Hotel Brighton and much more

 A great number of large hotels were built along the broadwalk at Atlantic city in the late 19th century. The Hotel Brighton was one of the many hotels demolished in the 70s and 80s.

This is a postcard that I can get my teeth into. Why is it marked “Private Mailing Card” and what was the act of Congress of May 19 1898?

 The act of congress allowed postcards to be sent in the post at the lower rate of 1c instead of 2c like a letter. “Private Mailing Card” meant that the postcard was produced by a private publisher rather than the United States Postal Service. Many cards were marked “Postal Card – Carte Postale” which meant that they could enter the international system.

 Because the postcard was sent to France in 1901, the stamp is a 2c commemoration stamp,  marked “Fast Express”, worth about $2 today – if you’re lucky!

 Information about the postal system comes from the Smithsonian Institute website

Mountain View Farm

Sometimes we bid for postcards just from viewing the catalogue. It’s risky, but yesterday some cards arrived that we were very pleased with; a collection of postcards from the US. First off is a postcard of Mountain View Farm, Lee, Mass, sent in 1904. The correspondence is interesting as the writer is discussing the postcard itself:

 “I think these are just right & I am going to colour some of them charge more. Don’t you think we should get 5cts for the coloured ones? Thank you so much for giving them to us”

 I’ve tried to find the farm today but I don’t think that it exists anymore.

Here is a link to our ebay store section on postcards from the US and Canada. You can be sure that we’ll be adding more interesting postcards very soon.

The season of the Three Graces

This postcard dates before 1903 and is in very good condition. What beautiful hats, I would have liked to have worn one. Click on the image in order to see the detail of the dresses more clearly.

A village scene

Another little village somewhere in France where the boys play “saute mouton” like all children do.

Saute mouton = leap sheep better known as leap frog in English.

ExposeYourBlog !: Contests !

I’m going to be boring and post this on all of my blogs. As we approach the second birthday of ExposeYourblog!, we’ve re-launched both the surfing and referral contests. All you need to do to win credits surfing is to be amongst the top five surfers of the day. Credits awarded are based on the percentage of blogs surfed, so the more you surf the more you can win – daily and weekly! The referral contest means that you can win credits for referring more members than anyone else daily and weekly. New members must activate their account by surfing and adding their blog. To get links, go to your “Tools” page and click on “My Downline”, scroll down and you’ll find banners and links that you can use to promote ExposeYourBlog!. Or you could write a post about why you enjoy surfing on EYB! and include a link in your post – just like I have.

Don and I are really proud of the blogs on EYB! There are blogs to suit all tastes and you’ll find excellent writing, art and pictures as well as members who interact with each other. We’re building a very special blogging community and hopefully members feel as it EYB! Is being run by real people who care about their members – which is true.

As always Don and I can be contacted via a PM in the forums (don = “Admin”, to contact me “Anji”), via a support ticket or email; forumadmin@exposeyourblog.com . We’d love to hear from you, feedback and ideas are always useful.

Quimperlé

A typical Breton town, probably before the First World War.  Notice that the man is wearing traditional costume.  The shop sells hardware.  Here is more or less the same view today, the shop appears to be boarded up.

The sinking of the Hilda

The night of the 18th November 1905 was a night of snow and storms.  Conditions were so bad that the men on the Grand Jardin lighthouse didn't see or hear that the steamer, Hilda was in distress close by.  They didn't even hear when her engines exploded.

125 men died in the icy waters, they were aged between 12 and 45. There were 6 survivors.  One crewman; Mr Grinter (Greender?) and 5 Johnny Onions.  Young men from Brittany who had crossed to England in July to sell their onions door-to-door and were now returning home.  Their names were Paul-Marie Pen(n), Tanguy Laot, Olivier Caroff, Louis Rozec and Louis Mouster.

Happy Christmas

I hope that you have a Happy Christmas  and New Year.

