Vintage Postcards: Postcard Blog » black history

An Outsider Art Black Americana Postcard

VintagePostcards — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:06:25 +0000

For collectors of black Americana vintage postcards, it doesn’t get much better than this! Collectibles which depict every-day life in the black community are scarce, and this old black history postcard shows the proud owner of a 1952 Pontiac, which he has decorated in a folk art, or outsider art, manner. This great image was made in 1973 at a Gulf gas station in Houston, TX and is in near-mint condition. It has cross-appeal to the roadside America, or roadside Americana, collector and is also an interesting petroliana collectible.

Read another post about roadside America collectibles, or browse the selection of black Americana or gas station postcards at our website.

The Civil Rights Movement in Vintage Postcards

VintagePostcards — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 19:22:25 +0000

The great graphics in this unused c. 1930s to 1940s vintage postcard of the Art Deco-style Greyhound bus station in Jackson, Mississippi don’t give a hint of the building’s importance to the Civil Rights movement. Bus travel was often one of the few reliable means of travel for black Americans prior to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Travel by car through Southern states, in particular, could be dangerous, and the number of motels accepting black travelers was, frankly, unpredictable. Often, weary travelers rode the bus: it was economical, and they could sleep on the bus. In fact, this Jackson, MS bus stop was nicknamed the “Jackson Hilton.”

This Greyhound bus depot also played a role in black history: it was the destination of the second Freedom Riders’ bus on 24 May 1961. After their arrival, hundreds of civil rights demonstrators were detained in animal pens at the State Fairgrounds. The post card has ““cross-over” appeal to collectors of black Americana, roadside Americana and Hinds County material.

The bus station was also noteworthy for its streamlined Art Deco appearance. The blue glass on it was Vitrolite, a type of structural glass often used decoratively on the façades of Art Deco and Art Moderne buildings for its bold impression. It was last manufactured in 1947. Unlike terra cotta, which had been used experimentally and primarily for ornamentation in earlier 20th c. architecture, Vitrolite didn’t warp or swell and wasn’t prone to fading or staining. Impervious to moisture and easily cleaned with a damp cloth, it made streetside maintenance easy. In other words, it was perfect for a building which received heavy traffic, like the bus station. Vitrolite could also be brilliantly colored, as seen here.

You can see more antique postcards and black Americana on our website.

Learn about collectible black Americana trade cards, which offer insights into American social history.

Using the Internet to Document Postcards

VintagePostcards — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:10:50 +0000

When documenting antique postcards, it’s important not to overlook the Internet and its many resources. An example of successful use of this resource occurred recently when we documented a vintage postcard with unusual subject matter with which we were not very familiar: the German Imperial Army and, specifically, the role of black soldiers from Africa in it. All we had to go on when we started was that the old postcard was postmarked in 1914 in Potsdam, Germany.

As the story unfolded as we followed Internet links regarding Kaiser Wilhelm’s Army, we learned that this black soldier was one of only about six African soldiers serving in the German Imperial Army who were well documented in vintage postcard form, excluding real-photo postcard (RPPC) battle scenes. Ben Aisse, one of the lesser known of the six black soldiers, was a handsome Moroccan whose full name was Ben Aisse Miloud Ould Allal. In this scarce military postcard with great graphics, he poses proudly as the standard bearer of the 1st Guard Regiment in the Kaiser’s Army. Born in Zellara-Oudja, Morocco, Aisse was spotted by the Kaiser on a visit to Tangiers in 1905. Aisse, then 18, led the Kaiser part of the way through the city on horseback, impressing the Kaiser. It’s said that the Kaiser was also impressed by Aisse’s height of 6 feet, 2 inches.

In 1906, the Kaiser invited Aisse to Potsdam. Upon a return visit to Potsdam in 1907, Aisse enrolled in the 1. Garde Regiment zu Fuss (First Guard Regiment on foot) as a standard bearer, as seen above in the nicely detailed German postcard, which has excellent contrast and great clarity. By 1913, he was an NCO in this famous regiment. While he stayed back with the replacement battalion of his regiment with the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he later joined the Asienkorps (Asian Corps) and served on the Palestinian front in 1917-18. He returned to his regiment’s depot in December 1918, was demobilized in 1919, and then returned home to Tangiers, having served 12 years in the Kaiser’s Army. This is the last we hear of Aisse.

See more great vintage postcards at VintagePostcards.org

Learn more about paper conservation, and how to protect your old postcards and photographs.

Decoration Day and Memorial Day Postcards

VintagePostcards — Tue, 22 May 2007 17:17:48 +0000

With the Memorial Day holiday coming up this weekend, we thought we’d explore how this holiday has evolved in vintage postcards. The changes may surprise you.

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, as the embossed patriotic postcard above shows, and was intended to remember Union troops who died in the Civil War. It fittingly began as a black history celebration, with the first impromptu Decoration Day observed in 1865 by liberated slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, at a site which had been both a Confederate prison camp and a mass grave for Union soldiers who died in captivity. Thousands of emancipated blacks and Union soldiers marched in a parade which was followed by rousing patriotic songs and a picnic. However, Waterloo, New York gets the credit as the official birthplace of Memorial Day, because the village formally observed the holiday on 5 May 1866.

Major General John A. Logan helped popularize what was then known as “Decoration Day.” On 5 May 5 1868, while commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic a veterans’ organization, he issued a proclamation calling for nationwide observance of Decoration Day; the first national observance occurred that year on 30 May, a date chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any battle. Publishers such as Raphael Tuck created Decoration Day postcards and artists such as Ellen Clapsaddle, working for the International Art Publishing Co., created dramatic patriotic compositions. Tuck also published a series of much scarcer Confederate Memorial Day postcards; the South, unwilling for years to participate in a holiday honoring Union dead, didn’t adopt Memorial Day celebrations for the most part until after World War I, as Memorial Day began to take on a larger meaning commemorating all war dead. The above c. 1907-1915 postcard, which has a Winsch back, is from Decoration Day Series No. 3.

The alternative Memorial Day name, first used in 1882, didn’t become more common until after World War II. It wasn’t until 1967 that it was declared the holiday’s official name by Federal law. This colorful c. 1907-1915 Memorial Day postcard incorporates numerous patriotic elements including the U.S. Capitol, flag motifs, a Union soldier beating a drum which bears part of the Pledge of Allegiance, and laurel wreaths which, since ancient Greek times, have signified victory. Have a Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Browse the Decoration Day postcards at our website.

Read about another forgotten holiday and see Washington’s Birthday postcards.