This and That: A Blog

 Well, the Tuesday is here when I have no newly purchased "treasures" to share!   St. Vincent de Paul hasn't provided anything but a handful of 5¢ postcards.  While the former manager had her good and bad days, she knew what she was doing.  The shelves are becoming bare after losing a lot of volunteers.  I've had my best luck in the Goodwill Bins, but still nothing exciting.   So, here are some of my more unusual antique postcards.  While not strictly "thrifted" items, they are all second-hand purchases, which is sort of the same.  I consider them "treasures" too.  Some of them are so like new, it was hard to believe they weren't reprints. I got them all from my favorite eBay seller, who has cut back his inventory considerably.  I still order his lots of 10 or 20 now and again. c. 1900 - 1910 Postmark 1908 Postmark 1905 Just what is this supposed to mean?   c. 1908 -1912 This has glitter details, as was popular in the...

Postcards with Illustrations for this week's Thursday Postcard Hunt .  I've picked dog illustrations. A postcard that came with a book of dog poetry,  Doggerel: Great Poets on Remarkable Dogs. We Had a Rippin' Good Time! © 1909 We Love Each Other - Don't We? 1910  We used to be pals!   ©1909, postmarked 1910 Next week will be Maps. 

  Thursday Postcard Hunt for this week is Architecture: Stations  Car Station, Swan Point, Providence, Rhode Island, USA postcard c.1908-1915   A car station was a trolley depot or streetcar shelter. The theater and tramway station in Laon, France  postcard c.1910-1914  The railway station in Vincey, France postcard c.1905-1910 Shelters is next week, the last of the Architecture theme.  

St. Vincent de Paul has a one day 1/2 off everything sale once a year in December.  They did something new last month, a three-day 1/2 off sale on collectibles only.  Those would be pink sticker items, or in display boxes with pink stickers.   Now, the collectibles like glass trinkets, salt and pepper shakers, or dog figurines, I'd have already bought at full price if I liked them.  However, as the then manager had been putting out loads of antique postcards and other ephemera I thought I'd take a look.  I " took a look " all three days!  Here are some of my half-off treasures. Gombault's Caustic Balsam ad c1896-1902 I had an antique frame just waiting for something that fit, and this did!  38¢  The first day I bought one of these packets of stationary, hand-made paper from Nepal for 68¢. I didn't know it was stationary when I bought it, just that it was hand-made paper.  It's made from daphne bark .  The envelope hooks closed with ...

 Let's take a look at some Palace postcards for the Architecture theme this week for  Thursday Postcard Hunt . The Grand Palace in Brussels, Belgium  c.1905-1910 The Crystal Palace , London, England  Dated on back 9.5.07 from " Daddy ."  The Palace of Applied Arts, Franco-British Exhibition London, England Postmarked 1908 (time of Exhibition) Next week is Stations. 

It's Public Parks today for Thursday Postcard Hunt .   The lily pond at Shaw's Garden (now the Missouri Botanical Garden  - search " lily pond " for more images from the past),  St. Louis, MO  postmark 1909 Portland, OR Classical Chinese Garden     Princes Street Gardens , Edinburgh, Scotland with Scott Monument in the background. Postmark 1942 The famous Swan Boats in Boston Public Gardens , Boston, MA  This garden was the first botanical garden in the U.S.  Boston also has the honor of having the first public library.  It's not the oldest, but the first publicly funded free one. Next week we visit Beaches. 

 Happy Easter! Here are some of my favorite Easter postcards. Worried chicks on a teeter-totter!  postmark 1907 postmark 1908 c. 1910-1913  Angry chicks with a beetle. private mailing card postmark 1903   postmark 1916 A nervous girl with a strange message! postmark 1915

 Animals on the Farm is this week's theme for Thursday Postcard Hunt .  "Interior of Stable" by  Moreland c. 1908-1914 Ohio Farmlife Tillamook , Oregon Dairy Cows Pets are the Animals for next week.

 Happy Valentine's Day!   Valentine's Day, as with many of our holidays, began in ancient times.  I'm not going to go back that far, just into the late 19th century.  Did you know that for much of the 19th and early 20th century Valentine's Day wasn't strictly a lover's holiday?   It was a general occasion for giving cards of greeting, light humor or teasing, and social compliments.  It was common for women to send them to women friends, and men to send them to men friends.  Neighbors and co-workers would exchange Valentines.  It was the polite thing to do.  Postmarked 1909, to Stanley from his "Pal-o." In the Victorian (1837-1901) and Edwardian (1901-1910) eras there were several categories of Valentine's Day cards.   Those for friendship were sentimental, often with flowers, doves, lace, and messages such as " With kind regards this St. Valentine's Day ."   c. 1908-1912 " Vinegar Valentines " were teasing, chee...