Cranberries!

Sent from Harwich, Mass. in 1913

This time of year is cranberry season! My aunt and uncle have experience working with cranberries in Massachusetts, and I always love seeing pictures of the harvesting machines moving through the bog. This postcard shows an African-American worker screening the berries.

Fun facts about cranberries:

1. The cranberry is one of only a few major fruits native to North America.

2. Cranberries were often carried on ships because of their Vitamin C content to prevent scurvy. Yarr!

3. Cranberries were used extensively by Native Americans, and were probably served at the first Thanksgiving.

4. America produces about 75% of the world's cranberries.

5. Americans eat 400 million pounds of cranberries per year, and Ocean Spray sells 7 out of every 10 cranberries.

Find more interesting cranberry facts here: Cranberry Facts

Lewis and Clark Exposition

One of the great events in Portland's history happened to coincide with the emergence of postcards in America.

In the late 1800s, amidst a national economic downturn, Portland's leaders decided to  try to spur growth by having a large international fair.

In the end, they decided to celebrate the centennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by having an exposition in 1905.

This unusual postcard shows off the webbed foot of the mascot of the exposition, naturally a duck. "Where Rolls the Oregon" refers to a famous quote from a poem by William Cullen Bryant in the early 1800s. In the late 1700s, many Americans still believed that there might be some sort of mighty river that could carry someone from East to West. It was often described as the "Oregon."

The exposition was a financial success, rare for the time, but didn't leave a lasting impression on the Portland landscape like the Chicago 1893 exposition. Almost all the buildings were torn down by 1906.

Portland's population exploded as a result of the expo, with an increase from 161,000 to 270,000 residents between 1905 and 1910.

Happy Fall!

 Happy Fall everyone! Fall is my favorite season for many reasons. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, I love the leaves changing colors (although don't get as much of this in Oregon as other places I have lived). I love having to grab a sweatshirt now and then. I even love the return of the rainy season (at least for a few weeks, talk to me in December).

This beautiful postcard was printed by the Detroit Publishing Company, a company which produced thousands of different postcards in the early 1900s.

They were able to create color photorealistic images by using a process called chromolithography. Using this technique, the company was able to mass produce color enhanced photographic images long before it was cost effective to print photos in color.

This series is a great choice for beginning collectors because Detroit Publishing cards can be found for low prices, yet offer quality printing and interesting subjects.

The fisherman at right is one of my favorites from the series.

Time to go break open a bag of candy corn!

Mustache Club

Please welcome the newest member of the mustache and beard club, an anonymous man from Massachusetts. It's dated 1890 on the back, and the photo was taken in the studio of Henry S. Allen in Winchendon, Mass. Stay classy, sir.

What a Difference a Century Makes

I often find postcards that require some detective work to identify. There are many clues to follow. What type of photo paper was used? (This can often narrow the window considerably and I will have a post on dating postcards one of these days.) The cars on the street and fashion of pedestrians are usually other key giveaways. Sometimes there are signs or other clues that require a magnifying glass. When I found this photo card I was able to make out "Mt. Vernon State Bank" above the door, and after a bit of research was able to locate a Wikipedia post on the building, located in Mt. Vernon, Washington State.

The Mt. Vernon State Bank Just after completion around 1909.

From Wikipedia: "The President Hotel in Downtown Mount Vernon. Originally constructed as a three story hotel in 1909 by the Mount Vernon State Bank and Mount Vernon Hotel Companies, It opened as the Windsor Hotel. After a fire in the early 1920s, the Hotel was completely remodeled. Two floors containing 50 more rooms were added and complete by 1922, making it the tallest building in the county and the first with an Elevator. The Hotel was later renamed the President and now houses low income apartments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 13, 2010."
(Thanks to the Wikipedia Commons for being a free use resource!)

The building today, with added floors.

 I have some interesting future plans for some Portland, Oregon before and after posts, so stay tuned!

Coastal Highway - On the Beach?

One of the things I love about my current home state of Oregon is the fact that all of its beautiful coastal beaches are public land. This is not by accident, and reflects a rare and elusive thing: Government foresight. In the early 1900s, the state started selling some coastal land to raise revenue. In 1913, heeding public outcry, then governor Oswald West pressured the legislature to adopt the coast as a highway. This creative method was actually partially based on need, as the coastal highway 101 was not completed  until the 1930s. In addition, West created a commission to buy up land along the coast for state parks, many of which are still enjoyed today.

