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.

Upcoming Postcard Book

Hi Everyone,
Sometime soon I will start a Kickstarter project to raise funds to publish a book of photo postcards. The basic idea of the book is to showcase the lives of ordinary Americans through unique and captivating photo postcards. The working title is Voices of a New Century: Photo Postcards of Ordinary Americans 1900-1930. I am really excited about it, as I have been gathering great postcards for the book for a year now. I will keep everyone posted, but as of right now I plan to get the Kickstarter listing up and running in late November or early December. The really difficult task is deciding on a cover photo. I have narrowed it down to four possibilities and would love some feedback, ideas and suggestions.

Which photo captures your attention, and would lead you to picking up the book if you saw it?

Bike, Barn and Buick

Tortoise and the Hare

Captains of Industry

A Promising Future

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!

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,

.

Anonymity

Anonymous Violinist (1918-1930)

One of the most frustrating things about many photo postcards that you'll find if you are a collector is the relative anonymity of them. Too often you find a great postcard and wonder "Who is this?" or "Where was this photo taken?" One of the things I want to do on this blog is enlist the help of readers in identifying a few of the ones I'm stuck on. Maybe we'll even have some competitions with prizes. Sometimes, though, as in the case of this violin player, there's little hope of identification. In these cases we must be content with looking at a cool, yet anonymous, photo.

By the way, I will dedicate a future post to how I date the postcards I find. It's easy of there's a postmark, but there often isn't.

Also, I am following up on a lead tomorrow afternoon that could result in my biggest postcard acquisition yet, and I will keep you posted!

Native Alaskans

I will showcase all kinds of interesting (I hope) things on this blog that I find in my searches through garage sales, antique shops, etc. One find a couple of weeks ago are these two fantastic early 1900s photo postcards of Native Alaskans. This one is particularly cute - no need to worry about a crying baby if it's passed out! I will devote future posts to explaining different types of postcards to my readers who don't have a clue what I'm talking about. Photo postcards are my favorite.

I absolutely love this one, not just because of the confused look on the kid's face, but also because of his amazing clothing. These photos are dated 1905, so it's possible that this boy had never seen a camera before in his life. Many Americans (and Alaskans!) in rural and urban areas were just getting their first taste of what photography could capture at the turn of the 20th century. The technology wasn't new, but the fact that more average people had access to it was.