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Pure Oil Company Gas Station Postcards

VintagePostcards — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:06:07 +0000

As we weather the remnants of the Great Ice Storm of 2009 here in Kentucky and await the return of Alexander Graham Bell’s fabulous invention — the telephone — our mind began to wander to more pleasant thoughts: in our case, roadside Americana that we saw when young(er). Every summer, Dad took us on road trips to historical sites. We think we’ve seen every Civil War battlefield and every museum on the East Coast from Mystic Harbor, Connecticut on down to about the Florida state line.

Bored by battlefields, we began collecting roadside America postcards. An especially nice example which we recently acquired is this c. 1930s triple-view post card of the Pure Oil gas station and roadside motel on Route 11, five miles south of Harrisonburg, Virginia. This old postcard offers an interesting glimpse into motel rooms of the time. Spartan by today’s standards, they offered neither a radio nor a telephone. (Television wouldn’t make its motel room debut until the early 1950s.)

Pure Oil, founded in 1914 in Columbus, Ohio, began building its signature blue-roofed gas stations, based loosely upon English cottage architecture, in about 1926; more “contemporary” designs emerged in the late 1940s. Published by Marken & Bielfeld of Frederick, Maryland, this is a classic roadside America, Rockingham County or petroliana collectible in excellent condition.

See some frightful meteorology postcards and be grateful for the weather you’ve got, or visit our selection of Route 40 postcards at our website to see some more old roadside America postcards. Or, visit the world’s largest postcard bookstore.

Meteorology Postcards

VintagePostcards — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:40:36 +0000

With the temperature predicted to be a balmy 4 degrees F. on Thursday morning, our thoughts have suddenly turned to…keeping warm. We know it could be worse, and thought we’d bring you examples of how it probably could be worse where you are, too. Think positive! In the unused c. 1964 postcard above, we see the devastation along 4th Ave. in Anchorage, Alaska which was caused by the Great Alaskan Earthquake of Good Friday, 1964. Shops, bars and theaters sank from 20 to 35 feet into the ground.

Moving along from seismology, we thought about a good friend who lives in Minneapolis who’s tired of snow. Shortly before Christmas, while stuck at work on the graveyard shift, she sent us a picture of the blizzard she encountered when she ventured out to smoke a cigarette. The picture was captioned: “Merry F****** Christmas!” At least she wasn’t in Fairbanks, Alaska at the First National Bank when the bank’s thermometer displayed a temperature of minus 54 degrees in 1969. The postcard’s caption helpfully explains that “ice fog makes visibility even worse at this 2nd Ave. and Cushman location.”

So there you go, your winter weather probably could be worse. Be grateful for small favors.

Read about an early native American post card, or cheer up while viewing more Alaskan postcards at our website. Or, curl up and browse the world’s largest postcard bookstore.

An Early Cardston, Alberta Blood Indian Postcard

VintagePostcards — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:55:28 +0000

We’re delighted that this scarce 1905 private postcard is going home to Alberta, Canada. Nicely detailed and highly collectible, it shows Blood Indian Wolfchild and his wife and daughter — all dressed in First Nation, traditional clothing — posing outside their log cabin at Cardston, AB.

Sent from St. Mary’s Ranch at Cardston, sender Arthur Berry offered “Kind regards and best wishes for Xmas & the ‘New Year’ ” to a Miss Reeve, who lived at “The Stream” in Chiddingley, Sussex, England.

Read about artist-signed holiday postcards, or see more native American postcards at our website. Or, curl up and browse the world’s largest postcard bookstore.

Happy New Year from Two Vintage Postcard Artists

VintagePostcards — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:40:22 +0000

Happy New Year from VintagePostcards.org! Each year at this time, the world is full of hope and promise, that things can and will be better in the New Year. And that’s our wish for you — that your New Year is the best and brightest you’ve ever had.

In the spirit of things, here’s a scarce 1904 artist-signed Gertrud Caspari postcard celebrating the New Year’s holiday. Four children stroll past a castle while bearing a heart, food, money and flowers. Caspari was the most important childrens’s book illustrator of the time in Germany, and was known for her use of the bright, elementary colors seen in this graphically sophisticated composition. It bears a 1903 Dresden postmark and is in excellent condition.

Basically, the earlier the date of the New Year’s postcard, the more valuable it is. Dates after about 1906 are relatively common. You can learn more about Caspari on our reference page about postcard artists.

A graphically striking 1910 New Year’s postcard, artist-signed by H. B. Griggs, shows a toddler with a quill pen writing in a book about the noble aspirations and resolutions that we all have this time of year. Nicely rendered, this postcard was published by Lubrie & Elkins, Series No. 2266, and is in excellent condition.

Read another post about winter holidays, see more holiday postcards, or curl up and browse the world’s largest postcard bookstore.

