Finding Silken Treasure as Postcard Show

Over the past year and a bit, I have not received any postcards other than local ones from my amazing daughter and 1 from my father. My favourite way to collect postcards to receive them by mail. During the pandemic, I found a few ways to get postcards mailed to me – usually by paying, but also with my wife requesting people send me some for a recent “milestone” birthday. Lately, I have not been able to find any sources of ways to get postcards in the mail.

I have also collected via my own travels both locally and internationally. But at my last trip, a cruise down the Mexican Pacific coast, I found zero places in our various Mexican destinations and L.A. that sold even one postcard. (I won’t call the medium completely dead yet, but it’s close.)

I have never liked buying other people’s postcards. Even though the messages can be enjoyable mini-mysteries, I always felt like this was cheating. So, over the past year I kinda gave up on my postcard collecting (going forward at least, I still love the Collection.)

But lately, I’ve been reading some books on postcards both as a form of collecting and as a communication medium. This encouraged me to join a local postcard club last month. I then attended my first postcard club meeting (which I greatly enjoyed) a few weeks ago and then last week I went to my first ever postcard show (sadly, held only once a year).

I loved the show and the prices were surprisingly reasonable (not always the case). Moreover, it restored my love of postcard collecting. I bought quite a large number – most of which are being sterilized in the freezer at the moment.

In reading about postcards lately, I’ve found a whole bunch of genres/categories I don’t have a sample of. So I have a new quest for my collecting.

One of these genres is “silks”.

Silk postcards were originally hand embroidered with silk thread and then had a backing glued on. They were popular for World War 1 soldiers to give their loved ones back home. I have quite a few postcards made or containing various non-paper items but no silks before.

Then I saw this one at the show for a reasonable price:

Postcard caption:
“Swiss National Costume. Luzern…”

The postcard was never mailed, which is common for silks as many people (rightfully) feared the postal systems would not be good for the delicate threads. Judging by the condition of the postcard, I suspect this isn’t very old so not an original antique era silk. But an awesome specimen nonetheless.

I still find buying other people’s postcards not the best way to collect. But one’s gotta get there fix somehow!

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Elegy for Motel Postcards – and Motels

I recently was given a few postcards from my Dad’s travels over the years. My family loved to vacation in Florida almost every year, so we travelled along Interstate 75 many times. At some point over the past several decades, my Dad (and possibly me) must have stayed overnight in Findlay, Ohio while passing through on I-75.

I know this as he had this amazing specimen:

Here is the back, sadly with some age related discolouring (pink?):

These motels were always a popular stop for us as, and generations of similar sun-seeking travellers, as they were affordable and close to the highway so we wouldn’t waste any precious driving time (we were never allowed to stop for any sight-seeing or even bathroom breaks as we had to “make good time”).

Most of these motels didn’t have many thrills, but I was always happy to be anywhere. If we were super lucky we got a motel with a pool (as this one did – that’s rare for the truly cheap motels) and it was open late enough for us to have a swim! If not, we would have to make do with a ride on the coin-operated vibrating beds!

These motels always used to give away a free postcard. Even though the postcards weren’t much to look at – as frankly neither were the motels themselves. (As even professional postcard photographers, whom I was extolling in my last post, can only do so much!) Nonetheless, I was delighted to get such postcards. So apparently were a lot of my family, as I have a lot of these in my Collection. Many of them were unsent, meaning they were kept for some sort of souvenir.

This one must surely be from the 1960s or 1970s. Why would my dad hold onto this postcard for decades? Why do I still I love these types of postcards?

I’m not sure what the thrill is with these types of postcards. It’s not like the one night in our life that we spent at any of these places was so meaningful or the locations themselves were special (or in any way memorable). But for some reason, and it’s not just because of the kitsch appeal of their boring quality, which admitedly is part of their appeal.

But there’s more too it. There’s nostalgia. Motel postcards are a thing of the past now. Not only has it been decades since I’ve been in any motel, hotel, or resort that gave away free postcards, but most lodgings don’t even sell postcards of their place anymore (unless their building is exceptionally beautiful, historic, or posh).

