Wild Postcards

Sure, it’s probably Wednesday where you are as I write this, but I’ve been working some long and odd hours of late, so it’s still my Tuesday.  Regardless, it gives me an excuse to post two fantastically preserved linen postcards produced by Tichenor Bros. featuring the waters of Florida.  It’s also a great way to celebrate this month’s Festival of Postcards at Evelyn’s A Canadian Family genealogy / postcard blog.

The colors on these cards are just as they are presented here, and were probably produced in the early 1950s.

“Bayfront Park in all its tropical splendor adds to the Miami visitors (sic) comfort and relaxation. Here among the beautiful flowers, shrubs, and palms, concerts entertain visiting guests and inhabitants.”  I got this card oh, probably about ten years ago, in an antique shop in Florida.

This second card came to me from the collection of Kay Anthony:

“Lakeland, Florida is the metropolis of Polk County. Being 227 above sea level, it is tempered by breezes from the Ocean and the Gulf whch are within easy riding distance. Fishing, bathing and boating can be enjoyed on the 15 fresh water lakes which lie within the city limits. Two eighteen hole golf courses, a public library, air-conditioned first run moving picture houses and a municipal-owned water and electric plant are some of its many advantages.” Moving picture houses, indeed.

Sure, it’s probably Wednesday where you are as I write this, but I’ve been working some long and odd hours of late, so it’s still my Tuesday.  Regardless, it gives me an excuse to post two fantastically preserved linen postcards produced by Tichenor Bros. featuring the waters of Florida.  It’s also a great way to [...]

I had read about the Bendy Friends products out of Australia (“more than just a card, more than just a letter”) and was thrilled when Thea sent one from Queensland.  Unfortunately, some of the “postcard” didn’t make it all the way; compare my card to the silhouette on the right.  My culprit is the United States Postal Service; while the card was canceled by hand in Australia, the back of the card appears to have been mangled somewhat by a sorting machine.

Also in yesterday’s mail, another victim of the Postal Service:

The letter at the top arrived inside the envelope at the bottom, apologizing for the mishap in the handling of this piece of mail.  If, by “mishap”, you mean someone spilling their beverage on this piece of mail while it’s in the mail stream, then I guess it’s an accurate portrayal of what happened.  Fail x 2.

I had read about the Bendy Friends products out of Australia (“more than just a card, more than just a letter”) and was thrilled when Thea sent one from Queensland.  Unfortunately, some of the “postcard” didn’t make it all the way; compare my card to the silhouette on the right.  My culprit is the United [...]

The fish seem wide-eyed and surprised at this young lady’s sudden appearance. “An underwater scene in the crystal depths of world-famous Silver Springs. Here the water is so clear that one can see easily to the bottom bowl and underwater pictures can be made successfully. More than 43 varieties of fish, turtles and shell fish may be seen through glass-bottom boats in this underwater fairyland of nature.”

This is a Colourpicture Publication, distributed by the Asheville Post Card Company. It was apparently manufactured shortly after the very first postcard postage rate increase (with the words “one cent” unceremoniously removed from the stampbox); that was on 1 January 1952.

Update: Thanks to Postcardy for reminding me that this month’s Postcard Scavenger Hunt is fish!  Check out other fish postcards posted by her and by others — sometimes touristy, sometimes funny, always interesting.

The fish seem wide-eyed and surprised at this young lady’s sudden appearance. “An underwater scene in the crystal depths of world-famous Silver Springs. Here the water is so clear that one can see easily to the bottom bowl and underwater pictures can be made successfully. More than 43 varieties of fish, turtles and shell fish [...]

Egrets. I’ve had a few but, then again, too few to mention. “Thousands of egrets decorate this mangrove island in newly opened Everglades National Park, Florida.”  Everglades National Park was officially dedicated by President Truman on 6 December 1947; various proposals, committees, studies, land deals and political shenanigans in furtherance of (or sometimes in opposition to) this goal had been in the works since as early as 1923.

The postcard itself is postmarked 23 January 1953 at Naples, Florida and, much to my consternation, I was at first unable to translate the message.

Thanks to Al Gore and His Marvelous Internet, however, you’re never out of touch with someone who can easily translate between Czech and English.  It turns out that what Kris once referred to as the “classic American theme” of rubbing your presence in Florida in the face of those dealing with winter is, in fact, a universal one:

“Dear ones: Heartfelt greetings and a reminder of the sun here in hot Florida. Today is January 22 and it’s 90 degrees.  We are doing well and thinking of you in Michigan, where you are freezing. The Belohlaveks.”  This message is even funnier if you read it aloud with an Eastern European accent.

Egrets. I’ve had a few but, then again, too few to mention. “Thousands of egrets decorate this mangrove island in newly opened Everglades National Park, Florida.”  Everglades National Park was officially dedicated by President Truman on 6 December 1947; various proposals, committees, studies, land deals and political shenanigans in furtherance of (or sometimes in opposition [...]