Finland's Moomin by Tove Jansson

Moomin with a Jug or Canteen

Illustrations from Tove Jansson's: 'The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My'

I found out is that this postcard (and matching stamp) is in the shape of the the die-cut peepholes in the original book.

postmarked in 2011 with the matching stamp and is signed by 5 people from a Postcrossing meet-up :D

                                            

Memorial Day

Memorial Day

"To day the thronging millions troop
Where floats that standard in their view,
And ours, dear Flag, the joy to stand
Beneath thee loyal to our Land."
- Chapman

postmarked in 1909 with a one cent stamp

the sender writes:
I did not read your book yet, but I think it is going to be very nice. Hopeing you will enjoy Decoration Day.  I remain with love -

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Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. Service Members who died while in the military service. First enacted by formerly enslaved African-Americans to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War – it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

Alfred Hitchock with the MGM Lion

Alfred Hitchock with the MGM Lion, 1958.
Photograph by Clarence Sinclair Bull

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

This unused postcard was bought in 2011.

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Leo the Lion is the mascot for the Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and one of its predecessors, Goldwyn Pictures.

Since 1924, there have been around five different lions used for the MGM logo, including Tanner, and Leo, the current (and fifth) lion. Tanner was used on all Technicolor films and MGM cartoons (including the Tom and Jerry series), and in use on the studio logo for 22 years (Leo has been in use since 1957, a total of 54 years and counting).

The Dionne Quintuplets

The Dionne Quintuplets at Callander, Ontario, Canada

Yvonne, Emilie, Marie, Cecile, and Annette

unused - from 1937

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The Dionne quintuplets (born May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy. The sisters were born just outside Callander, Ontario, Canada near the village of Corbeil.

They were born two months premature. After four months with their family, they were made wards of the King for the next nine years under the Dionne Quintuplets' Guardianship Act, 1935. The government and those around them began to profit by making them a significant tourist attraction in Ontario.

The family, headed by father Oliva (1903–1979) and mother Elzire Dionne (1909–1986), married on September 15, 1926.  The Dionnes were a farming family with five previous children named Ernest (1926–1995), Rose Marie (1928–1995), Thérèse (b. 1929), Daniel (1932–1995), and Pauline (b. 1933), who was only eleven months older than the quints. A sixth, son Léo (b. 1930), died of pneumonia shortly after birth.
The Dionnes also had 3 sons after the quintuplets. Oliva Jr. (b. 1936), Victor (1938–2007), and Claude (b. 1946).

Havoline Thermometer, International Exposition of Chicago 1933

Havoline Thermometer
Century of Progress International Exposition
Chicago 1933

World's Tallest Thermometer

Twenty-one stories (218ft.) high.  Shows temperature by neon-light tubes.  Sponsored by Indian Refining Company, Lawrenceville, Ill., makers of Waxfree Havoline Motor Oil - best for all cars, winter or summer, because it contains no wax.  Wax turns candle-hard with cold, weather-thin with heat.  Keep wax out of your motor!  Waxfree Havoline Motor oil is sold at all Texaco Stations

This postcard is unused.

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Originally, the fair was scheduled only to run until November 12, 1933, (it opened on May 27, 1933), but it was so successful that it was opened again to run from May 26 to October 31, 1934. The fair was financed through the sale of memberships, which allowed purchases of a certain number of admissions once the park was open. More than $800,000 was raised in this manner as the country came out of the Great Depression. A $10 million bond was issued on October 28, 1929, the day before the stock market crashed. By the time the fair closed in 1933, half of these notes had been retired, with the entire debt paid by the time the fair closed in 1934. For the first time in American history, an international fair had paid for itself. In its two years, it had attracted 48,769,227 visitors.

