No, thank you for asking, we have not quite covered every aspect of alcohol as examined in the postcards of yesteryear. Our relationship with the juice of the barley is complex. The traditions brought by European immigrants were divided along a north-south boundary between southern cultures from warm climates, who drank to loosenContinue reading “By Two and Two”
Tag Archives: Postcards
You Didn’t Say When
See, this guy walks out of a bar…. The joke must be as old as the tavern: as long as there have been establishments outside the home where alcohol was served, stories have told of the epic journey to return home with diminished skills of judgement and navigation. When we finally decipher theContinue reading “You Didn’t Say When”
Dad Chores
Father’s Day was not much of an occasion among postcard publishers. It started to be celebrated in the United States around 1910, which was right in the first Golden Age for postcards, but as a holiday it took a long while to catch on. Predictably, like Mother’s Day, it didn’t really get a footholdContinue reading “Dad Chores”
Can You She the Point?
I have come to you before with postcards which have puzzled me, and so far no one has cared enough to present me with any possible explanations. This time around, I thought I would offer a few ladies with mysterious ways, and hope their winsome smiles might tempt you to help me with myContinue reading “Can You She the Point?”
Rocking the Album
Once upon a bygone century, any Victorian home above a certain level of prosperity possessed a parlor. The parlor served as a place to entertain guests, and was sometimes completely locked away from the rest of the family on non-guest days. The parlor was not just a spot for entertainment and refreshment, see: itContinue reading “Rocking the Album”
Who Brings Baby Storks?
This sort of thing used to depress me no end. Selling unused baby books was sometimes entertaining, as one glanced at the sorts of things the publisher thought you would want to record forever, plus the odd illustrations they added to the pages. Those that were filled in, however, were depressing. Was no oneContinue reading “Who Brings Baby Storks?”
Well Plaid
Artist Frederick J. Cavally did a magnificent set of ethnic stereotype postcards in 1910 or thereabouts. He seemed to like doing faces—a number of his non-ethnic postcards feature a large funny portrait with a message—but this really exercised his talents. Each ethnic group was portrayed in two cards, one a male portrait and oneContinue reading “Well Plaid”
Write On, Brothers!
Once upon a time, tuna fritters, when “social media” was that fence you leaned over to gossip with the neighbors, people had to think of reasons to get together and discuss mutual concerns. Some of these grew out of the guilds, or professional associations of their time, some of these sprang up in theContinue reading “Write On, Brothers!”
Wordy of Consideration
I have mentioned, hereintofore, that the postcard was the text message of the day, something quick and brief, which one could expect to get answered almost at once. Yet, in another way, the postcard was that era’s Instagram post or Tik-Took video, because it included a picture, and that picture, as we are oftenContinue reading “Wordy of Consideration”
Marbled Rye
This postcard, from 1906 or thereabouts, was a bit of a puzzle to me. We were taught this basic song in grade school, and though I knew they seldom bothered to teach us all the verses of folk songs (except The Fox Went Out On a Chilly Night, since there’s a story to follow.)Continue reading “Marbled Rye”
