Monday, February 28, 2011

The Day Family in Life With Father

 The Day Family
in
Life With Father
Empire Theatre - New York

"Life With Father" featuring Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney, and made into a play by Mr. Lindsay and Russel Crouse, is America's most beloved comedy.  Produced by Oscar Serlin, it is now running in three cities, and was hailed by Walter Winchell as "Public Entertainment Number One."  "Life With Father" is based on the hilariously successful stories written by Clarence Day.

postmarked in 1942 with a 1 cent stamp

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Life with Father is the title of a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day, Jr., which was adapted in 1939 into a long-running Broadway play, which was, in turn, made into a 1947 movie and a television series.

The 1939 Broadway production ran for over seven years to become the longest-running non-musical play on Broadway, a record that it still holds. It opened at the Empire Theatre on November 8, 1939 and ran at that theatre until September 8, 1945. It then moved to the Bijou Theatre where it ran until June 15, 1947, and finished its run at the Alvin Theatre on July 12, 1947, closing after 3,224 performances. 
                                                 


Sunday, February 27, 2011

Heeren Straat, Curacao

Heeren Straat.
Curacao, Dutch West Indies

This is postmarked in 1912? with a Curacao 5 cent stamp.

This is all still there, only it is painted in different colors and it is all stores.  So there are a lot more signs hanging into the walk way.
Curacao stamp 1904 -1906 
Numeral Stamps
5 cents

Saturday, February 26, 2011

R.M.S. Ivernia - Ship Postcard Woven in Silk


Woven in Silk
R.M.S. Ivernia

postmarked in 1912 with a one penny Great Britain stamp

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R.M.S. Ivernia (I)

Ivernia, launched in 1899, was built for Cunard by C.S. Swan & Hunter of Newcastle, England. She made her maiden voyage, from Liverpool to New York, on 14 April 1900. Two months later she was placed on the Liverpool-Boston route for which she was intended, and remained on that route until December 1911. Ivernia was then placed on a Trieste-New York route and remained there until World War I, except for the winter of 1912-13, when she returned to the Boston-Liverpool route.

Taken over as a troopship in September 1914, Ivernia was torpedoed and sunk on New Year's Day 1917 off Cape Matapan, Greece, with 2,400 Scottish soldiers on board. Eighty-five soldiers and 36 crew members were killed.


Friday, February 25, 2011

Place du Cardinal Lavigerie in Rabat, Morocco

 95.601.78  RABAT
Place du Cardinal Lavigerie

Real Photo Postcard by La Cigogne

postmarked in 1954 with a Morocco stamp

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I can't make out what this is!  There was a Cardinal Lavigerie .....
Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie (31 October 1825–26 November 1892) -  a French cardinal, archbishop of Carthage and Algiers and primate of Africa.

But this is not the church that went by that name (now called the Cathedral of St. Peter).  So maybe this is a street named after Cardinal Lavigerie??

The main building on the postcard has a first word of Palais (Palace) but I can't make sense of the second word - Wogler?? 

Thursday, February 24, 2011

French Bulldog Statue by Asakuma Toshio


Statue of a French Bulldog by Asakuma Toshio / SHU

This is postmarked in 2011 with a Hello Kitty stamp from Japan

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Toshio Asakuma is a Japanese sculptor and toy creator who is famous for making dogs that act like humans.

Hello Kitty for Philanippon 2011 
(Japan World Stamp Exhibition 2011) - 80

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Two Exaggeration Postcard of Potatoes from Maine

(Writing on the Bottom - 1931)
Potato - The Kind We Raise In Maine - postmarked in 1931 with a 1 cent 1924 Franklin stamp

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(Writing on the Top - 1947)
Exaggeration - Potato - The kind we raise in Maine - postmarked in 1947 with 1 cent Washington stamp

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Breakers Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island


The Breakers - Ochre Point Ave.
Newport, Rhode Island

The Breakers has become the state's number one tourist attraction since it was opened by the Preservation Society of Newport in 1948.  The design follows that of the north Italian palaces with seventy rooms on the four floors arranged around a huge central hall.  Its location faces the Atlantic Ocean from Ochre Point on the famous Cliff Walk.

postmarked in 2011 with a 28 cent stamp

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The Breakers is a Vanderbilt mansion located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is a National Historic Landmark, and is owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport County.