But it’s not just motel postcards that are a thing of the past, many motels themselves are gone now. There are still a few hear and there but increasingly they are being torn down or converted to rental units. I checked via Google Maps to see if the Finlay Motel was still in business. I think the location is mostly a dollar store now, but it seems that one of the buildings seen in this postcard may now be apartments.

I recently read a book about postcards from along Route 66 called “Postcards from Route 66: The Ultimate Collection from America’s Main Street”. The author wonderfully chronicles the route throughout its heyday and includes many postcards much like this one. I never travelled that highway – my Route 66 has always been I-75. The book deals with the bygone age of family road trips and the stops en route.

Flights are now so affordable and time so pressed that even though I still take my family to Florida occasionally for vacations, we would never drive that far! So this is definitely a way of life and some wonderful times that have gone forever, but are remembered via our postcards.

Dad’s Postcards

We were recently able to meet up with my dad again after months apart. We went to the Royal Botanical Gardens and even though they had an exhibit about postcards from their location, their own gift store, of course, did not sell any postcards!

But all was not for not. As my dad must have been tidying up over the past few months and found old postcards that he donated to the Collection. They were all unsent, blank postcards from his travels.

Here are two that I particularly like for their imagery, both are from Arizona:

“Log Fragments, Jasper Forest. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Logs ‘turned to stone’ are still emerging in the present erosional cycle. These silicified logs represent 200 million years of earth’s history. At Petrified Forest National Park they are protected for all to see and enjoy.”

The Petrified Forest seems like an beautiful and unique place to visit (this scan does not do the photograph justice). Here is another postcard by the same company:

“Nizhoni Point, Painted Desert. Charles Smith described the Painted Desert as ‘contrasting color effects of blues, grays, reds, and browns… soft tones of yellow, pink, orchid, battling with the bolder colors’.”

Both these postcards are quite large, approximately 20 cm by 15 cm – even larger than an official “Large” size of postcard. These almost certainly would have needed extra postage to send anywhere, so my thought is they were probably more intended to be keepsakes than actual postcards (as my dad used them).

I have often bought a postcard just so I would have the image of a scenic location, as the photographers for postcards always get much better shots than I ever could (and I’m not a complete amateur). I think that is where the saying “pretty as a postcard” originated from. That and the fact that postcard photographers also always manage to get the photos in ideal circumstances. They never have in their shots the throngs of tourists, utility poles or wires, next-door fast food and tacky shops, troublesome foliage, or bad weather, that inevitably ruin photos for the rest of us.

I’ll try and post more of the other postcards from my dad before I myself go on my first trip in two years – where I’ll hopefully be able to add significantly to the Collection. We’re headed to the East Coast (probably Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine).

Boring Postcard of the Month: Part 4

As I’ve mentioned in 3 prior posts, I signed up for a Boring Postcard of the Month club at the start of this year. I’ve been delighted by the weird, wonderful, and yes boring postcards I’ve received. Boring postcards are one of my favourite genres of postcards, so this has been a regular monthly treat for me.

I have to admit though last month’s postcard wasn’t particularly boring. What do you think?

I find the infrastructure of roads and bridges to be visually very interesting, and they are one of my favourite subjects for my photography. So this postcard of the remnants of exit ramp is pretty interesting to me. I do admit that the slush and dull lighting do make it look very drab and unappealing.

Here is the back with a write-up of the artist’s statement:

Postcard caption:
“These pillars are the remains of a demolished freeway loop. A cluster of trees grew through the centre of the loop. The pillars and trees will be replaced with a pond. The pond will be 100 meters from the edge of Lake Ontario. My art often points out ridiculousness. Wish you were here.”

Postcard message:
“Glen! This postcard practically looks exotic to me now as I haven’t been to Toronto since October! Hope you are doing well!”

I’m actually sad to read that the City of Toronto is removing the pillars. I think they should remain as not only are they sculptural and visually interesting (at least to me), they also serve as an interesting reminder of the role of car in our cities and I think having a park made from the remnants of roads is an interesting statement on reprioritizing natural spaces in our city.

