November 11th

This blog especially lends itself to a special post of remembrance. Over the last few years I’ve read a lot of postcards written at the front. Boys writing home – some of them could barely write. Men writing to their wives and children. Some in a hurry some with time on their hands….

Some postcards of World War One

British soldiers resting

Les Chausseurs Alpins, French soldiers with special knowledge of the Alps. Thousands were killed in avalanches as well as battle.

Wounded English soldiers

Masses were held at the front too

And to finish; a few lines from Wilfred Owen. Killed a few days before the Armistice, he was 25 years old. A verse from ‘The dread of falling into nought’

My power of life, though youthful, also sinks;
Before my time I bear a hoary head;
And chill airs strike my brow, that blow, methinks,
Straight from the icy cavern of the dead.
Night darkens round; my day shall know no afternoon.

Other posts on World War One.

Before the fire

We managed to acquire some very rare, old postcards of the Réunion Islands. The cards are all in very poor condition, but still very collectable.

Here’s one of them. People are leaving church after Mess. The church burnt down in 1905 and the postcard says that the picture was taken before the fire. It’s interesting to see that the card was written on February 16th 1905! There was also a cyclone on the island during the early years of the 20th century.

A link to the Réunion department of our store.

Villemomble

These two postcards are here simply because I love the name of the town where they come from; Villemomble. The cards were sent on 1903. Today the town is in the suburbs of Paris.

New York

This postcard dates between 1913 when the Woolworth Building was built and 1931, the year that the Empire State Building was completed. The Singer building was demolished in 1967

“ The red building is the old Singer Building which used to be the tallest in the world. The white one to the right of course is the Woolworth building which now is the tallest. The street is the lower end of Broadway. The upper end of Bway is where all the theatres are concentrated.”

Flowers

I found this bouquet of flowers to cheer up an October evening

Calvary at Plougastel

A photograph if this Calvary recently appeared on another blog . A few days later I came across the postcard in our collection. I thought I’d post it here as it is an interesting subject. As usual the local children have wriggled themselves into the photograph.

Here is a link to Caroline’s photos where you can see the top of the cross in more detail. She tells me that it is made of granite!

A collector of postcards

We’ve recently acquired some postcards from a collection which are in very poor state. Many of the cards are falling apart, have been nibbled by insects or have foxing (rust stains). The postcards were collected by a young woman from around 1902 onwards. She posted an announcement in “Le Petit Echo de la Mode” (magazine founded in 1880) looking for people willing to exchange postcards with her. This is what makes her cards so special, even though they are in such bad condition. The cards that she received were carefully selected by other collectors. A lot of them are unusual and rare. Not your usual tourist cards at all.



This card from Calais is interesting because it is a photograph of the shop run by the photographer himself. If that his family in the doorway?

Peacock Lady

This card raised the question of copyright. We were contacted by a French author of historic novels who wanted to use the image as an illustration for one of her books. We don’t own the copyright and as long as the publisher is long dead and gone there is no problem. We sent her a scan of the card and she wrote back saying that she might use the image and if she did my name would be mentioned. Fame at last!

Gruss aus Feldkirch

An Austrian card for a change. From the town of Feldkirch. I love the way that this card has been decorated and coloured. It’s also in excellent condition considering it’s over 107 years old. Click on the image to see it in better detail.

A view of La Rochelle

All you have to do is substitute the horses and carts for cars and you would see that nothing has changed over the last 100 years. The shops are very different though, most of them today are bars or (real)estate agents.

Destination Cannes

Even 107 years ago Cannes was a destination to dream of. It became popular in the 19th century thanks to a British Statesman, Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux. Here you see the railway station complete with steam train.

Since 1946 Cannes is especially well known for the Cannes Film Festival.

Sun’s Talisman Card

I was sure that I’d be able to find something out about this card which was produced during the First World war. No information at all. I managed to find out that the flag in the top right hand corner represents the Russian Empire. There is the French flag and the Belgian flag. The flag in the bottom left hand corner is a mystery.

Protect the one I love
You who produce the great miracles of nature
You who all religions bow down before
You who see the dear soldier that I cannot see
You who all believe in when the thunder roars.

The writer talks of the end of the war coming soon... in February 1918 there were 9 more months to wait.

Traditional bonnet

I couldn’t let this little girl go without including her in my collection here. If she were alive today she would be over 100 years old. She’s showing off her bonnet for a series of postcards on local headdresses from Brittany. All through France women and girls from every town and region would have been proud to show off their traditional clothes

Making up

I love this costume card. The colours are just right and I like to see the costumes that people wore in the different regions of France a hundred years ago. This one is entitled “Peace is made”. Well, the husband looks pleased with himself at least…

The rest I can’t translate as it is in ‘patois’ – the ‘dialect’ of the region.

A musical Sunday...

...long ago in Toulon in the South of France. This postcard reminded me of the paintings by the English painter, LS Lowry.

Maison Rouff

A very old postcard, not at all in good condition, but with a wealth of information after a ltttle research. The ladies are standing in front of the French fashion house, Maison Rouff. Beautifully made clothes and soft furnishings from this store are now sought after collectables. César Ritz chose Rouff for table cloths etc. when he opened his first hotels.

I have no idea why the ladies were showing off their lovely parasols like that. Click on the image to get a more detailed view of their clothes.

Up to the top

These Swiss climbers, making their way to the top of a sérac in 1902 reminded me of a poem:

How to Tell the Top of a Hill
(John Ciardi)

The top of a hill
Is not until
The bottom is below.
And you have to stop
When you reach the top
For there's not more UP to go.
To make it plain
Let me explain:
The one most reason why
You have to stop
When you reach the top - is:
The next step up is sky.

Serenity

Another card from Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. This lady is from the Caucasus. I’ve been trying to find out where by searching for the lace in the internet. No luck so far.

Three sisters

A very special card all of the way from Russia in 1906. This card reminds me so much of myself with my sisters. I’m the one pretending to be interested in the grass growing on the left hand side.

Dom’s young man used to live in Russia so he came in useful in translating and research. The red cross is the symbol used by the Saint Evgueni Community, St Petersbourg who published the card. And others too. Here are a few of them.

If you visit the website, click on the images and you will enjoy the cards larger than life.

A poem lovely as a tree

TREES
by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Need I add more?

Until recently the cedar tree was a famous meeting place in the Jardins de la Fontaine, in Nimes. Unfortunately the bad weather this winter has taken its toll… Here are some more pictures of what was left of the tree at the end of March 2010.