It was built as the Newport summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy United States Vanderbilt family. Designed by renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt, the 70-room mansion boasts approximately 65,000 sq ft. of living space. The home was constructed between 1893 and 1895 at a cost of more than $7 million (approximately $200 million in today's dollars adjusted for inflation).

Monday, February 21, 2011

President Abraham Lincoln, Birth and Death in Postcards


The White House
and
The Log Cabin in which Abraham Lincoln was born
Rock Spring Farm Kentucky,
Feb. 12th, 1809

This postcard is postmarked in 1910 with a 1 cent stamp.
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Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Washington, D.C.

President and Mrs. Lincoln attended the performance of "Our American Cousin" on the evening of April 14, 1865. While seated in the Presidential Box, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

Color Photo: Steve Tuttle, Alexandria, VA

This card is unused and from 1991.
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Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Petersen House Where Lincoln Died
Washington, D.C.

President Abraham Lincoln lay dying in Willie Clark's small room through the night of April 14, 1865. Surrounded by his family and members of the Cabinet, he died at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton said, "Now he belongs to the ages."

Photo: Steve Tuttle

This unused postcard is also from 1991.
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Abraham Lincoln received America's first large, state-run funeral. His original coffin of black walnut, black broadcloth, silk upholstery, and silver trimming cost $1,500.
The Museum of Funeral Customs is located at 1440 Monument Avenue, next to Abraham Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield, Illinois.

This unused postcard is from 2008. 

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Daytona 500


Daytona International Speedway
The 480-acre motorsports complex boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe - earning it the title of "World Center of Racing."

Daytona International Speedway
Home of The Great American Race, the Daytona 500

all three postcards are from 2010
and Photos courtesy of Getty Images
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The Daytona 500 is a 500 miles (804.7 km)-long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It regarded by many as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse.

Daytona International Speedway is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long and a 500-mile race requires 200 laps to complete. The race has been shortened four times due to rain (in 1965, 1966, 2003, and 2009) and once in response to the energy crisis in 1974. It has been extended four times (2005-2007 and 2010) to allow for a green-white-checker finish.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Otepaa, Estonia


Otepaa, South Estonia

1) Metskitsed / Roe Deers
2) Puhajarve puhkedodu / Puhajarve Spa Hotel
3) Puhajarve sojatamm
4) Suusatajad Kuutemael / Skiers on Kuutsemagi

postmarked in 2011 with an Estonia Yellow Horn stamp

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Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in southern Estonia with a population of 2,189 (as of  2009) and is popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia. 

The earliest surviving firearm in Europe has been found in the ancient castle of Otepää and it dates to at least 1396.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Nazca Lines, Palpa, Peru

Palpa.


Enigmaticas figuras antropomorfas y una representacion de telar, ubicadas en laderas de cerros en Palpa, correspondientes a las culturas Paracas y Nasca.

Antropomorphic figures and a textile representation, located on the Palpa hills, which belong to the Paracas and Nasca Cultures.

Peru.

unused, from 2010

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anthropomorphic:
1.  ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human, especially to a deity.
2.  resembling or made to resemble a human form: an anthropomorphic carving.

The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

The lines are shallow designs made in the ground by removing the reddish pebbles and uncovering the whitish ground beneath. Hundreds are simple lines or geometric shapes; more than seventy are designs of animal, bird, fish or human figures. The largest figures are over 200 metres (660 ft) across. Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but they generally ascribe religious significance to them.

After people traveled over the area by plane in the 1930s and saw the Nazca Lines from the air, anthropologists started studying them. One of the issues that intrigued scholars was to try to understand how they were made.
Scholars have theorized the Nazca people could have used simple tools and surveying equipment to construct the lines. Studies have found wooden stakes in the ground at the end of some lines, which support this theory. One such stake was carbon-dated and the basis for establishing the age of the design complex, between 400 and 650 AD.