Welcome Winter, with Children Sledding

VintagePostcards — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 04:11:12 +0000

Although winter doesn’t officially start until December 22, it’s been abnormally chilly here, with snow flurries and temperatures down to about 15 degrees F. As we sipped hot chocolate, we were reminded of the glee we felt when young and faced with new-fallen snow. A blank canvas upon which to busily build forts, create snowmen, and go sledding. The children in this artist-signed H. B. Griggs postcard remind us of those times.

This Griggs postcard has outstanding graphics and a striking composition. It dates to 1907-1915. Colorful, nicely embossed and gilded, it was from Griggs’ Christmas Series No. 2264 for the Leubrie & Elkus postcard publishing company. Griggs postcards are sometimes signed with the initials H. B. G. Herbert Griggs designed at least 350 holiday postcards.

See another fanciful Christmas postcard, or see more holiday postcards at our website. Or, curl up and browse the world’s largest postcard bookstore.

Happy Thanksgiving from Lady Liberty

VintagePostcards — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:40:52 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Here’s a noteworthy 1908 Thanksgiving greetings postcard of a patriotic Lady Liberty, clad in a flag costume and perhaps shepherding two turkeys to their ultimate fate! Gilded, embossed and in excellent condition, this one was a keeper, and flew off the shelves.

Read about a fanciful Halloween postcard, or see more holiday postcards at our website. Browse the world’s largest postcard bookstore.

Pennsylvania Photography Studios Documented with Real-Photo Postcards

VintagePostcards — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:24:16 +0000

Postcards from named photography studios are somewhat uncommon, and we’ve got a trio of real-photo postcards to show you which were taken in early 20th century Pennsylvania photography studios. A c. 1904 to 1920s Cyko real-photo postcard depicting four young gentlemen was taken by a photographer named Lee whose studio was in Danville, Pennsylvania. A penciled notation on the reverse indicates that H. Lee Goyne was at left rear; the name “Sobey” is also written on the reverse. Such little gems are sometimes overlooked, but do document local businesses: in this case a Montour County, PA photography studio.

An unused Azo Square c. 1924 real-photo postcard of two ladies posing in an early car prop was taken in Pittsburgh, PA by the Colonial Studio, which was at 137 Sixth St.

Two sweet young York County girls in their finest, one with a bow as big as her head, pose for the camera in this charming c. 1904-1918 unused Azo Tri 1 real-photo postcard. The toddler in the chair has an almost porcelain doll appearance. The photograph was taken at the Penn Park Studio, which was at 25-29 W. College Ave. in York, PA, “near the York High School,” as the postcard describes it. All three of these postcards document Pennsylvania photographic history, in their own charming way.

Read more about determining locations of real-photo postcards. See some photography or real-photo postcards at our website. We also offer the world’s largest selection of postcard books.

Uncle Sam Wishes You a Patriotic Merry Christmas

VintagePostcards — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:16:06 +0000

There’s finally a chill in the air and Christmas is closer than we think. (We know, you didn’t want to hear that!) As an early Christmas present, we thought we’d share this unusual Christmas postcard. With striking graphics, this out-of-the-ordinary 1910 postcard shows a patriotic Uncle Sam wishing us a Merry Christmas holiday. It was published by Arthur Horwitz, and is in very good condition. We’ll be showcasing more holiday postcards over the coming weeks.

See some ice skating postcards, or view more Christmas postcards at our website. We also offer the world’s largest selection of postcard books.

Determining Locations of Real-Photo Postcards: Wadesville, VA

VintagePostcards — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:37:40 +0000

Sometimes, when location information isn’t inscribed into the negative of a real-photo postcard, the location can still be determined — or at least narrowed down — with information found on the back of the postcard. In this instance, there’s a penciled notation reading “Wadesville, Virginia” on the back of the unused c. 1904-1918 Azo Tri 1 real-photo postcard showing Opequon Creek bridge construction.

However, there’s also an Opequon Creek bridge in nearby Berkeley County, West Virginia. Based on our online research, we believe this postcard shows the Opequon bridge in Clarke County, Virginia. If you think this is actually the West Virginia bridge over Opequon Creek, let us know. While research into “mystery postcards” is fun, sometimes, only local collectors have the knowledge base required to recognize a local landmark which has inevitably changed over time. Postmarks are also helpful, especially if a postcard contains text referencing specific locations.

Read more about documenting postcards with Internet research, or see many more real-photo postcards at our website. We also offer the world’s largest selection of postcard books.

A Fanciful Halloween Postcard

VintagePostcards — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:02:04 +0000

Halloween is our favorite holiday — everyone gets to be a child again. Halloween postcards are among the most popular of all collectible postcards, in part because of their fanciful nature. This c. 1907-1915 example has splendid graphics, depicting a young boy holding a jack o’lantern, as its smoke produces a witch on a broom with long, flowing brown hair. An owl sits to the right. Profusely gilded and embossed and with deep, rich colors, this is a fine example of a Halloween fantasy postcard. Happy Halloween!

Read more about Halloween postcards, or see more Halloween postcards at our website. We also offer the world’s largest selection of postcard books.