The back of the postcard also has some cool stamps. I love Canada Post’s history of producing amazing stamps that are usually visually beautiful as well as reflect the many dimensions of our heritage. So while I love one aspect of Canada Post, I am constantly angry at them over how they keep severely damaging my postcards! This one was almost ripped in two. I’m not sure if it is their machines that process the mail or our carrier’s fault. Either way, almost every postcard I have got in the past year has been badly damaged. Is this happening to others?

Let me know in the comments if you have any thoughts on whether this postcard is boring or not and if you know what’s happening with Canada Post damaging mail!

I Miss You, Travel

Over the past year with the pandemic drying up my source of postcards, I’ve had to be really inventive to find any postcards. I’ve found some really great ones during the short time stores have been allowed to be open here in the last year and found some great online sources for postcards too – a few for free even.

The specimen below is one of the free ones I managed to find:

I got this postcard via Explore Canada’s Instagram account. They had multiple great photos of Canadian destinations, but I chose this one with the Northern Lights as it is one of the things I most want to see in my life. (I do think I once saw them in North York, Ontario and had a friend with me who also saw them, but we were both heavy into the sauce at the time of the stellar vision, so who knows?!). My scanner is poor, but this is one of the most beautiful postcards I have!

I composed a message to myself inspired by their caption of “I Miss You. Come Visit?”. Yes, I do miss you travel and places (that aren’t my home and neighbourhood) and I do want to come visit you anywhere very soon! Here’s the back:

Postcard caption:
“Canada. #ForGlowingHearts. forglowinghearts.ca”

Postcard message:
“Hi Glen. Remember when you could travel? Remember when you could go further from your home than 10 blocks? Those were the days, myself! Hopefully, this pandemic will be sufficiently over by this summer that you’ll be able to go somewhere again. Even almost anywhere would be great. Okay, not Hamilton. But almost everywhere would be awesome right now. I think we’ll still need to stick close to home this year. Newfoundland maybe? Thunder Bay even? Niagara Falls at least! Let’s hope the stars align and travel will once again resume this summer. Best wishes for bon voyage. Glen.”

The postcard is a part of a campaign to promote Canadian tourism post-pandemic. Their website offers some great travel destinations here, check it out at forglowinghearts.ca. I’ve been to 7/10 provinces and 1/3 territories in Canada, but there are still places I would love to visit. Let’s hope travel once again returns to us!

Boring Postcard of the Month: Part 3

Earlier this year I signed up for a boring postcard of the month club. Each month I get a new boring postcard. I love the ones I’ve got so far, but must admit that I don’t find this one boring. Check out what I mean:

I like the subject matter of this image and the composition too. It’s definitely not the “pretty as a postcard” type scenery one normally sees on the front of postcards, but I find this image really cool. The artist’s statement on the back makes me like it even more:

Postcard caption:
“I was impacted by how winter seems to so easily stop life in its tracks. In black and white it evokes feelings of death and finality, but that same space in spring will be full of birth and renewal. Adrienne Bestland. Wish you were here. Petersfield, MB”

Postcard message:
“Glen! Happy Spring Lockdown?!? Oof. Hope you are keeping well in these trying times.”

We just had another winter like week here with temperatures back down to almost freezing again. But it now seems that spring is here to stay (hope I don’t jinx it) and maybe even summer too. The lockdown shows signs that it might be easing up too here (Toronto has had the longest lockdown in the world, Montreal is #2 and they have had the second longest lockdown.) So maybe we will have a time here of rebirth and renewal!

Nice Postcard In Store For Me

I received another postcard in the mail recently. This one was from a friend that has had this postcard for awhile and just now sent it to me. The timing is great as I definitely have had a drought of postcards since the pandemic.

Guess you could say my friend was storing this postcard for the right time. And now, I’ll be storing it permanently in my Hamilton, Ontario area of the Vaults.

I love the generic name of the the store – just “Store”. And the generic graphic design of this postcard fits well. With the lockdown still in effect in Ontario due to the pandemic, I won’t be visiting Store anytime soon. But I checked out their website and it does seem like the kinda place I’d love.

I do have to share my complaint about how badly Canada Post has been treating postcards for the past several months. Almost every postcard has been mangled or scrapped by them. That never used to happen even a couple years ago, so I’m not sure why they are so hard on mail nowadays. But it is really making me mad!