 The Nazca desert is one of the driest on Earth and maintains a temperature around 25 °C (77 °F) all year round. The lack of wind has helped keep the lines uncovered and visible to the present day.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Recipe for Kallaloo, from the Virgin Islands


Kallaloo
1/2 lb. salted beef - 1/2 lb. pig's tail - 1 salted conch - 1/2 lb. ham bone - 2 whole clean crabs - 1 1/2 lbs fresh fish, cleaned - 12 okra - 3 lbs. spinach or mixed greens - 1 seeded hot pepper - - Put beef and pig's tail in a large bowl with cold water and let soak overnight. Drain the water. Add 3 quarts of fresh water to a pot and boil beef, pork, and conch together until tender. Add the clean fish and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon. Remove the bones, slice the fish into pieces, then put back into pot. Wash crab with water and lime and add to pot. Wash spinach and grind with okra. Add to pot with the hot pepper. Boil on high heat for 30 minutes. Add a dash of vinegar to remove the surface film. Serves 4

unused

From a set of 12 postcards called:
Cruising the Caribbean (each card also has a recipe on the back)

inside the folder holding the card it reads:

Pristine beaches, tranquil shady palm trees, tropical warm breezes and a laid-back lifestyle make the islands of the Caribbean relaxing, enchanting, enticing, entertaining, and inviting. Thousands of visitors arrive to one or more of the many Caribbean islands each year to find their perfect sun-kissed vacation destination is the one they will never forget.
The Caribbean has it all!!

Photos 2005: Werner J. Bertsch

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

World's Largest Rocking Chair - La Quinta


Greetings From Route LQ (Hotel chain La Quinta)

Weight Gain? This chair could make anyone look smaller.



World's Largest Rocking Chair
Got a big baby in the car? Pull on over and check out this oversized rocking chair made by Dedeaux Clan Furniture. It may not put them to sleep, but it's fun enough to distract them for at least a little while. The Dedeaux Furniture factory, located behind the enormous rocker, also makes handcrafted solid oak furniture for normal-sized humans.

11451 Canal Street
Gulfport, Mississippi
Nearest La Quinta: 12 miles

With over 780 Locations, La Quinta Inns & Suites is everywhere you travel.

unused, from 2010

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Boxing - Spinks vs Ali



Spinks vs Ali

unused, bought in 2010

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Muhammad Ali loses heavyweight title to Leon Spinks


Spinks made history on February 15, 1978, when he beat Muhammad Ali in a 15-round decision in Las Vegas. Spinks thus won the world heavyweight title in only his eighth fight, the fastest ascent in history. Ali, who had not been the same since his last fight with Joe Frazier, expected an easy fight, but he was out-hustled by Spinks who never seemed to tire in the bout.  In this victory, Spinks became the only man ever to take an actual title belt away from Muhammad Ali in the ring.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentines Day - Same Image, Different Backgrounds

Sometimes Postcard artists would draw one picture then use it with different props and backgrounds.  Here is a perfect example of this ..... 
With fondest Love to my Valentine.

Valentine Greetings with glitter
two of a set of 12 Assorted Postcards

unused, by Cavallini & Co. - 2010

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Tweety and Sylvester, Looney Tunes


Tweety and Sylvester from Looney Tunes
Be Mine

unused, from 2010

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Tweety:
Tweety (also known as Tweety Bird and Tweety Pie) is a fictional Yellow Canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being a typical English sound birds make.

Despite the widespread speculation that Tweety is female, he is and has always been a male character; something that the character himself has often confirmed in The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries TV series, as well as in many comic books created by Warner staffers. His shape more closely suggests that of a baby bird, which in fact is what he was during his early appearances. The yellow feathers were added but otherwise he retained the baby-bird shape. In many of Tweety's appearances the bird is shown accompanying his owner, Granny.


