Wild Postcards

Molly has the dubious distinction of drawing my name at random for her very first official Postcrossing card. She writes: “I’ve been enjoying the people, food, culture & beautiful scenery here for the last three years.” Thanks for the card, Molly, and I hope I don’t spoil you — not everyone is going to devote a blog post to you!

 

This card ostensibly depicts the very first stagecoach in California but, given that it was located at a well-known tourist trap, I am hard-pressed to believe it.

This card is one among a group of six Ramona-based cards that I found in a shop as part of a lot of several California cards. Each of them has a “From Ramona’s Marriage Place” rubber stamp on the back, and were probably purchased at the location itself, at the same time by the same tourist.

None of the cards appears to be any newer than around 1915 at the very latest. This particular card was published by Edward H. Mitchell of San Francisco.

 

“Stanford Memorial Chapel — located on the Campus of Stanford University, is considered one of the most beautiful churches in America. The extensive use of art mosaics for mural decorations combine to make it a structure more than unique in character, worthy of visiting and well remembered. This church was built as a memorial by Mrs. Stanford to her husband Senator Leland Stanford. Dedicated in January 1903. Only non-sectarian services are held.”

This is an obvious Curt Teich card (number 0B-H123, produced in 1940) but is marked only as being copyrighted by the Stanley A. Piltz Company of San Francisco as part of their “Pictorial Wonderland Art-Tone Series”. There is a little wear on the corners, but otherwise this card is in excellent condition. You should definitely click on the picture, so that you can marvel at the painstaking detail of this card’s colorist.

 

Here is a cheaply made, unvarnished postcard, circa 1960, from the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles. At its heyday, it could seat about 4,000 worshipers. The building is no longer in existence, having been demolished in the 1980s due to earthquake damage. However, the church still survives today in its new home in Glendora, California.

 

“One of the most noted of the Totem Poles of Ketchikan (Alaska) is the famous Totem Pole of Chief Kian. It is surmounted by the fabled bird Kajuk. Below this bird is an eagle and below the eagle is the wolf.”

Research indicates this card was published around 1910; it is a pre-linen, white border card. It was published by the H. H. Tammen Company, which used a squatting “Primitive” (that is, Native American) as its logo. Time magazine wrote an interesting article about Tammen in 1927 (Tammen had died in 1925) which describes his beginnings as a waif, then saloon cuspidor (presumably, the kid who empties spittoons rather than acts as one), then bartender; he later befriended Fred G. Bonfils, a rich cousin of Napoleon, and squeezed enough money from Bonfils to buy the Denver Post. He then proceeded to maintain a near monopoly on the news (and the advertising revenue generated) for the entire American West until his death. The article does not mention any other publication ventures like postcards, but there are plenty of cards stamped “H H T CO” out there; most of the ones I have seen have Native American culture as their subject matter.
 

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