Catch Me If You Can with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks

Catch Me If You Can

Leonardo DiCaprio - Tom Hanks

Movie Network
The Movieplex at your place

Where the BIG MOVIES live

the top half of DiCaprio and Hanks punch out of the postcard, then you add the base that you punched out from the top and your postcard will stand up by itself  ;-)

unused - movie is from 2002

Caterpillar Turns Into a Butterfly - 3D Postcard

This is a 3-D postcard that starts as a caterpillar and turns into a buckeye butterfly.  You can see the caterpillar on the branch behind the butterfly if you look closely.

unused, bought in 2011
Made in Germany

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The (Common) Buckeye (Junonia coenia) is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia and all parts of the United States except the northwest.

The eyespots likely serve to startle or distract predators, especially young birds.

Tea from Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

 A Tea Plucker in the plantations of Ceylon.

This postcard is postmarked in 1958 with a Ceylon airmail stamp.

The sender writes:
Ceylon is certainly colorful.  The people are friendly and smiling.

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Tea production in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is of high importance to the Sri Lankan economy and the world market. The country is the world's fourth largest producer of tea and the industry is one of the country's main sources of foreign exchange and a significant source of income for laborers, with tea accounting for 15% of the Gross Domestic Product, generating roughly $700 million annually.

In 1995 Sri Lanka was the world's leading exporter of tea, (rather than producer) with 23% of the total world export, but it has since been surpassed by Kenya. The tea sector employs, directly or indirectly over 1 million people in Sri Lanka. The humidity, cool temperatures, and rainfall in the country's central highlands provide a climate that favors the production of high quality tea. 

Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Stamp 1957

Air Mail with Plane 75 Cents

Exaggeration Postcard - Our Watermelons Grow Big

Our Watermelons grow big.

Real Photo Exaggeration Postcard 

1908 W. H. Martin

This postcard is postmarked in 1910 with a one cent stamp.

USA stamp 1908

Benjamin Franklin

1 cent

Return of the Jedi and the Slave Girl Costume

Return of the Jedi

unused, bought in 2011

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This is the Slave Leia costume Princess Leia  wears when she was captured by Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi. The costume was worn by actress Carrie Fisher and stuntwoman Tracy Eddon and was created by costumer designers Aggie Guerard Rodgers and Nilo Rodis-Jamero. Star Wars creator George Lucas requested the costume in part based on Fisher's complaints about the lack of interesting costumes in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

The costume has gained a huge fan following since the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi. Hundreds of female fans wear home-made and store-bought versions of the costume at science fiction conventions, many of whom post pictures of themselves on the web.

Village Museum in Romania

Romania - Bucuresti - Muzeul Satului
(Romania - Bucharest - Village Museum)

Art by Rosu in 2008

This is postmarked in 2010 with 4 great Romania stamps.

I would LOVE to get more postcards of this Museum!

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The Village Museum (Muzeul Satului in Romanian) is an open-air museum showcasing traditional Romanian village life. The museum extends to over 100,000 m2, and contains 272 authentic peasant farms and houses from all over Romania.

Memorial Presbyterian Church, St. Augustine, Florida

Memorial Church, St. Augustine, Florida

Memorial Church erected by Mr. Henry M. Flagler, Sacred to the memory of his Daughter, and tomb in left hand corner to contain the remains of Florida's grandest Citizens and greatest benefactors and of his immediate family, and gateway to "Kirkside" - Mr. Flagler's residence.

This card is unused.
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Here is the interior of the church

The Memorial Presbyterian Church

St. Augustine, Florida

Built in 1889 by Henry M. Flagler in memory of his beloved daughter.

Photo: Bob Braun
Joh Hinde Curteich postcard

This unused postcard was bought in 2009.

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Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American tycoon, real estate promoter, railroad developer and partner of John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil. He was a key figure in the development of the eastern coast of Florida along the Atlantic Ocean and was founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of Miami, Florida and also founded Palm Beach, Florida.

Finland's Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art

 Helsinki - Finland
Kiasma
Nykytaiteen Museo - Museum of Contemporary Art

The Finnish National Gallery

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Kiasma (built 1993–1998) is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland.