Sylvester:
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., or simply, Sylvester the Cat, or Sylvester, or Puddy Tat (as in I tawt I taw a puddy tat, a sentence often repeated by his arch-nemesis Tweety Bird) or gringo pussy-gato/Senor Pussycat (a sobriquet attached by another antagonist, Speedy Gonzales), is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper. The name "Sylvester" is a play on felis silvestris, the scientific name for the wild cat species (domestic cats like Sylvester, though, are actually felis catus).

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Olive Trees in Tunisia, Africa


Postcard Book
The Earth From the Air
Yann Arthus-Bertrand

New olive plantings, Zaghouan, Tunisia

These olive groves at the base of the 4,250-foot-high (1,295m) Jebel Zaghouan in northeastern Tunisia are planted in curved embankments to retain water and limit erosion, which viewed from above look like the lines on a relief map. A symbol of peace, the tree is native to the Mediterranean basin, where 90 percent of the planet's olive trees grow. An olive tree can live as long as 1,000 years, producing 11 to 65 pounds (5 to 30kg) of olives yearly. In the past its oil was used in small clay lamps, but it has been replaced by petroleum. Today we consume both table olives and olive oil, which are renowned for their dietetic and medicinal properties and are also used in cosmetics. It take 11 to 13 pounds (5 to 6 kilograms) of olives to produce a liter (a bit more than a quart) of olive oil. Tunisia produced 1 million tons of olives in 2000, doubling its 1997 production and becoming the fourth greatest producer, after Spain (4.2 million tons) Italy (2.8 million) and Greece (2 million). These countries are also the principal consumers of olive oil: 20 liters per capita each year in Greece, 15 liters in Spain and Italy, and just one-half liter in France.

unused

Friday, February 11, 2011

Robben Island, South Africa


Robben Island - Museum
South Africa

Robben Island lies 9.678 km from Table Bay Harbour and 7.03 km from Bloubergstrand. This Island is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site housing a museum displaying a collection of material recording the lives and times of those who fought against apartheid.

postmarked in 2010 with two South Africa Stamps

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Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used to isolate certain people. The island was also used as a leper colony and animal quarantine station in the mid to late 1800's

It was here that future President of South Africa and Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela and future South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, alongside many other political prisoners, spent decades imprisoned during the apartheid era. Current South African President Jacob Zuma was also imprisoned there for ten years.

Here is a small list of former prisoners held at Robben Island

Autshumato, one of the first freedom fighters against colonialism
Dennis Brutus, former activist and poet
Patrick Chamusso, former activist of the African National Congress
Nceba Faku, former Metro Mayor of Port Elizabeth
Mosiuoa Lekota, imprisoned in 1974, President and Leader of the Congress of the People
Nelson Mandela, African National Congress leader and former President of South Africa
Chief Maqoma, former chief who died on the island in 1873
Jeff Masemola, the first prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment in the apartheid era
Amos Masondo, current Mayor of Johannesburg
John Nyathi Pokela, co-founder and former chairman of the PAC
Joe Seremane, current chairperson of the Democratic Alliance.
Robert Sobukwe, former leader of the PAC
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa and leader of the African National Congress


Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Marx Brothers


The Marx Brothers, A Day at the Races, 1937.
Photograph by Ted Allen

Made in Hollywood: Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation Archive, Santa Barbara Museum of Art

unused, from 2010

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The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950. Five of the Marx Brothers’ thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute as among the top 100 comedy films, with two of them (Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera) in the top twelve.

The core of the act was the three elder brothers, Chico, Harpo, and Groucho; each developed a highly distinctive stage persona. The two younger brothers, Gummo and Zeppo, did not develop their stage characters to the same extent, and eventually left the act to pursue other careers. Gummo was not in any of the movies; Zeppo appeared only in the first five.

