August 27, 2026
Author: Bill Burton
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News and Noteworthy 2/21/2024
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The folks at Highlandtown Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland’s Highlandtown Arts District have found an interesting way to use extra copies of their promotional postcards from the last 10 years by stitching them together into a unique ballroom gown. Seems difficult if not impossible to achieve? There’s proof in this video, courtesy of the galley. (And…
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The Cake Walk
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In modern times, if a prize is the award for the best performance in a show, the winner would certainly be surprised to learn that his prize is a cake. That was not always the case. On the slave plantations in the early 19th century, a cake was often the prize. Cake was a rarity…
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Maryknoll
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Maryknollers are members of an American and Catholic missionary society founded in the early 20th century. They are dedicated to missionary service. Maryknollers have a long and storied history of promoting peace and understanding. Postcards help tell their story.
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N&N Spanish postcards
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We missed a terrific exhibition of 19th- and 20th-century Spanish postcards in 2016 and 2017 at the University of Murcha and the “Ramón Alonso Luzzy” Cultural Center in Cartagena, Spain. Happily for us, the cards exhibited there have been made available on a website titled “Illustrated Postcards and Education (Spain, 19th-20th Centuries.” Not that everything…
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The Bermuda Onion
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Once upon a time Bermuda onions really came from Bermuda. Who knew? Why didn’t you tell us? It’s true, onions were imported to America by the boatload. Nowadays, the onions you buy at the grocery store are probably from Texas. Most Americans care little where their food is grown, but if you do, the place…
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Oscar Mayer and the Wienermobile
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“Oh, I’d love to be an Oscar Mayer wiener.” Even if you don’t like hot dogs, you know Oscar Mayer and you certainly remember singing the jingle as a kid. For certain, you have eaten a meat product produced in one of their packing plants. Fire up the grill and eat a hot dog as…
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The Witch of Wall Street
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They don’t say it anymore, but once it was common knowledge that “Wall Street was no place for women.” But, when Hetty Green came along in the 1890s, with money to invest, and wasn’t shy about forcing her financial influence on the men, they called her the Witch of Wall Street.
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Workers at Work
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Worker at work postcards help us remember what life was like for our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. These cards hardly scratch the surface. Watch for more. And keep working, it’s good for you!
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Theodore Roosevelt vs. Joseph Pulitzer
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With politics clashing so often with law and common sense these days, it is certainly not surprising to learn that there really is nothing new under the sun. The history lesson about a president and legal conflict will sound, oh, so familiar.
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A History of Horn & Hardart
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In the days when shopping, theater, and sight-seeing visits to a “big-city” were planned adventures and your destination was Philadelphia or New York, lunch at the Automat was a “must.” Travelers from across the landscape enjoyed the opportunity to buy their lunch with nickels. Horn and Hardart made lunch cheap and fun!
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The Tome School
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Jacob Tome has been forgotten by all except the historians in northeast Maryland. He died more than a century ago but his legacy – The Tome Institute for Boys – made it possible for young men to prepare themselves for very successful lives. Postcards help tell the story of this Port Deposit, Maryland, philanthropist.
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“Armed Freedom”
on the Capitol Dome4 Comments
A statue of “Armed Freedom” watches over Washington, our nation’s capital city, from a very advantaged place – the very top of the Capitol’s Dome. Look for her the next time you’re in town or better, look for the postcards; there are many.
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John Brown’s Body
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In History, Legend, and Song, John Brown is remembered as an abolitionist willing to die for a cause. His story is told with postcards from all eras.
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The Man Who Was Rip Van Winkle
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The love of Rip Van Winkle is great, and Joseph Jefferson is the reason. Jefferson wrote a three-act play based on the 19th century tale. He also acted in his play.
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Babe Ruth in Japan
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Babe Ruth’s 1934 goodwill tour of Japan became one of the most extraordinary cultural moments of his career. Cheered by massive crowds and treated like visiting royalty, Ruth’s presence transcended everything. His home runs, charm, and life persona left an imprint Japan still remembers.
