.  The design, sail shape, and rigging provides the power needed to pull the dredge in light wind with a minimal number of crew members.  This is a traditional fishing boat used on Chesapeake Bay for oyster dredging.

At one time there were approximately 2,000 skipjacks produced.  Only about 40 exist today with about half that number still in active use.  Due to laws restricting the use of power boats in the Maryland oyster fishery this type of boat has used since the late 1800s.   In 1985 the Skipjack was named the state boat of Maryland.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skipjack_(boat)
https://www.oldpostcards.com/Oldpostcards-History-of-Postcards-Page.html

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 473

Carpenters’ Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

This postcard was distributed by Art Color Card Distributions of Cherry Hill, New Jersey with color by Mike Roberts of Berkeley, California.  The blurb on the reverse reads: “… was built in 1770 by the Carpenters’ Company, founded in 1724 by a group of master carpenters, as their hall.  Beginning September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress met here almost daily.  Because of its historic importance, Carpenters’ Company in 1857 resolved to dedicate this hall as a patriotic shrine.”

The building is a two story, Georgian style, brick meeting hall.  It is the oldest craft guild meeting hall privately owned and still used by the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia.  The land was purchased on behalf of the Company in 1768 by Benjamin Loxley, Robert Smith, and Thomas Nevell.  Robert Smith designed the hall based on town halls in Scotland, where he was born, and Italian villas in Palladio, Italy.  The first carpenters’ guild meeting was held in the hall in January 1771 until 1777 when the British Army captured Philadelphia.  It was in this hall that the Congress resolved to ban imports of slaves and discontinue slave trade within the colonies.  

The meeting hall served as a hospital for both British and American troops during the Revolutionary War.  In 1970 it was designated a National Historic Landmark and in 1982 the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission voted to recognize Carpenters’ Hall as the official birthplace of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Today it is open to the public for free with more than 150,000 tourists visiting annually.  It is also still used for the Carpenters’ Company meetings.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenters’_Hall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenters'_Company_of_the_City_of_Philadelphia

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 472

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, painting by Thomas Moran, 1872

Here is an unused postcard from Yellowstone park issued by Yellowstone Association.  This one has the 1872 painting by the American painter and printmaker, Thomas Moran (1837-1926).  The number 34 is found in the center of the card on the reverse.  The original painting was purchased by the United States Government for $10,000 in 1872.  There are two version of the view, one from 1872 and the other from 1893-1901.  When the painting was first exhibited in New York thousands of people came to the showing and it helped inspire the nation to protect the world’s first national park. 
 

There are several viewing areas of Yellowstone Falls in the park today.  This picture is from a visit to the park in 2017 and shows the falls and canyon near the place shown in Moran's painting. 

In this second picture, above, the boardwalk to the viewing platform can be seen at the lower middle.  In Moran's painting there are two people standing approximately where boardwalk ends in the clump of trees.  It would have been challenging to get to these places in 1871 when there were no trails or viewing areas.

Thomas Moran was a talented illustrator and shared a studio with his younger brother, Edward Moran, who was a noted marine artist.  Several other members of his family were also artists.  In the 1860s he was the chief illustrator at Scribner’s Monthly magazine.  His work for the magazine helped launch his career as an American landscape painter focusing on the American West.  Moran used a variety of mediums such as watercolors, oils, wood-engravings, etchings and lithography.  He also made color prints of his own works.  His most famous works were done using watercolors or oils.  Because much of his artwork often features places in the Rocky Mountains, Moran is one of those artists who are sometimes referred to as belonging to the Rocky Mountain School of landscape painters.

Invited by Dr. Ferdinand Hayden, director, to join the U.S. Geological Survey in 1871, Moran traveled with the expedition team into the then unknown Yellowstone region.  During his time in the wilderness he documented over 30 different sites and produced a diary of the expedition’s progress.  His sketches together with photographs by another team member, William Henry Jackson, called public attention to the area and helped in the creation of Yellowstone as the first national park in 1872.

Moran traveled extensively for the next 40 years sketching and painting the places he visited.  In 1884 he was elected to the membership of the National Academy of Design and continued to produce numerous works of art in his senior years.  One of his paintings is part of the White House collection.

