Postcard Mystery - Asia

Every time I get a new batch of postcards, I learn something new through the research I do to identify them. Sometimes, especially with foreign cards, I have a tough time with this. Google translate is a great tool, but when it comes to Asian languages that use different alphabets and characters, I have a very hard time. So, I am posting pictures of some new cards I got, in the hope that someone will be able to tell me:

1. What country these cards are from.
2. When they were sent.
3. What they say.

If anyone knows of anyone who reads Chinese or Japanese, your help would be greatly appreciated!
PS - I apologize if the photos are upside down!

He's A Lumberjack and He's OK

I recently snagged this great photo postcard of a pair of lumberjacks, dating from around 1920 I would guess. Postcards showing people in their occupational clothing are not very unusual, and it's not particularly hard to find images of train conductors, police, etc. I like the confident look that these two have, they seem pretty self-assured.

Geronimo!

I found this fantastic photo postcard of Geronimo the other day. It was one of those lucky finds that doesn't come along often. The hunt is half the fun for me, so I get a rush when I find an unusual or rare card at an affordable price. I also got the first printed postcard reproduction for my book in the mail on Friday, so I will be posting a Kickstarter video update soon for those that contributed to show it off! I am hoping to get the book rolled out in March, but it might be April before it's done.

Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup

You just have to laugh when you read some of the health claims made by most of the elixirs, tonics and remedies sold in the 1800s. They promised weight loss, beauty, and unrealistic health benefits with no real consequences. For the most part, they got away with this because of very lax government regulation of food and drugs. It wasn't until Upton Sinclair's muckraking expose The Jungle, written in 1906, that the government felt pressured to create more stringent regulations. The Pure Foods Act passed in 1906, and became the Food and Drug Administration in the 1930s. The reign of the snake oil salesman was over. We can still get a chuckle out of these product advertisements from the 1800s though. Here is a trade card for Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, sure to cure your baby's teething pain. Do we really want to know what was in it? I'll bet it was flammable!

Train Crew

I love real photo postcards of people at work. These photos are such a raw glimpse into how people made their living in the early 1900s. Granted, many of the photos are posed, but it is still easy to imagine these men maintaining the trains in the yard in Minnesota.

Anthropomorphic

One of the many collectible categories of paper ephemera is anthropomorphics. Commonly known as personification, this term refers to attributing human characteristics to non-human things, such as animals, gods, or even the weather. This was very popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and continues to be used frequently in political cartoons today. Almost everyone recognizes the anthropomorphic elephant and donkey of the Republicans and Democrats. Here are a few fun examples, but there are a lot more where these came from.

This is a fairly rare and unusual postcard. I believe there were 4 or 5 in this series, with different somewhat creepy personified ornaments.

Victorian trade cards frequently used anthropomorphic characters.

Not sure what a dapper mouse has to do with thread, but these cards rarely had much to do with the product they advertised.

Portland Men

These guys aren't messing around...they mean business.

One of my goals for 2013 is to put some quality time into Artful Geographic. My photo postcard book should be published by April, and with it will come a number of new products to renew the e-shelves in my Etsy store! Look for some new postcards and cards starting in May. In the meantime, I will try to get back to posting more regularly. Happy 2013!