The way I do this blog isn't hard. I simply look around the house until I find something that either I think is interesting, or that I think you guys will think is interesting and there we go! This week I was looking through a box and I stumbled across these fairly random postcards. Now, I don't actually collect postcards, but if I stumble across one that I find interesting while looking at an antique store (or junk store) I'll plunk down a few cents. Ok, that's enough intro padding- Here we go!
This first one is probably a dime a dozen in California, and I'm pretty sure this company did them for every state in the union (I've seen Texas examples too). Still, this retro look at CA is cool in an "Ultra-Touristy" way. I was not aware that Disneyland was actually in the Pacific, though...
This is the only card that I can find a date on. 1976 was a good year.
Next, we have this Knott's example featuring our favorite prospector. I'm not sure how climbing up on that huge rock helped him find gold, but it made for a good picture, I guess.
And here we see that the people who sent this were from my home town of Denison, Texas! At first I thought they somehow got confused berween Disneyland and Knotts (weirdly common), but then I noticed that they said they were going to Disneyland that morning, so it hadn't happened yet. I also noted that there are no ZIP codes on this card, which might date it before July 1, 1963. ...but maybe not.
Wait! Didn't I just show you this card??? Demand your money back!!!
Oh, wait, the pose is a little different, so we're good. No refunds today, I'm afraid!
Also, nothing written on the back. And there IS a ZIP code on the bottom. Nice card, but fairly dull...
Hey, let's bop on over to Disneyland! (They should have used that line in their promotional literature). The Jungle Cruise is looking very Jungle-y today!
No writing on the back, but a nice card!
I remember picking up this "26 Colorful Scenes" pack at a flea market in Forth Worth, Texas. I almost didn't get it because it was around five bucks and I'm very cheap. Still I'm glad I did. It's hard to date it from the featured pictures because they reused so many, but America Sings is included, so that means after 1974, possibly much later.
Here we have a nice card from the other coast! It features the Life Magazine opening day photo.
This one is cleatly dated April 1, 1974. Madeline (from Mount Pleasant, NJ) was a very neat typist. Her assessment of WDW might seem a bit underwhelmed, but as it seems she might have just lost her husband, Dick, we can certainly forgive her.
Lastly, we have this card that I picked up simply because it featured my name and a really cool art deco diner.
I tried to look up the address to get a current picture of the property, but apparently Jackson, Tx no longer exists, having been gobbled up by Houston. I then jumped down a DEEP rabbit hole... Hours later, this is what I found from a Houston architecture site...
Well, that was in 2012. Now, they serve chicken there...and the building is apparently finally completely gone.
Well, there you have it. But on a larger scale this is why I collect things in the first place. If I hadn't picked up those postcards we would have never known about the Calson family from Denison, Madeline and Dick from New Jersey, or the fate of Stuarts's Club and Grill (with their A/C hoses!). These things tell stories, and they should be listened to.
Until next time, keep searching for treasure!
Wow, Stu - a super-post!
ReplyDeleteLOL! Disneyland isn’t in the Pacific—just Sleeping Beauty Castle is.
I’ll definitely be back when I have more time. Am at work and have work to do.
Sue
Not only is Sleeping Beauty Castle out in the ocean, Marineland is apparently in Lompoc (the other gateway to Oxnard!), the Golden Gate Bridge goes to Hawaii, and the California State Capitol building is in Nevada, taking up the majority of that state’s real estate.
ReplyDeleteI know it’s hard to read, but the first mailed postcard is postmarked “5 Jul 1963.” You can tell from the stamp - the postage rate for postcards was 4¢ from January 7th, 1963, to January 7th, 1968. ZIP codes were implemented four days earlier, but they have never been mandatory for first class mail or postcards.
We had an example of that exact same pink photo set that we picked up at Disneyland in 1976. Man, that brings back memories!
That is so cool you were able to find a postcard with your name on it. I’ve never known anyone named Fried Chicken. Where does the “Stu” come from?
Wow, Chuck, good info on the date! Thanks!
DeleteYeah, I'm beginning to doubt the accuracy of that map...or maybe my geography classes!
As far as "Stu" goes...it's complicated...
Just noticed another interesting detail (to me, anyway; your mileage may vary) - the California postcard uses the same highway shield design for both Interstate 10 east out of LA and California State Route 1, the famed Pacific Coast Highway (“PCH”) north out of “Marineland.” California highway shields have their points at the top rather than the bottom and aren’t scalloped at the broad end like Interstate and U.S. Highway shields are.
DeleteOh, and seriously - how complicated is “Chicken Stu?”
DeleteFun post, Stu! And great images. I wonder why that scantily clad couple is hanging out in El Centro? Or maybe they had been swimming in the Salton Sea?
ReplyDeleteAwww, my grandmother used to address her postcards to us with "Dear Ones,.....", just like that mother of the Calson family.
Your first "miner on a rock" Knott's postcard shows the corner of Beach Blvd., and La Palma Ave. The second one show the corner of Western Ave. and La Palma. I'm not sure when the second one was removed, but the first one remained there until 1983. There is still a miner and mule on the same corner, but now they are higher up and on top of the wall that goes around Camp Snoopy. I think most people don't even notice them up there, because of all the tree growth around them....and the fact that they are painted all one color now....sort of a bronze-ish color.
There were many versions of that pink Disneyland postcard fold-out. They would swap out a photo here and there whenever they did updates. Since Nature's Wonderland Mine Train is shown, I would say this was produced prior to 1977. That's the year it was removed, for Big Thunder's construction.
Thanks for sharing your postcard collection with us, Stu!
- TokyoMagic!
Thanks! I honestly had no idea those were different miners (minors?....no....wait...). I just figured it was different angles of the same one. That makes them cooler in my book! It also means ABSOLUTELY no refunds! ;-)
DeleteOh boy, old postcards! I love them. You might not be surprised to learn that I have a lot of old postcards. I used to know a collector who lived near me. He’d let me come over and pick out a stack of cards. Then he’d look at the stack, maybe two inches thick or so, and he’d say, “Oh I don’t know, how about $20?”. Which was a bargain (compared to the postcard shows that I used to attend, anyway). His wife loved me because she wanted ALL of the cards to be gone.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I love that retro “California” card. I love those fanciful maps showing the principal attractions of a particular area. Though they left the dent off of the drawing of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Knott’s and Disneyland postcards, YES. Did you know that there are MANY variations of that pink “26 Colorful Scenes” postcard pack? They left the cover the same, but continually updated the pictures inside. A lady made a guide of all (?) of the variations, but I never did try to acquire them all. There might be an early version that has a unique shot of the Viewliner (if I’m not confusing it with another postcard pack).
I love that art deco diner, it looks like it should be in Radiator Springs. No surprise that the building is long-gone, if it was in L.A. it would have been razed for “luxury condos”. Or a parking lot.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Major!
DeleteVintage Disney cards are actually pretty hard to find here in North Texas, at least for me. Of course, after about five minutes of digging, I tend to give up.
I DID find something interesting at an antique mall yesterday. Not a postcard (although I looked through a few). I think I'll post it this weekend.... (see how I built suspense there?)