Germany?

Hermann-Gmeiner-Fonds

This unsent postcard apparently had something to do with the Hermann Gmeiner Fund,  an Austrian philanthropist. The card must have been sent as an extra card when I purchased some cards from someone on ebay and features a snow covered evergreen and a rugged cabin along side some mountains in the distance. 

Norway?

Sometimes I buy postcards online.  Sometimes the senders will include a bonus postcard as a thank you message.

That is what this was.  The person literally thanked me for my purchase of postcards with a postcard, but I cannot recall where it was sent from.  From the language on the back of the card, it may be Norwegian. 

France

Versailles

Another card from my friend Chanele's recent trip to France.  This card of the Palace of Versilles is just stunning, especially since it looks so warm and inviting in the middle of winter.

USA - Washington

Cuddly Kittens

After commenting on our mutual friend Shelby's post about getting one of these cards, my friend Val sent me one as well.  The card were sold in sets of 40 cards in the 1980's for $0.78 at a K-Mart.  Let's note, for those of you who haven't bought postcards in a while, you can usually not even get ONE card for $0.78 today! 

The set even had 4 different types of cards, but this one with the two orange kittens playing in and around a paper bag are the only ones she has remaining.

USA - New Jersey

Resorts, Atlantic City

Resorts is one of the casinos on the famous Boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey.  Located at Boardwalk and North Carolina, since the closure of the Trump Taj Mahal hotel next door, it is one of, if not the, last hotel on that part of the Boardwalk. 

Poland

Warsaw - Old Town

Museum of FryderykChopin in Warsaw

Poland

Warszawa

The symbol of Warsaw (Warszawa, in Polish) is the mermaid.  This statue is in the middle of the Old Town Market place. 

A pair of mermaids in 1980's Warsaw are actually main characters in the 2016-2017 Polish-language film The Lure (in Polish called Córki dancingu), which is apparently the first musical in Polish cinema.   

There are however other mermaids around the city.  The mermaid at the Vistula river (below) was designed before World War II (see link) by Ludwika Nitschowa.  The model for that mermaid statue was Krystyna Krahelska (born March 24, 1914), a young poet who during the war became a nurse and currier for the Polish Underground Home Army (Armia Krajowa). 

On August 1, 1944, the day that the Uprising began, she was trying to help an injured collegue when she was shot in the chest three times.  She was taken to the insurgent hosital but died of her wounds on August 2nd, the second day of the 63-day-long Uprising, at the age of 30.

Poland

Warsawa

The Old Town Churches (from the left): Saint Martins, Saint Mary's and Saint John's.

Poland

Warszawa / Warsaw

The coat of arms for Warsaw, capital of Poland.

USA - Illinois

Published by William Darton, Jr. (English c. 1781-1854)

Walker's Tour through Ireland, a New Geographical Pastime,

Published March 9, 1812.  

This card shows a map of Ireland.  A copy of the map was used in the 2015 exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago called Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840.

The exhibit was quite successful.  Originally scheduled for March 17, 2015 through June 7th, it was extended until June 21, 2015 by popular demand.  Below is an ad card for the exhibit, featuring a green portable harp c. 1820 by John Egan.

France

Paris

My friend Chenele sent me this card of the Louve Pyramid from her trip to Paris in 2016.

Italy

Roma- Campidoglio

I discovered this and a few other old unused postcards at my local antique store.  Never used, but with the purposefully frayed edge, they caught my eye.

Also, please note cards from Rome posted on the Ides of March. 

USA - Illinois

The Interior of the Stables at Carton, County Kildare; a Liveried Groom, Lord Charles William FitzGerald, and his Sister Lady Jane Seymore FitzGerald, c. 1825 - George Nairn (Irish, 1799-1850).

This painting was featured at the Art Institute of Chicago's  Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690–1840 exhibit in early 2015. 

The subject of the art is thankfully named in the title, so we can see what happened to Lord Charles William and his sister Lady Jane.  I really love this kind of investigation into postcards, either if it is the subject of the postcard or was the sender of an old, previously sent postcard I purchased.

Lord Charles William FitzGerald, pictured upon the white horse in the painting/postcard was born March 30, 1819 and passed away February, 10 1887.  He was 4th Duke of Leinster and, until 1847 stylized as Marquess of Kildare.   He would have 15 children, with the last one dying in 1955.   (via Wikipedia.) 

Lady Jane Seymore FitzGerald, pictured just below the white horses nose, was born February 5, 1824, making her about 1 year old in this painting if the date is correct.  She would marry British Conservative Politician and Member of Parliament George William John Repton (1818 – August 30, 1906).  She would die on November 3, 1898.

The estate where the painting was made, Carton, was also where Lord Charles William FizGerald would live and pass away.  In the 2000's much of the estate was transformed into two golf courses and the house into a hotel.  (according to Wikipedia.)

Germany

DE-5867449

Europe Geologie

This map appears to be a French map of geology of Europe from 1949.

Speical Post: 3 Year Anniversary

Today marks three years ago since the publication of my first postcard on this blog on March 12, 2014. 

Spain

The foyer at the Casa Thomas in Barcelona reflects the influence of Catalan modernism.  Every surface and detail are richly ornamented with floral, animal, or fruit motifs. 

Spain

At Albia, an estate in Mallorca, the wainscoting in a salon is painted landscapers interspersed with rococo flourishes.  A seventeenth-century chest is covered with silk and studied with brass nails.

Spain

An iron bed is half-hidden behind a lace curtain in a ground-floor alcove in a store farmhouse on the island of Mallorca. 

This is such a beautiful photo.

Spain

A marble sculpture by Josep Maria Subirachs, a contemporary Catalan artist, is on the front lawn of a fourteenth-century mansion in Pedralbes, a suburb of Barcelona. 

As these postcards were published in the early 1990s, I can report that Joseph Maria Subirachs, the artist mentioned in this postcard, passed away at the age of 86 on 7 April, 2014.

Spain

The arched doorway of a stone farmhouse is traditionally Mallorcan and offers an elegant contrast with the stark façade.

A while ago my friend Mark (and friend of this postcard project) handed me a book of postcards he had originally planned to use as artwork in his home.  This booklet of postcards entitled Spanish Style Postcards features a variety of Spanish motifs by photographer Gilles de Chabaneix.  I'll be featuring these this week and then again in a few weeks from now.

USA - California

Sea World

Shamu and Baby Shamu leap together. 

I picked this card up at the local antique store.  The card, sent April 5, 1996 from San Diego, California.  The card tells that the person is going on a curse and leaves off with the odd, almost offhanded message giving the receiver her the sender's new address in Florida with the line "if you care to keep in touch". 

Poland

God Mikolwja Kopernika - I [heart] Torun

This card features Torun of Poland.  The photos feature the Old City Town Hall, Monument of Copernicus, the Leaning Tower, and a Panorama of Old Town from the Vistula River.

USA - Indiana

Purdue University

Featured in this card from Purdue University is the Memorial Union.  The green almost-square in front of the building's entrance until the past decade was a reflection pool that reflected the image of the building's façade.   The reflection pool was filled in reportedly due to the cleaning of the pool becoming more difficult.