Here’s the backside:

Postcard message:
“Dear Glen. I guessed “Store” would have shut down by now, but I checked and they are OPEN! Cheers”.

Judging by the completely unfinished back of the postcard, I’m thinking the Store owners weren’t actually thinking people would use this as an actual postcard.

BTW, I hate how people call postcard-like advertising cards “postcards” – even if there is marketing copy completely covering both sides making it impossible to ever mail. That said, I do love DIY postcards, when people make a postcard of things whether it was intended to be or not!

More Return To Travel

My prior blog post marked the first return of travel postcards to me since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was from an American friend of mine. As the U.S. is further ahead than Canada in their vaccines rollout, Americans appear to be travelling again. Shortly after posting it, another postcard arrived from another friend in the United States:

The postcard is from Asheville Art Museum in Asheville North Carolina. The painting of poppies is by James Daugherty.

In an earlier post, I was complaining the post offices are rarely putting cancellation stamps on postcards – let alone other kinds of stamps. These stamps or cachets are one of the things that I love about postcards, so I was sad to see them go. But as much as I love them, I HATE them on the front of a postcard. This postcard has such a great front image, that I hate how the post office marred it with their stamps. I do love the special Earth Day stamp – which would have made me very happy if it was on the back where it belongs and can be seen better.

Nonetheless, I’m happy to be getting postcards in the mail again from people’s travels. Here’s the back of the postcard with details on the sender’s trip:

Postcard message:
“Dear Glen. Greetings from Asheville, North Carolina. This is my first trip since COVID began. I am visiting an academic friend here. Have you been here? The mountains are gorgeous. The town most interesting. I will call or e-mail on my return. Very best wishes.”

I don’t think I’ve ever been to North Carolina, let alone Asheville. For a U.S. state that is relatively close to my home of Ontario, I do not have that many postcards from North Carolina. I think that it wasn’t quite warm enough there in winters for my snowbird friends and family to visit it much and it’s too hot in summer. South Carolina, on the other hand, was one of my family’s favourite winter destinations, so I have a lot of postcards – and fond memories – of that state.

Regardless the destination, I’m glad to see signs that people are travelling again!

Return to Travel

I’ve lamented on this blog for the past few months how the pandemic has created a shortage of my normal supply of postcards. Although, I’ve managed to find some creative ways to get postcards coming in (see prior posts). But they haven’t been enough and I’ve been in serious postcard withdrawal.

Until recently…

A friend in the United States, where they are far ahead of Canada in vaccinations, sent me a postcard from their nearby travels. My first fix in ages:

Oregon is one of the few U.S. states that I’ve never been to. So while this postcard does satisfy my craving, it does make me wish I could travel beyond the 10-blocks of my home that has been my prison for months.

Here is the back of the postcard:

Postcard caption:
“Oregon Coast. Cape Kiwanda.”

Postcard message:
“Hi Glen. Here is one for your collection. We are here for our version of ‘March Break’ – the 16 year old goes back to in-person school when we get back. Will be super weird!”

Shortly after receiving this postcard, I received another travel postcard from another American friend. Perhaps things are starting to return to normal now?!?

Boring Postcard of the Month Club – Part 2

Earlier this year I signed up for a postcard of the month club. Each month I get a postcard from an Ontario artist that depicts something boring. The first such postcard was spectacular – or rather wonderfully not!

Here is second postcard from the club:

My scanner has been doing a crappy job of things lately sadly. But these curtains remind me of so many hotels that I’ve stayed in over the years.

The photograph, to me, really captures the feel of claustrophobia and imprisonment that has reflected so much of our lives during this pandemic!

Here is the back of the postcard:

Postcard caption:
“Robert Dayton is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and performer originally from Canada. He left Canada, then when the Prime Minister went on TV and said ‘Canadians come back for The Pandemic’, he did. This postcards is of where he is in Canada. Wish you were here. Surrey, BC”

Postcard message:
“Glen. Fun fact- there is no door in this room! Just kidding – Robert is allowed to roam freely in Surrey now. Hope you enjoyed this week of ‘False Spring'”.

For more info on this art project, visit Postcards from Anywhere.