This postcard is a souvenir of the famous Manneken Pis statue in Brussels, Belgium. It probably dates back to the 1910s and is printed on some very heavy stock. The back also indicates that it was manufactured in Brussels. It’s somewhat yellowed now — with age, people, not with anything that might have come out of the statue.

It’s my understanding that they do occasionally hook the statue up to a supply of beer and hand out cups of what comes out of the statue to passersby. I’m not sure I would be drinking anything yellow and foamy that came out that way.

“Champion Four Horse Hitch of Belgian horses and imported Bavarian beer wagon owned and used by The Leisy Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, brewers of Leisy’s Light and Leisy’s Dortmunder type beers.” They would close for good by 1958, saying that they were taxed out of existence. While probably true, I think that their other problem was that their delivery methods were too slow.

This card was sent to Great-Grandma Charlotte Smith from Willoughby, Ohio (tagline: “The Courtesy City”) which, after seeing pictures on their website of a brass band playing in a gazebo, creeps me out. It looks like that episode from The Twilight Zone.

This card was sent by her sister Leola, who writes: “Well, Wendell (and) I are in Ohio at Ruth’s and about froze. Sure is chilly out here close to the lake. How is your arm is it cool at your place. Tell Pete not to look to (sic) long at the picture” — Pete being her name for Great-Grandpa Phil.

What really gets me is that the card was sent with no street address, just the city, and it got there.

This card depicts what is presumed to be the final home of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Efes (Ephesus), where Catholic tradition holds that she died.

I sent this card to my Aunt Brenda, who at that time was the keeper of the collection, in an envelope along with several other postcards. I was in Turkey courtesy of Uncle Sam, and was still in awe over the favorable exchange rates.

The notation in the lower left — “her hakki mahfuzdur” — translates roughly as “every genuine(ness) looked after”, presumably the same sentiment as “all rights reserved”. The Turkish language is not for the squeamish. (Also of note: the word is correctly spelled “hakiki”, but the publisher has spelled it as it is actually pronounced.)

Efes is also the name of a pretty good Turkish beer, which sponsors a fairly mediocre basketball team, which has some really hot cheerleaders.

(Now how did I digress from the Virgin Mary to hot cheerleaders?)