Is it me, or does this sturgeon look surprised? “The Lower Dells has always had an abundant supply of sturgeon. This photo by H. H. Bennett, pioneer landscape photographer of the Dells, was made in the late 1880s. The spear fisherman stands at the cribs near the present dam.”

This Wisconsin postcard came from Tim in Indiana via Maine or, as Tim puts it, “a Wisconsin postcard sent by a Hoosier with a Maine postmark.” Turns out that Tim has three Mailer’s Postmark Permits, one of which was issued in Meddybemps, Maine. Mail postmarked by the mailer has to be mailed from the post office which issued the permit, so Tim would have had to postmark this card with an advance date, put it in an envelope, mail it to Meddybemps, and ask the postmaster there to mail it on the correct date. As you can see, the postmaster didn’t wait; this postcard is postmarked next Tuesday.

Sure, it seems like a lot of trouble, but who else can postmark their own mail with the word “Meddybemps”?

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.

Every time I mention to someone how few cards from Alaska I have, more appear in my mailbox.  This postcard (along with another Alaska card, as well as a New Jersey card) comes to me from Donna, an Alaska native whom I met on Postcrossing.  She was happy to volunteer them.  “I have way too many cards,” writes Donna, “and I am trying to downsize.”  Isn’t that what descendants are for?  It’s all I can do to keep the grandkids from raiding my collection; they can wait for it, just as I did.

A tomcod, which I had never heard of, resembles a cod and is related to the cod, but isn’t a cod.  There’s an Atlantic species and a Pacific species, and the name supposedly comes from an American Indian language, from a word meaning “plenty fish.”  Well, they do look plentiful.  I love the posture of the guy in the background.  You can just tell he hasn’t gotten a nibble all day.

This card was published by Edward H. Mitchell of San Francisco, probably around 1910-1915.

This is a postcard my Aunt Brenda picked up on one our many trips to Western Pennsylvania, to my grandma’s old homestead. It has a post-publication stamp on the back reading “Greetings from Perryopolis, PA”.

In case you’re wondering, Izaak Walton was the author of The Compleat Angler.