“‘The Spirit of ’76,’ also known as ‘Yankee Doodle,’ described as the most inspiring patriotic picture in America, hangs in the Town Fathers’ meeting room in Abbot Hall (in Marblehead, Massachusetts). Painted by A.M. Willard, it was presented to the Town in 1880 by General John Devereux, whose son was the model for the drummer boy.” This is a “Lusterchrome” card by Tichnor Bros., Boston 15, Mass.

The card notes that reproduction is prohibited without the express permission of the Board of Selectmen in Marblehead. So assiduously had they guarded this image over the years that the August 12, 1935 issue of Time magazine made special mention of a rare occasion on which they allowed the image to be reproduced.

All the way from Vaasa, Finland comes today’s postcard of a painting by Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905), a founder of the Realist art movement in Finland, and one of the first Finnish artists to become internationally famous, at least in his own time.  I believe that this is my first exposure to his work; a website called Vaasa Pages features more of Edelfelt’s paintings.

Anneli writes: “I very much like the atmosphere on this picture. The boys seem to have fun!”  I agree, but I’m afraid that boys of today (my grandsons included) are too jaded by 21st century technology to take amusement from the simple pleasures pictured.  Fortunately, I am not.

This Turkish card shows the cover image for the book Son Ülke (“The Last Country”).  It’s also a detail of the painting “The Tempest” by Giorgione, painted around 1508.  (According to the card, the title of the painting in Turkish is Fırtına, which is the Turkish word for “storm”; not a lot of synonyms in the Turkish language.)

Yasemin sent me this card from Ankara, writing (in Turkish): “This is my first time writing to someone who knows Turkish, I am excited.  I hope you like my card.”  I do like it, very much.

I also like the stamp, which shows Iğdır, a city in eastern Turkey.  On the right of the stamp, you can see the Ermeni Soykırım Anıtı (Armenian Genocide Monument), which is a memorial to non-combatant Turks killed by Armenians during World War I.  Off in the distance is Mount Ararat, alleged by some to be the final resting place of Noah’s Ark.

Here is a card I received today as part of a Postcrossing round-robin. Nordbaer writes: “Many greetings from the West of Germany. I visited your website — it’s great!” And many thanks back to you for making this wonderful contribution to it.

“THE SENSATION OF THE YEAR. FIRST PRIZE — At Paris Salon, June 1912, for which the Artist won the medal of honor, the highest recognition which any Artist can attain in France. The picture shows a rarely beautiful blond figure posed in the waters of the sea of Brittany an an hour when it glows like a great fire opal.” I had to think about this description for a while. I don’t think the writer means that the figure is only beautiful on rare occasions; I think he means that the beauty itself is rare.

Although Chabas won the Medal of Honor in France, the painting attracted little attention. Thus, he sent it to America to attract a buyer, where it was spotted in a gallery window by Anthony Comstock, moral crusader and founder of the New York Society for the Prevention of Vice. As a result of the publicity, bright boys began reproducing the image on everything from cigar boxes to calendars to postcards — one of which you see above, contemporary to the scandal. Thanks to Comstock’s political appointment as an agent of the Postal Service, the postcard itself was prohibited in the mails; consequently, this card is unused.

This sepia-toned reproduction does not do justice to the painting. I purchased this card in an antique shop for a dollar. Below is a representation of the entire painting.

“Painted by Emanuel Leutze in 1851, this famous canvas, measuring 21 by 12 feet, has been on display since February 1952 in the Washington Crossing Methodist Church at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. The painting is on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Washington Crossing Park Commission. Here it has been viewed annually by more than 100,000 visitors who have come to admire America’s best known historical painting.”

This card is marked as copyrighted in 1962, with an item number of 56470, and published by The Scheller Company of Hackettstown, New Jersey. The actual painting has since been returned to the Met.