- The Marx Brothers inspired the characters of Yakko, Wakko and Dot in the 90s animated cartoon series Animaniacs

- The British rock group Queen released in 1975 an album called A Night at the Opera, a name which they chose after watching the Marx Brothers' movie. Their next album was called A Day at the Races, also inspired by the Marx Brothers' 1937 movie.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show

The Beatles

unused, bought in 2010
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This was on Feb. 9th, 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show:

When the Beatles left the United Kingdom on 7 February 1964, an estimated four thousand fans gathered at Heathrow, waving and screaming as the aircraft took off. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" had sold 2.6 million copies in the US over the previous two weeks, but the group was still nervous about how they would be received. At New York's John F. Kennedy Airport they were greeted by another vociferous crowd, estimated at about three thousand people. They gave their first live US television performance two days later on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by approximately 74 million viewers—over 40 percent of the American population.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

My Old Kentucky Home


My Old Kentucky Home

In the summer of 1852, the gifted composer Stephen Foster was visiting at Federal Hill, Bardstown, Kentucky.  It was there he composed and wrote the immortal song, "My Old Kentucky Home."

The  Sun shines bright in he
old Kentucky home
'Tis summer, the people are gay;
The corn top's ripe and the meadow's
in the bloom,
While the birds make music all the day;
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
All merry,  all happy, and bright,
By 'n by hard times comes
a-knocking at the door,
Then my old Kentucky home,
good night!

Weep no more, my lady,
Oh weep no more today!
We will sing one song
for the old Kentucky home,
For the old Kentucky home far away.

Photo by John Hockersmith

postmarked in 2009 with a 42 cent flag stamp

Monday, February 7, 2011

Pinocchio


Pinocchio

Illustrazioni by Roberto Nannicini
Distribuzione esclusiva Florence Vip - Firenze (Italy)

(llustrations by Roberto Nannicini
Exclusive distribution Vip Florence - Florence (Italy))

unused, bought in 2009

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Pinocchio is a fictional character that first appeared in 1883, in The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, (Italian Children's Writer) and has since appeared in many adaptations of that story and others. Carved from a piece of pine by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a small Italian village, he was created as a wooden puppet, but dreamt of becoming a real boy.

The name Pinocchio is a Tuscan word meaning "pine nut".

For Walt Disney, Pinocchio was their second film and was released to theaters on February 7, 1940.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Reagan as Rambo

 Ronbo

Make My Day!

Photograph 1985 Alfred Gescheidt

(Ronald Reagan as Rambo)

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Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975).

He was also a movie star who performed in movies such as: Kings Row, Bedtime for Bonzo, Tennessee's Partner, Hellcats of the Navy and The Killers.

(So there were two muscle man actors as Governor of California!!!!!)
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Behind every successful man is a woman... so....


Mrs. Ronbo

Photograph Alfred Gescheidt
both postcards are unused

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Same Pig - Two Different States and 4 Years Apart


Just another pretty face
Kentucky

Photo by Garry Walter

postmarked in 2007 with 39 cent Hawkman comic strip stamp

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 Another Pretty Face in Memphis, Tennessee




Photo by Garry Walter
postmarked in 2011 with a 28 cent stamp

Friday, February 4, 2011

Royal Governor's Palace, Williamsburg, Virginia

Royal Governor's Palace, Williamsburg, Virginia

The Governor's Palace 1710-1715
The Palace and its dependencies, preeminent among notable estates in colonial America, have been rebuilt on original foundations.  Many of the rooms in the Palace are of special interest because of the collection of antique furniture, paintings and other furnishings that have been chosen to conform with inventories of royal governors.  The gardens are considered more typical of formal eighteenth century English gardens than any others in America

postmarked in 1951 with a machine stamp
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Here is a modern view of the gardens:
Virginia - in Springtime
The garden of colonial Williamsburg's Governors Palace alive with the colors of Spring.  From late winter to mid-Fall the state of Virginia is blooming with a variety of Nature's color and texture.

Photo by J. Morgan Sincock
postmarked in 1994 with US 19 cent deer stamp

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Habana Biltmore Yact and Country Club, Havana, Cuba

Habana Biltmore Yact and Country Club, Havana, Cuba

An exclusive club on the water front near Havana.  It has a sloping beach where the members enjoy swimming in the summer and water sports, golf course, tennis courts, etc.  

This postcard is postmarked in 1951 with a Cuba 2 cent stamp.

Yes, this is still open today.