An architectural design competition to design a contemporary arts museum in Helsinki was held in 1992. The competition was meant for architects from the Nordic and Baltic countries. Five internationally renowned architects participated among whom there was only one US citizen. In 1993 the work Chiasma by the American architect Steven Holl was selected from the 516 competitors. The construction of the disputed and controversial Kiasma was started in 1996. It was opened in 1998.

Kiasma - the front entrance

both cards are unused and from 2011

Nyons, France

 Nyons.  Drome provencale

postmarked in 2011 with two great French stamps from 1990

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Nyons was settled in the 6th century BC as Nyrax by a Gallic tribe. Hecataeus of Miletus mentioned Nyrax around 500 BC when writing about the Celts.

It is situated next to the river Aigues or Eygues, which is crossed by an ancient bridge that was completed in 1407 with a span of 40.53 m. (This is the bridge in the bottom left of the postcard)

Nyons is famous for its climate and its olives.

 

The stamps are from 1990 and designed by Briat Jumelet 

(The three stripes represent the three stripes on the French Flag)

Squashed Bug Postcard

 Gotcha!

postmarked in 2011 with a Germany flower stamp

This postcard is so nasty!  I love it!! 

Casting Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz

Casting of the Wicked Witch in 

The Wizard of Oz

Margaret Hamilton - 1939

unused, bought in 2011

here is a 2 minute video on the casting ....

Margaret Hamilton (December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985) was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.  A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actor in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image.

In later years, Hamilton made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. She also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals, and retained a lifelong commitment to public education.

'Rat Pack' at the Sands Hotel and Casino

Sands Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

A Place in the Sun

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop

This postcard is unused. 

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The Sands Hotel was a historic Las Vegas Strip hotel/casino that operated from December 15, 1952 to June 30, 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, the Sands was the seventh resort that opened on the Strip. In its time, the Sands was located next door to the Desert Inn. The two adjacent properties were once owned by reclusive businessman Howard Hughes in the mid-1960s. Today, The Venetian stands where the Sands once stood.

Its most famous claim to fame was a three-week period in 1960 when, during the filming of Ocean's Eleven, they organized an event in the Copa Room called the "Summit at the Sands", where for the first time Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford performed on stage together. They would forever be known after that as the Rat Pack. Sinatra would also own a stake in the Sands for a time.

Mount Everest as seen by Buddha Air

Buddha Air's Everest Experience flight passes by Mt. Everest (8848m).

We show you Mt. Everest like no other airline-closer, clearer and in a much better angle. All this in the comfort of our latest generation American Aircraft - BEECH 1900D, the safest 19-seater aircraft in the world.

This unused postcard is from 2011.

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Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, attracts many well-experienced mountaineers as well as novice climbers who are willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb.

By the end of the 2008 climbing season, there had been 4,102 ascents to the summit by about 2,700 individuals. Climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to US $25,000 per person. By the end of 2009 Everest had claimed 216 lives. Conditions are so difficult in the death zone (altitudes higher than 8,000 m/26,246 ft) that most corpses have been left where they fell. Some of them are visible from standard climbing routes.

Sintra, Portugal and the Pena National Palace

Sintra, Portugal
Palacio Nacional Da Pena (Pena National Palace)

unused, from 2011

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Sintra is a town in Sintra Municipality in Portugal, located in the Grande Lisboa subregion and the Lisbon Region. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on account of its 19th century Romantic architecture. It has a population of c. 33,000 inhabitants.

The National Palace:
It's history started in the Middle Ages when a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena was built on the top of the hill above Sintra. According to tradition, the construction occurred after an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

In 1493, King John II, accompanied by his wife Queen Leonor, made a pilgrimage to the site. His successor, King Manuel I, was also very fond of this sanctuary, and ordered the construction there of a monastery which was donated to the Order of Saint Jerome. For centuries Pena was a small, quiet place for meditation, housing a maximum of eighteen monks.