The Blessing of the Pigs

I thought that this was a fitting follow up to a post about a dog in a Nativity scene.  The title is 'The Blessing of the Pigs (after)'.  'After' is in case you wondered why the priest was heading in the other direction. On Corsica apparently, different villages bless different animals.  Zilia is the village where the pigs are blessed.

Cognac 110 years ago

Four postcards sent in October 1901.  Kept carefully in an album and are still together, in good condition today.

This is what I like to find

A really old postcard in very good condition with a lot of detail.  The card dates before 1903 as it has a non divided back.  It's in very good condition except for the photo-corner marks at the top.  I wonder who did that!

The shop sold bonnets, lingerie, sewing accesories and perfume.  Having a look around online, I discovered that this house, which was built in the 14th century, has always been popular with photographers and I've managed to find out the name of the street it is in.  The house is still there today!

Les Compagnons

These are soldiers from the First World War who were carpenters by trade. They belonged to the Compagnons. The Compagnons still exist today. Taking on apprentices and passing on the skills which are now disappearing. If a monument is being restored you can usually find members of the compagnons working there somewhere.

I think that we forget that men were needed not only to fight, but to cook, mend, build, translate, heal and provide spiritual guidance….. Each had his own role.

Waiting in hope

If you love me openly, send me the green ribbon
If I don’t stir your heart, send me the red ribbon
If you sometimes dare, send me the pink ribbon
If you love me already, send me the blue ribbon
If you want to marry me, send me the white ribbon
If you want to admire me from afar, send me the mauve ribbon
If there is no hope for me, send me the black ribbon
But, if I win your heart, send me the yellow ribbon

I haven’t made any attempt to rhyme like the poem, but that is what the colours mean. The card was never sent, perhaps they didn't dare.

The Appy God Son

After a very interesting auction in Limoges last week, it’s time to start looking at what we bought:

The first American troops arrived in France in June 1917. They were very much appreciated as this postcard illustrated by Xavier sager (1881-1969) shows. “The New Godson” has been well and truly adopted.

If a picture could speak

This one would be able to tell us some stories I am sure. “Le banc des Vieux Loups de Mer” - The Bench of the Old Sea Dogs . Old Breton fishermen meeting up in the sunshine.

Wedding Lace

If you’ve read this blog for a while I think you’ll know that I like lace costume postcards. This is a local traditional wedding outfit. As always with most of the older photographs the details are really in focus and clear.

I imagine that mothers, grandmothers, aunts and big sisters probably started making lace for the future ‘big day’ as soon as a baby girl was born.

Alhambra Theater

We recently sold a postcard which we knew to be quite rare. Imagine our surprise one morning not long afterwards when it turned up in the local newspaper.

Chinon

I seem to be finding really interesting postcards to share everyday now. This one, from Chinon in the centre of France, was posted in September 1900. Perhaps the postcard was published before the 20th century! It’s in very good condition, considering the age of the card. In France, the back of the card was for the address only up until the autumn of 1903, so any correspondence would be on the front of the card, hence the blank space. The card is addressed to Mademoiselle Poisson – Miss Fish!

Chinon is still very much like this today and is very popular with American tourists. Here is a photograph of part of the same street.

When we were in Chinon for an auction a couple of years ago we ate at this restaurant, though we couldn’t afford to stay in the hotel. (Click on ‘photos’ to see views of Chinon and the hotel)

A little bit of history

Five pretty ladies

I know that they were probably quite uncomfortable and involved the wearing of corsets, but aren’t they beautiful? And then there are the hats…

Lucky Black Cat

This unused postcard is in incredibly good condition considering it is almost 100 years old. The cat was meant to bring good luck for the ‘Poilus’ (The *hairy ones), the French soldiers. This is strange because in France a black cat is considered unlucky. I can only think that the card was produced more for the allied troops. Hence the flags in the background.

*‘Hairy’ as in real men have hair on their chests.