For additional information, see:

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

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 471

Roosevelt Arch, Yellowstone Park, Gardiner, Montana

Today’s unused postcard features a photograph from MacNeil Lyons Images distributed by Yellowstone Forever and shows the Roosevelt Arch, named for President Theodore Roosevelt, located at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Montana.  The inscription at the top of the arch is a quote from the Organic Act of 1872 that created the park, and reads: “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.”  The plaque above the left side door has “Yellowstone Park.”  The right side says “Created by an Act of Congress 1 March 1872.”

The design for the arch is attributed to the architect, Robert Reamer.  Reamer designed the train depot but documentation concerning the arch is inconclusive.  When the park first opened there was no road for automobiles and people arrived by train and transferred to a stagecoach for the trip from the depot to the park hotel. 

 

Early motorized tour buses like this one with a canvas top and open sides were used after a road was put in.  Petra And I.C. Lee are 3rd and 4th from the left, ca 1915

Construction on the Arch began in February 1903 and was completed in August of the same year.  President Roosevelt was visiting the Park during the construction of the arch and was asked to place the cornerstone which he did.  Under the stone is a time capsule containing a Bible, a picture of Roosevelt, local newspapers, and other items.  

Exiting the park through the arch, 2017

Turning around to look at the front of the Roosevelt Arch

Pedestrian passageway through the arch

Bob acts as measuring rod to show the size

Originally the design for the entrance included a small lake and waterfall but the climate and semi-arid location made this impractical and it was not pursued.  The arch is constructed of blocks of columnar basalt that was quarried locally.  It is 52 feet or 16 m high and has two pedestrian walkways with heavy wooden doors.  The walls on either side of the arch are made of the same material and stand 12 ft or 3.7 m high and end in short towers.  From 1903 to 1921 the north entrance station was located just past the arch.  In 1961 the entrance station was relocated a substantial distance to the south.

For additional information, see:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/Roosevelt_Arch

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 470

 National Museum of Natural History entry tickets, 2018

Today’s postcards are from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.  The entry tickets into the museum had a selection of different animals and birds on them as seen above.  Since there were just two of us, I do not know how many different ticket designs there were.  They are so pretty that I decided to share ours at the top of the post this week.  The actual postcards are shown below.

When we visited Paris in 2018 we stayed in a small hotel near Notre Dame that was close enough that it also allowed us to enjoy long walks along the River Seine.  One day we walked along the river to the Jardin des Plantes where the National Museum of Natural History is located.  While we were there the museum had a special exhibit of meteorites.  A few of them were illuminated with black light revealing sparkles and colors that in other lighting just looked like a dull rock.  For a taste of “star dust,” five postcard examples of the meteorites are shared below. 

Meteorites are fragments of rock or iron from outer space.  They usually originate from a meteoroid or asteroid like those in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and some pass through the atmosphere to land on the earth.  They can be small, less than a gram, or larger than 60 tons.  Meteorite sightings are called observed falls or shooting stars, and those pieces or fragments found on Earth are called finds. They have been occurring for thousands of years and can land randomly everywhere on Earth with most landing in the oceans.  Since most of them contain iron they deteriorate over time unless they land in places that have only occasional rain.  The cards show some of the meteorites on display during the special exhibit.

1.     This first postcard shows the Kransojarsk meteorite found in Russia in 1749.  Seen first by P.S. Pallis and then on his orders transported to Saint Petersburg.  The entire mass weighed 1,500 lbs or 700 kg.  It was the first pallasite found and studied and led to the creation of the Pallasite group named after Pallis.

2.   The second card has a picture of the Imilac meteorite found in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chili in 1822.  It is classified as a stony-iron pallasite and is highly prized by collectors for its beautiful olivine grains.  Pieces of this meteorite were found spread over about 5 miles or 8 km. 

3.    These two pieces were found in Lancé, France in 1872 and are composed of carbonaceous chondrites.  They are found in the CO3 grouping that takes its name from Ornans, France and is petrologic type 3.  [C chondrites from Ornans, type 3].
    