In 1967 beloved Oregon Governor Tom McCall further strengthened the public's access to the beach by urging passage of the Beach Bill, which created a public easement from the line of vegetation to the waterline. So today, as I enjoy unfettered access to the beach, I am grateful for the foresight of these leaders.

Victorian Trade Cards

In the last few decades of the 1800s, many companies handed out trade cards to potential customers. Often these were pre-printed designs that had very little to do with the products, but were designed to catch a potential buyer's eye. There was a box where the store's name and address could be printed.

Some of the larger companies created trade cards just for their products, and many of these companies are still around today. This Hires Root Beer card is a good example. Some of the claims about the effects of the products were funny and even blatantly false, but there was very little regulation.

Hires claimed that their root beer was "steeped in extracts from healthful roots." 

This Quaker Oats ad was from a booklet showing circus performing grasshoppers. Nothing like anthropomorphic insects to get you excited about a bowl of oatmeal!











Many of the advertisements are truly pieces of art, with high quality graphics and artwork.

A 100 Year Old Call for Peace

The anniversary of 9/11 and the events at U.S. embassies in the Middle East over the last few days are troubling, but I try to remind myself that most people in the world are are not extremists who intentionally antagonize others, or overreact to criticism of their religion. Too bad they aren't often the ones in power. It reminded me of these poster stamps I recently acquired. While I started with postcards, my interests in paper ephemera have only grown, and I only learned of poster stamps in the last couple of months. 

Poster stamps were produced in the early 1900s to advertise products, and promote fairs, conventions and expositions. They were widely used in Europe as well as the United States. Essentially, they are smaller versions of beautiful full size posters, often designed by famous authors of the day.

The art on some of these was truly gorgeous, as poster stamps were around right about the same time as the height of printing quality. Many of the best printers of these stamps, and postcards for that matter, were based in Germany, and so the outbreak of World War One pretty much ended the golden age of printing. The average quality of printing never quite recovered from the war.

I like this series of stamps not just because of their sentiment, but because they were printed in 1914, at the dawn of horrendous bloodshed that would eventually be pervasive in the 20th century. Even at a time of global tension and mounting calls for war in Europe, these stamps show that there are those who had common sense and hope for a better world.

Caption Contest

Sorry for the spotty posting the during the last week, it was the first week of school and things are a bit hectic in Beaverton. Due to Budgetpocalypse, we have enormous class sizes. My classes range from 41 to 46 students...yikes. It has been a busy week. I have some ideas for posts this week, including a look at some of the 3000 or so postcards I recently purchased in my first real large buy. For now, though, I will introduce my first caption contest. Every once in a while when I find a really weird postcard, I will challenge you to come up with some truly great captions for it. In the future I hope to award prizes for the best ones. Put on your creative caps!

This postcard was sent from Terre Haute, Indiana in 1909.

What should the caption be?

Introducing the Beard Club

One of my favorite periods of United States' history is the Civil War. It was a time of fascinating social, economic and political changes in our country. It was also the golden age of facial hair in America. Check out any history book and you will find Civil War generals sporting some fantastic beards, mutton chops and more. Even more funny is the fact that modern hipsters are constantly trying to prove how unique they are, yet are totally copying their forefathers' fantastic grooming techniques. Today I introduce the Beard Club, an ongoing tribute to the facial fashions of the 1800s. These will all come from old cabinet photos from the late 1800s, with a look at the 20th century from time to time. Our first beard hero hails from Nantucket, Mass., which was apparently pretty preppy even in 1879. Enjoy.

Bonus points to anyone who can find a picture of a hipster copying our friend from Nantucket and post a link in the comments.

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! I know I was happy to have one more day off this weekend, and I think we'd be hard pressed to find many Americans who disagree. What is often forgotten, however, is the history behind Labor Day. There is quite a bit of disagreement about who first had the idea (who doesn't want to claim ownership of a free day off, right?) but I am proud to say that Oregon was the first state to declare it a state holiday in 1887, and by 1894 it was a national holiday. Here is an interesting slideshow of Labor Day facts that reveals, among other things, the likely origin of the "Don't wear white after Labor Day" concept. Labor Day Facts

So, on this day of rest for most, we should take care not to forget the men and women like this:

Who argued that they needed a day for this:

In conclusion, on this fine day off,

.