Postcard #38: Syracuse University

Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York

Crouse College, School of Management. The Dome Athletic Center, Sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, and the School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Photos by John Penrod

Postmarked: April 9, 2013 from Syracuse, New York

Postcard #35: Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial
Architect Henry Bacon designed the Lincoln Memorial in the style of the Doric temples of ancient Greece. Surrounded by 36 columns, symbolizing the number of states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death, the memorial houses the 19-foot sculpture of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French. National Mall & Memorial Parks, part of the National Park Service

Photo by Carol Highsmith
(c) Eastern National

Sent to me and Ari from our good friend Adaline, who was vacationing in Washington DC

Sent: March 25, 2013 from Washington DC

Postcard #29: Virginia Sate Flower

Virginia
Dogwood - State Flower

The American dogwood is well distributed throughout the Commonwealth, and its beauty is symbolic of the many attractive features of Virginia, thus it was chosen as the official state flower. The dogwood blooms in early spring and its blossom as a tiny cluster of flowers surrounded by four white leaves that look like petals. No tree says "Southern" better than the flowering dogwood.

Photo: Pat & Chuck Blackley

Postmarked: April 11, 2013 in USA

1970s Fashion Catalog #1

This month will be dedicated to a collection of vintage reprint postcards, of fashion catalog models from 1970s

Mark Tansey Collection #5: Doubting Thomas

Doubting Thomas
Oil on Canvas, 65 x 54 in

Mark Tansey Collection #4: The Key

The Key
Oil on Canvas, 60 x 48 in

Mark Tansey Collection #3: Triumph over Mastery II

Triumph over Mastery II
Oil on Canvas, 98 x 68 in

Mark Tansey Collection #2: Lost Watch

Lost Watch
Oil on Canvas, 84 x 64 in

Mark Tansey Collection #1: The Enunciation

The next 5 posts will be dedicated to the Mark Tansey Collection
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The Enunciation
Oil on Canvas, 84 x 64 in
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Charity Collection #11

Alaska's Quiet Beauty
Joycelyn Stahl
Oil painting

A painting of Alaska in the spring time.

Sent to Finland to a nature lover.

Charity Collection #9

The Steal
Kenneth Beierle
Oil Painting

Postcard #23: Autumn Creatures

Caption: Autumn Creatures
Robert Schaap
Photography

This postcard is like two pieces combined into one.

The photographer created a sort of obscure imaginary insect using mirrored photography and natural branches for the skeleton. The beautiful gold and orange foliage then filled in the rest, leaving each viewer to his or her own imagination.

Very clever indeed.

Postcard #7: Elvis Presley

Caption: Elvis Presley, Tupelo, Mississippi, 1956
Photograph: Roger Marshutz

Even thought this iconic picture of Elvis was taken in Mississippi, the postcard was actually purchased at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

For those of you who have never been to the Hall of Fame, I highly recommend it; I am by no means an expert in Rock & Roll - frankly, I'm not that much of an expert in any type of American classics - but I still enjoyed it immensely. They had a diverse enough genres of music - from Gospels, R&B, to Heavy Metal, and some stuff that I didn't even think would be featured - that I knew more names than I thought I would. It's pretty fun to just walk through all the memorabilia, or sit and listen to all the biggest hits from the biggest stars. If you're into American music at all, it's worth going to.

Postcard #6: Black Bear Cub

Caption: Black Bear Cub (Ursus americanna)
Weighing about a half pound at birth, Black Bear Cubs usually arrive in early February while the female is denning up against the winter cold. The tiny naked newborn cuddle against their mother for warmth and to nurse. Mother bears are fiercely protective of their cubs and will fight to the death to protect them.
Photographer: Michael H. Francis
Postmarked: June 9, 2010

I received this postcard from my good friend Yancy when she visited Yellowstone National Park. Even in the summer (June), she mentioned that the park is quite cold. Though sightings of wildlife made it worthwhile - she reported having seen bisons, bears, deers, elks, etc etc. When I went to Yellowstone - granted it was quite a few years before Yancy - I definitely didn't see as much wildlife. I did remember the cold; I also saw the good Old Faithful geyser.

I did manage to see a very angry bison; my father and I actually got an extremely clear head-shot of it before it started chasing us. The two of us half-jumped and half-slid down this slope (it seemed more like a cliff at the time...), and luckily it didn't follow. I'm still unsure what exactly we were thinking...

Postcard #5: Lake Havasu City - London Bridge

Caption: Located along the eastern shore of the Colorado River, the London Bridge has been a fixture of Southerwestern life since 1971, when it was moved from London, England to Lake Havasu CIty, Arizona
Photo: Steve Gibson

This is an old postcard I found in my travel collection - I don't remember exactly when I visited Arizona, but it was a good many years ago. I will tentatively say that it was during a roadtrip where I visited Grand Canyon and part of Yellowstone.

Did you know there was a "London Bridge" in Arizona? I definitely forgot until now. (Actually, that's probably why I bought it...)

Postcard #1: Chicago - The Windy City

Caption: Chicago's Water Tower shines brightly surrounded by a blanket of new-fallen snow
Photo: D. Maenza

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new blog!

For my first post I would like to pay homage to this city that's close to my current home: It's about a 3-hour drive from where I live, but I like driving so I don't mind frequent visits. My favorite Chicago thing to do is probably the Field Museum (I suspect I will upload some Field Museum postcards in the future). My mandatory routine, however, is Santoka ramen at Mitsuwa Market in Arlington, and then cupcakes at Molly's Cupcakes. I am convinced that Molly's Cupcakes are the best cupcakes in the world, but my boyfriend will probably beg to differ.

This is also the first postcard I'm sending through Postcrossing - It is going to Belarus! A bit about Postcrossing: It's a project that lets you send a postcard so you can receive a postcard back from someone somewhere in the world. I'm extremely excited - I suspect that postcrossing will provide me with ample material (both postcards and stamps!) to blog about.

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Since this is my first post, I'm inserting a little bit about the blog here:
My friends can tell you that I like to randomly send out snail-mail. I think postcards (and other non-special-occasion cards) are a very special form of art, and they are underrated in this digital age where emails and messages are instant, unlimited, text-based. There is a warmth in the foresight and planning required to select, write, and post a birthday card so that it can arrive precisely on your friend's special day. And there is a certain cleveness needed to contain all you want to say to the little patch of space on the left side of the postcard - especially when the picture on the postcard might be worth 1000 words already. With calligraphy all but gone, it would be sad to have art leave this delayed but satisfying communication.

I don't really have concrete plans for this blog yet. I believe it will be mainly composed of postcards and stamps. (I will have to retrieve my old stamp collection from my parents' home, so perhaps stamps will arrive later.)