 4.     The fourth example is of ordinary chondrite (H4), one of the most numerous group and are about 87% of  all  finds.  It was found in 1890 and is called the Villedieu meteorite.  Villedieu is located just north of the Cộte-d’Or in France.

 5.  This last example is a 5 kg fragment of an iron meteorite discovered near Magnesia, Turkey in 1899. 

Small section of the display of animals

The National Museum of Natural History is huge and has too many different exhibits to list.  One of the ones we did enjoy was the Gallery of Evolution, a large room with what looked like hundreds if not thousands of taxidermied animals and birds on display.  Part of the museum campus includes a zoo, a botanical garden and green house, dinosaur exhibits, and many other things.  

And especially for a 4-year old grandson, who loves these guys, is this photo of one of several full-sized models of dinosaurs on display was this T-Rex in the garden.

The original Jardin des Plantes was the medicinal garden of King Louis XIII established in 1635 and was tended by royal physicians.  After the Revolution in 1793 it was reorganized and given the present title.  The museum has 14 sites throughout France including the original location.

All the cards were purchased at gift shop in the National Museum of Natural History with MNHN J.C. Domenech printed at the lower left corner on the reverse.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinary_chondrite
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite_fall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krasnojarsk_(meteorite)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imilac
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonaceous_chondrite#CO_group
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villedieu_(Côte-d'Or)
https://www.meteorite.com/
https://www.mindat.org/loc-262736.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_Natural_History

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 469

 

 

 

 

Three Brothers, chiefs of the Kagwantan, Tlingit, Southeastern Alaska, 1906

[photo:  Case and Draper]

 The Case and Draper photographic studio of Southeastern Alaska is credited with the 1906 picture of three brothers on this unused Garfinkel Publication postcard.  At the bottom center of the reverse is:  FPC28.  The card was printed in Canada.

The three brothers in the photo are not named but were chiefs of the Kagwantan, or burnt house people, one of the Tlingit clans, and are each holding a raven rattle.  Two are wearing “Chilkat blankets, highly esteemed robes of nobility,” according the blurb on the reverse of the card.  Chilkat weaving uses one of the most complex weaving techniques and a blanket like one of these could take a year to make.  Today sheep wool might be used but when these blankets were woven the primary materials would have been mountain goat wool, dog fur, and yellow cedar bark.  The designs are traditionally in ovoid, U-form, and S-form shapes, highly stylized and contain clan crests, figures from oral history, and often animals.  Dominant colors are yellow and black with blue as a secondary color.  The weavings are done on looms that have only a top frame and vertical supports.  Vertical sections are completed instead of moving horizontally from end to end.  This system tends to break the designs into vertical columns.  Northwest Coast art is mostly bilaterally symmetrical.  Fringes and buttons are sometimes added decorations.  In addition to blankets the weavings are used for robes, dance tunics, aprons, leggings shirts, vests, hats, and wall hangings.  The blankets worn in the picture would traditionally be used at potlatch ceremonies.

William Howard Case and H. Horace Draper formed a partnership in 1898 and had a photographic studio in Skagway, Alaska.  In the beginning they worked out of a tent that allowed them to travel and take photographs.  They became popular for “Documenting the unknown” and eventually had a store that sold curios, photographic equipment, and souvenirs and well as their own work.  

Case was born in Iowa in 1868 and lived in South Dakota and Oregon before going to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.  His partnership with Draper was dissolved in 1907.  Case moved to Juneau where he opened his own studio.  He died in 1920 and was survived by his three children.  Case’s studio was taken over by E.C. Adams.  

Herbert Horace Draper was born 1855 in Rockford, Illinois.  His family moved from Michigan to Oregon when he was 19.  He also went to Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush.  He married a local school teacher.   After the partnership with Case was dissolved, he continued to run the studio under the name Draper and Co. until his death in 1913.  Draper’s studio was acquired by Keller Brothers Drug Company.

Digital images of their work can be found at Orbis Cascade Alliance and the Alaska State Library.  

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_&_Draper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilkat_weaving