Once upon a time, Chicago decided to retool the Loop. State Street, in those days a bustling shopping district, was redesigned with bigger sidewalks and smaller streets. Motor vehicles were banned except for cabs and buses, and the whole area was renamed the “State Street That Great Street Mall”. Vast sidewalks would give peopleContinue reading “That Bustling Throng”
Author Archives: uncleblogsy
FUZZ ORDAINED: Air Academics
Arthur Braling was less prepossessing in the world of primary colors, but so many things are. He was not without a certain charm, red curls combed high above a bright, eager face. He wore a red necktie over a white shirt, not because Mershon College had any rules about this, but because he happened toContinue reading “FUZZ ORDAINED: Air Academics”
On My Summer Vacation I….
The unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day, has come and gone, despite the fact that June is not quite here yet, and the vacation season is upon us. Vacations became a major subject with postcard artists around mid-century, when postcards stopped being everyday communication ad became brief messages from far away (postage went up,Continue reading “On My Summer Vacation I….”
Mouths of Babes
We have discussed hereintofore the ways in which postcards were the texts of their generation: a quick message (which, in some areas, allowed a person to send a message in the morning, get an answer before lunch, and reply by sunset). We have also discussed how the characters on the card could speak forContinue reading “Mouths of Babes”
FUZZ ORDAINED: The Angel and the Phronik
Unfirom blinked. He could still see the survey crew, and the park. Now, though, there were new colors, paler shades of the real greens and blues he’d seen a moment ago. This alternate August N. Griese park always bothered his eyes. It was out of focus. The grey-haired human costume had vanished, returningContinue reading “FUZZ ORDAINED: The Angel and the Phronik”
Why Is She There?
The postcard shown here came into inventory with a number of other World War II postcards, and it attracted my attention for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, where a pilot might encounter a cavalryman trying to execute a jumpy, why the pilot is wearing a parachute (unless he’s going toContinue reading “Why Is She There?”
Scurvy Rapscallions
A jolly collection which came into inventory here in Blogsytown is about one fifth of a set of Corsaires. These are colorful portraits of freebooters and privateers (I don’t see ANYOE using the word “pirates”) from Dominique Leroy here–a captain also known as the Pistol Corsair, who was captain of the Foudroyant (Lightning)—to ship’sContinue reading “Scurvy Rapscallions”
Fuzz Ordained: Chapter One
Cool dawn found the park in the possession of those people too busy to use it at any other time. Two men in their sixties and one in his forties were making their way around the track in pursuit of their health, none paying much attention to the woman of indeterminate age whose shortsContinue reading “Fuzz Ordained: Chapter One”
Who What Where Game
Those of you who have been paying attention (both of you) will recall my constant wailing about the Real Photo Postcards (rppcs) and found photos which leave us mystified because no one, back in the day, bothered to write anything on the back. Details which might have fleshed out the story of the placesContinue reading “Who What Where Game”
Fairy Tales & Such
Folklore has been passed on in many ways throughout the years, from Grandma’s tales to the Interwebs. By “folklore” I mean to suggest any sort of knowledge passed on outside of classroom, from stories of Jack and his adventures with princesses and/or giants to that limerick about the Young Lady from Ryan. Such informationContinue reading “Fairy Tales & Such”