In the 18th century the monastery was severely damaged by lightning. However, it was the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, occurring shortly afterwards, that took the heaviest toll on the monastery, reducing it to ruins. Nonetheless, the chapel and its magnificent works of marble and alabaster escaped without significant damage.

For many decades the ruins remained untouched, but they still astonished young prince Ferdinand. In 1838, as King consort Ferdinand II, he decided to acquire the old monastery, all of the surrounding lands, the nearby Castle of the Moors and a few other estates in the area. King Ferdinand then set out to transform the remains of the monastery into a palace that would serve as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family.The construction took place between 1842–1854.

After the death of Ferdinand the palace passed into the possession of his second wife Elisa Hensler, Countess of Edla. The latter then sold the palace to King Luís, who wanted to retrieve it for the royal family, and thereafter the palace was frequently used by the family. In 1889 it was purchased by the Portuguese State, and after the Republican Revolution of 1910 it was classified as a national monument and transformed into a museum.

The palace quickly drew visitors and became one of Portugal's most visited monuments. Over time the colors of the red and yellow façades faded, and for many years the palace was visually identified as being entirely gray. By the end of the 20th century the palace was repainted and the original colors restored, much to the dismay of many Portuguese who were not aware that the palace had once displayed such chromatic variety.
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Two more cards ....

Terraco da Rainha / Queen's Terrace

fotos: Nuno Antunes

postmarked in 2012 with a Portugal '0,80 Eunice Munoz' stamp
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Porta das Colunas
Gate of the Twisted Columns

Foto: Luis Pavao

unused, from 2012
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Portugal - Stamp 2011
Eunice Munoz 0,80

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Eunice Muñoz, (born July 30, 1928) is a Portuguese actress who was born in Amareleja, Portugal. She studied at the Portuguese National Conservatory.

Issaqueena Falls in South Carolina

Issaqueena Falls
Oconee County, South Carolina

Beautiful 100-fot falls named in honor of a legendary Indian maiden.  Located on Hwy. 28 between Mountain Rest and Walhalla near Stumphouse Tunnel.

Photo by Ernest Ferguson

unused, from 2011

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The falls are named after a Cherokee girl who allegedly leaped from the top of the falls with her lover, an Oconee brave, in an attempt to hide him from the rest of her tribe, which was at war with the Oconee. It is said that she then hid him in the recessed area just below the top of the falls.

Rice Paddy Field in West Java, Indonesia

 Just stick on it.
Enjoy the story behind every Indonesian stamp.

Paddy Field, Ciparay - Majalaya, West Java

postmarked in 2011 with two fabric weaving stamps (2500)  from Indonesia

the sender writes that this is rice

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A paddy field is a flooded parcel of land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to steeply sloped features such as rivers or marshes. They can require a great deal of labor and materials to create, and need large quantities of water for irrigation. Flooded paddies provide an ideal environment for rice cultivation and discourage the growth of many weeds.

The word "paddy" is derived from the Malay word padi, rice plant.

 

        

Van Briggle Pottery - Colorado Springs, Colorado

World Famous Van Briggle Pottery - Colorado Springs, Colorado

In Colorado Springs, nestled at the very foot of Pike's Peak, in the shadow of snow-crested range and rocky canyon, there is a pottery.  And here each day potters work, drawing their inspiration from the glories of the Rockies; their colorings from the sunset skies, and their gracefulness of design line from the models Nature has set them.

unused

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Established in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1901 by Artus and Anne Van Briggle, the Van Briggle Art Pottery is the oldest continuously operating art pottery in the United States. Artus Van Briggle had a significant impact on the Art Nouveau movement in the United States, and his pottery is foundational to American Art Pottery.

Although they are still in business, the building you see in the postcard above was sold to Colorado College in 1968.  I did a search to see their pottery on sale and found the most expensive one at over 5,000. for a single vase and many more items for over 1,000.

