Wild Postcards

“Gold panning is a livelihood for many Alaskans. It’s not uncommon to pan for nuggets the size of raisins.” This card arrived today from Kris, who hosts a blog describing his own postcard collection which, like mine, spans several generations over more than a century.  The card is oversized (about 5″ x 7″, suitable for framing), but arrived relatively unscathed nonetheless.

Kris also included a few interesting comments regarding the image, but one must bear in mind that, living in Alaska, Kris has never actually seen a woman up close before. Published by Off-The-Wall, Inc. Photo credit: Calvin Hall.

“Gold panning is a livelihood for many Alaskans. It’s not uncommon to pan for nuggets the size of raisins.” This card arrived today from Kris, who hosts a blog describing his own postcard collection which, like mine, spans several generations over more than a century.  The card is oversized (about 5″ x 7″, suitable for [...]

Number two grandson Austin and I have been learning about the postal system.  He frequently raids my stack of postcards for trade, and we mail a couple of cards a week from my house to his.  He always wants to put the “stickers” on himself; we haven’t quite mastered the concept of postage yet, and so we usually wind up choosing stamps based on their aesthetic qualities rather than their face value.  Usually this means putting a 42-cent stamp on a card that requires only 27 cents postage.

Austin was eyeing the Northern Lights, Lapland, Finland card with some jealousy today.  “I want that card,” he said.  “You can’t have that card,” said Grandpa, “it was sent to me and, besides, it’s already been used so we couldn’t send it to you.”  “I want people to send me cards,” said the child.  I explained that, in order to receive cards, one should send cards and, thus, another Postcrossing user is born.

The "before" picture.

We sent the Moloka’i card from this official USPS book of “Wonders of America Coloring Postcards” to a Postcrosser in China, while the Bering Glacier card went to another Postcrosser in Maryland.  While Austin was able to sign the cards himself, I addressed them and transcribed his messages.  Primarily he discussed his color choices; I’m sure the recipients will appreciate such insight into the creative process.

It’s also a learning process from a geographical standpoint; we compared our position on the globe with those of the two recipients, and made the correlation that the card that was going all the way across the ocean to China “needs more stickers.”

If you’re feeling charitable, send the boy a postcard in care of me at my address.  He likes cards that are primarily green or red in color, or cards that feature birds, cars, or soldiers. One of us will gladly send a postcard to you in return!

Number two grandson Austin and I have been learning about the postal system.  He frequently raids my stack of postcards for trade, and we mail a couple of cards a week from my house to his.  He always wants to put the “stickers” on himself; we haven’t quite mastered the concept of postage yet, and [...]

Thanks are owed to Kris for increasing the size of my Alaska postcard collection by 50%.  A fellow collector, he writes: “Found your site and thoroughly enjoy it…. Like yours, my collection began at the behest of my elders.”  Hey it saved us both the trouble of starting from scratch!  Be sure to check out Kris’s collection which, like mine, spans over a hundred years.

Thanks are owed to Kris for increasing the size of my Alaska postcard collection by 50%.  A fellow collector, he writes: “Found your site and thoroughly enjoy it…. Like yours, my collection began at the behest of my elders.”  Hey it saved us both the trouble of starting from scratch!  Be sure to check out [...]

“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.”

Trojan Man?

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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“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 [...]