Postcards

Crawl from here over to the Incredibly Boring Postcards group . Some areas in the vicinity of Altoona and Hollidaysburg--located in the Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania--are noted for the presence of large mounds (or "ant hills") created by the Allegheny mound ant . Those with an entomological bent will want to seek out Henry C. McCook's early article, " Mound-Making Ants of the Alleghenies, Their Architecture and Habits ," published in the Transactions of the American Entomological Society (1867-1877) , vol. 6 (1877), pp. 253-296.

Although I have not been able to uncover any information regarding an "Ellen Probst," this postcard may have been used as a pitch card for a child performer in a sideshow or similar attraction. If so, the girl seems disconcertingly young to be working as a snake handler or charmer.

Big hands, small woman, and general peculiarity for the Weird Vintage Postcards group.

This silhouette of a man wearing a hat and glasses (or a monocle?) is apparently cut from thin black paper. The Eiffel Tower at right, an unidentified building at left (anyone recognize it?), and an airship at top fill out the background of this souvenir postcard.

Oh You Lemon! Ripe and juicy, you're all right, In the main squeeze you're out of sight. Lemony, very pretty, yet not too sweet for the Weird Vintage Postcards group. See also: Oh You Chestnut!

Oh You Chestnut! When is a door not a door? When it's a-jar!! Your ancient ones are welcome. May they never seem new to us. "Chestnut," of course, can refer to an old, stale story or joke. See chestnut (joke) in Wikipedia and old chestnut in Wiktionary. Some nuttiness for the Weird Vintage Postcards group. See also: Oh You Lemon!

Printed on the back of this advertising postcard: "Feel the difference in a Mallory straw. We have a wide selection now on hand. Why not drop in soon and select your favorite?" The month of May used to be the time when men traditionally traded their winter felt hats for summer straw hats. The Mallory Hat Company created this postcard so that dealers could inform customers that it was time for them to purchase a new cool-as-an-iceberg Mallory straw Panama hat for summertime wear. . For an earlier example of an exaggeratedly large Panama hat used in an advertisement, see the San Francisco 1915 postcard that's featured as part of the Michigan State University Museum's Tall Tale Postcards: Storytelling Through the Mail exhibit.

"New Port Authority Bus Terminal, 41st Street & Eighth Avenue, Longacre 4-8484, one block from Times Square." Printed on the back of this postard: "Largest in the world, the $24,000,000 Port Authority Bus Terminal to open December 15, 1950, was built by the Port of New York Authority, the self-supporting joint agency of the states of New Jersey and New York, to relieve street traffic congestion in Manhattan and to provide a comfortable central station for 130,000 bus commuters and many thousand long distance bus travelers who daily enter and leave New York. The Port of New York Authority, 111 Eighth Avenue. N.Y. 11, N.Y." Message and name--both printed rather than handwritten--on back: "I thought you would be interested in receiving the above facts about the Port Authority Bus Terminal. With best wishes, cordially, Howard S. Cullman." See also Steve Shook's image of this postcard on Flickr, which has a linen finish that's missing on my copy: New Port Authority Bus Terminal, 1950 - Linen Postcard .

Or check out the Weird Vintage Postcards group instead.

"Stop! Look! Listen! Rally Day, Methodist Episcopal Sunday Schools, Ann Street and Riverside, Middletown, Pa., October 1, 1911. It's coming next Sunday afternoon. We will have a great program. Good music. We want to have every member present, 200 visitors, 100 new members. Will you help us to realize our hopes? I am depending on you to be present and bring someone else with you. ________________, teacher."

Located at the corner of Wilson and Wood Streets in Middletown, Pa., these two buildings now comprise Woodlayne Court, a 44-unit apartment complex. The building on the left formerly housed the A. S. Kreider Shoe Company ("Kreider's Shoes, Factory No. 1" is painted on the water tower) and later the Rough Wear Clothing Company. The Bayuk Cigar Company building on the right was later used by the Michael Bachman Shoe Company. Additional information and photos are available in David Ira Kagan and Edward William Sunbery, Middletown Borough (Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2009), pp. 62-63.

The men of the Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company, No. 10, of Reading, Pennsylvania, sponsored a trip, probably as a fundraiser, to Springfield, Massachusetts, where they dined on beef and turkey at the Hotel Gilmore on October 7, 1909. This keepsake menu for the meal was printed in portrait orientation over a postcard of The Connecticut River at Springfield, Mass., Mt. Tom in the Distance, 1909 (see below for the original landscape version). Hotel Gilmore, A. E. Smith, mgr., Springfield, Mass. Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Co. No. 10 of Reading, Pennsylvania. Dinner. Consommé Printiniere. Baked bluefish, parsley sauce. Catsup, pickles, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish. Fillet of beef larded, mushroom sauce. Roast young turkey, giblet sauce. Lettuce-celery salad. Mashed potatoes. Mashed turnips. Green peas. Rice pudding. Pies: apple, mince, peach. Coffee, milk, tea. October 7, 1909. Allied Printing Trades Council, Union Label, Springfield.

"The Connecticut at Springfield, Mass., Mt. Tom in the Distance." For additional information about this postcard, which was overprinted with a menu, see Marion Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company No. 10, Menu, Reading, Pa., 1909 (below).

This makes me cringe every time I look at it, so it must be appropriate for the Weird Vintage Postcards group. 8-) "Here's a maid past sweet sixteen, / Who'd hardly pass for beauty's queen, / To set her free 'twould not be wise, / She'd bite and scratch out your eyes." Handwritten message on back: "With my compliments, E.B." Addressed to: "Miss Bertha Fulton, Sinnemahoning, Pa." No stamp or postmark. Printed on back: "Series 539."

The Ghost of Thanksgiving Past floats out of the kettle to haunt the table, only to find that everyone has fled in terror. A frightful holiday scene for the Weird Vintage Postcards group.

Thanksgiving greetings from a wacky turkey with an Uncle Sam head! Posted for the Weird Vintage Postcards group.