Idaho Potato Family - Raised Image Postcards

Mama Potato, Pepa Potato, and Tater Tot from Idaho


unused, from 2011

this is from of a set of four postcards called: 3D 'Raised Images'

you can buy this set and more like it through the bookstore on the right side of this blog -->

Dewey Boulevard, Manila, Philippines

Dewey Boulevard, Manila

postmarked in 1936 with a Philippine Islands, United States of America (Philippines) stamp

the sender writes:

Dear friends,

We are in Manila staying at the Manila Hotel.  We have two bed rooms and a sitting room facing the Bay on the 2nd floor.  We are having a fine time here.  Met a Mr. Jones who lets us have his card and driver every day.  Leave tomorrow for Singapore.    It is nice and hot here, but we do not mind it as we have a wonderful room with three big fans going and corner rooms all open.  Love, John, Pearl and Pat

                                                      

Philippines (Philippine Islands, United States of America) Stamp - 2 Centavos

I found two people who listed this at 1917, but it is postmarked in 1936, so I don't know if it is that old or not.  

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José Protasio Rizal Mercado (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896), was a Filipino patriot and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered a national hero of the Philippines, and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal's 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.

'Putani Express', Toy Train at Cubbon Park, Bangalore, India

 'Putani Express', Toy Train at Cubbon Park, Bangalore, Karnatake, India

This postcard is postmarked in 2011 with two India stamps

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Cubbon Park is a landmark area in Bangalore, located within the heart of the city. Originally created in 1870, it covered an area of 100 acres (0.40 km2) as of today, the area is now is about 300 acres (1.2 km2). It has a rich history of beautiful flowers and plants with many impressive buildings and statues.

 This public park was first named “Meade’s Park” after Sir John Meade, the acting Commissioner of Mysore in 1870 and was renamed Cubbon Park after the longest serving commissioner of the time, Sir Mark Cubbon.

India Stamp 2008

Indira Gandhi 5.00

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Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was the third Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, a total of fifteen years. India's only female prime minister to date, she remains the world's longest serving female Prime Minister as of 2011.  

India Stamp 2000

C. V. Raman 5.00

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Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, FRS (7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist whose work was influential in the growth of science in the world. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for the discovery that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the light that is deflected changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is the result of the Raman effect.

PEZ - Spaceman Candy Dispenser

PEZ

unused, from 2003

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Pez (trademarked PEZ, in capitals) is the brand name of an Austrian confectionery and the mechanical pocket dispensers. The candy itself takes the shape of pressed, dry, straight-edged blocks, with Pez dispensers holding 12 Pez pieces.

The name Pez came from the letters at the start, the middle and the end of the German word for peppermint, Pfefferminz, the first Pez flavor. Pez was originally introduced in Austria, later exported, notably to the U.S., and eventually became available worldwide. The all-uppercase spelling of the logo echoes the trademark's style on the packaging and the dispensers themselves, with the logo made to look like letters that are built out of 44 brick-like Pez confectioneries.

Some Pez dispensers can sell for large amounts as collectibles. The highest verifiable sale of Pez dispenser was a private sale of a Mickey Mouse softhead at $7000 between an Austrian dealer and a California collector. This dispenser was never available for sale to the public, and was a factory prototype. The high prices which some Pez items fetch has led to the manufacturing of fake Pez items as well. The 2006 eBay sale of a clear 50s Space Gun for $11,000 took place but according to noted Pez author, David Welch, the dispenser was later proven by chemical testing to be a well-made fake.

National Post Card Week - Woman Voting and Helen Keller

National Post Card Week
May 2-8, 2010

90 Years Women's Suffrage
19th Amendment
1920-2010

Helen Keller in Suffrage Parade
Boston, MA, 1914

Celebrate National Post Card Week by honoring the Women and Men who made Women's Suffrage possible.

In the Photo on the right, Helen Keller, Secretary-Pauline Thompson and Teacher - Mrs. Macy

unused, No 33

National Postcard Week with Matching Pin

National Postcard Week

May 2 - 8, 2010

Talk slowly, think quickly.

From Joyce Lindner

Limited edition # 10/100

The matching pin you see in attached with a staple. love it!