November 5, 2024
Author: Ray Hahn
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Ranching In the Old West
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Dipping sheep is one of the chores performed by shepherds of the old west. Such employees were different than the cowboys who worked for ranchers. But there were times when shepherds and ranchers were literally at war over grazing rights. A set of Tuck postcards tells part of the story.
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Postcards and the Power of Suggestion
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The person who offers a suggestion to another to change their behavior never knows how his suggestion will be received. Usually people are eager to please. At other times we never know the results of our proposals. Good? Or, not? Who cares?
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And they called her “Mother-in-Law”
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Not every mother-in-law is a shrew, but those who are should be punished in some unusual way. Maybe, no chocolates on Mother’s Day would work? Any ideas? Mother-in-law postcards are so stereotypical that they border on hilarious. Here are a few of the best.
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The First Modern Presidential Campaign Event
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A day in the life of American politics – Wednesday, September 23, 1908. That was the day when one man, one newspaper, one stretch of lawn in Brook, Indiana, turned the whole of American political campaigning up-side-down. The “picnic” was announced with a postcard.
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The Grandmother Teacher and a 1934 Real Photo Postcard
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One real photo postcard held by a patient collector for more than two decades opens a story of education and how it changes the lives of many people in many ways. It also introduces you to historic personalities and demonstrates how eerie coincidence is and why it is so much fun when it happens to…
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Jefferson Randolph Smith
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If it is a history book from which we learn of our past, it is often difficult to tell the good guys from the bad. That wasn’t the case when it came to Jefferson “Soapy” Smith. Everyone who knew him thought he was a bad guy and they have written of his antics to reflect…
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Charley Glidden’s Road Tours
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Enchanting! That was the word used by one observer as a parade of cars left New York City at 3 o’clock Friday afternoon, September 8, 1911, on the annual Glidden Tour. Millions watched as the cars passed through the eleven cities itinerary before their destination in Jacksonville on September 19. Postcards recorded almost every mile.
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John Charles Maggs and Five of his Coaching Inn Paintings
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Coaching, as a means of travel, and the network of British coaching inns were combined by the 19th century artist, John Maggs into a single topic on which he built a solid art career and reputation. Within a decade of the artist’s death the English postcard publisher Hancock & Corfield marketed a set of sixteen…
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The Chalmers Motor Company
and the story of one of their cars
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The debate over how the automobile changed civilization is endless. No one knows, but there is an estimate from statistics.com that 85 million were built – worldwide – in 2022 alone and does not include the 1.45 billion cars that were traveling the world’s roads as of 2021. There probably aren’t that many postcards of…
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Dear Grams
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This letter* from “Little Larry” to his Grams, who is back home in Kentucky, assures her that he is safe, doing his duty as a good soldier, and staying true to his family values is enlightening in many ways. The personal histories of the “Greatest Generation” still tug at America’s heartstrings. * Part of a…
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The “OLE” Kentucky Bar
Daytona Beach, Florida
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Unless experience has taught you the lesson differently, genealogy is a way to learn that is unequalled in other forms of study. Starting with only a surname and then finding a complete life story of an individual is much like meeting those who have slipped the bonds of earth. Postcards are often the stimulus for…
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The Columbian Trio Concert Company
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The story of the Columbian Trio Concert Company would be long forgotten were it not for postcards. Concert events that happened more than 100 years ago and the people who performed, if they were left to the newspapers would never be a part of the social history they created. Once again postcard history carries the…
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Paris in Bloom
An Illustrated Checklist
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What do you get when you ask an artist and an illustrator team-up to make a set of postcards intended to illustrate the landmarks of Paris? One of the most beautiful sets of French postcards ever made! Alex Chinn, the illustrator and Catherine Klein, the artist are those people. Here is a checklist of their…
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Sorry To Hear Your Parakeet Died!
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Perhaps it is a wonderful thing that postcards cover so many topics. We know that postcards aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and when you read the story of how this article was titled, you’ll have a finer understanding of individual differences.
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At Midnight in Moonlight
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For the first time in history a fictional character in a dime novel introduces the world to an historical event unequalled in history and one that can never be repeated. And, an anonymous contributor emailed us a postcard with a three-word message – “Check this out!”
