A Box of Postcards

Today’s postcard is a dusk photograph of a castle in Sinaia, a small town that is a short train ride from Bucharest. Bucharest May 10 th (1975) Dear Charlotte and Phil, This isn’t in the same class as a Doug Gore tour, but we certainly are seeing some beautiful country castles and churches. Sorry you and Phil aren’t here to go to the opera tomorrow night. It begins at 7 PM a little better than the 11 PM concert in Madrid. Eleanor and I are having a good time but I sure miss Les. Love Jo PS The plant needs very little water. Hope it isn’t raising your Hydro bill. You, dear reader, have maybe seen this castle, Peles, in some holiday movies on Netflix (A Christmas Prince and its two sequels). It is not as old as you’d expect, begun in 1873 to be a summer residence for King Carol I. The King was not easily satisfied, rejecting the first three plans he saw, and then, continually adding and renovating until he died in 1914. After King Michael I’s forced abdication in 1947, the Communist reg...

 By MJ Malleck// Update: Mystery Solved Thanks to an anonymous friend, the mystery of the secret code is revealed. Here's what the postcard writer wrote: "Well, what do you know all the way from New Orleans and in semaphore. We are fine and hope you are too."  The key to unlocking the code came from his knowledge that, in English, the only double letters at the end of words are ll or ss. Seemed likely that the 3-letter word (sixth word in) must be ill or all. The symbol used for the second letter in the first word is used twice as much as any other symbol, so almost certainly an E, the most common English letter. (My friend plays Scrabble too.) Making the first word, Well.  After an hour, he had it. For those who don't know what semaphore means (I did not) it is a method of visual signaling, using flags or lights. The Chappe-Code I mention in the original post, was an kind of signaling using towers with moveable arms. The Boy Scouts used to teach the two-flag system...

by MJ Malleck// Today I’ve pulled a blank souvenir postcard depicting the town of Lucerne and Mount Pilatus in the distance. The town of Lucerne sits on the fourth largest lake in Switzerland, near to Mt. Pilatus, where legend says a dragon once lived. Perhaps the visitors took the 4,618-meter-long cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad (a village close to Lucerne by train) to the mountain peak. With a gradient of 48% (meaning it gains 48 feet in elevation for every 100 feet forward, disregarding the incline) it is the steepest cogwheel railway in the world. When engineer Eduard Locher suggested putting a railway on Mount Pilatus he was mocked, but his masterpiece was exhibited at the 1889 World Fair in Paris and is still in use today. He cleverly devised his system using two horizontally rotating cogwheels. Most of these systems (also called rack railway, or rack-and-pinion) put the toothed rail underneath the train, between the running rails. On flat surfaces, friction is enough.   ...

MJ Malleck// I love the message in today’s postcard, it is addressed to “Betty & Kay,” and it feels a bit like a boast to one’s girlfriends, who you know will be delighted for your good fortune. Se ptember 29, 1977 Dear Girls: Two weeks in London! A gentleman friend to dine and go to the theatre with! (We do share the costs of dinners and most theatres) But it has been fun. To Norway on Sunday. Love Dorothy L. The phrase gentleman friend means suitor, or beau, or male lover. There is a short story by the Anton Chekhov called A Gentleman Friend which you can read here…. https://americanliterature.com/author/anton-chekhov/short-story/a-gentleman-friend Perhaps Dorothy and her “gentleman friend” went to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace Theatre. While many religious groups spoke against the play, especially as like Godspell it did not depict the crucifixion, it seems that Dorothy was a thoroughly modern girl. She pays her own way! So, she may have wanted to see JC...

 by MJ Malleck// Today’s postcard is written is a scrawling script, that in another generation, when cursive is no longer taught, will be hard to decipher. I got most of it, but I’m not sure what the one word at the top of the postcard says. (Not Saturday, May 10 in 1959 was a Sunday). Hazel smartly printed the mailing address. Rome, May 10 This is the best and we do so hope you two will be able to go with us next year. fine food. good hotels and lots of fun, and art. Love Hazel & Morty. The photo is a black and white of what looks like a football stadium. It says Roma Stadio Olympico. (On the other side, Olympic Stadium (English), Stade Olympique (French) Olympisches Stadium (German) The stamp was 35 Lires. I was curious why anyone would send a postcard of a sports stadium, from the city that holds the Coliseum and so many ancient wonders. Then I discovered that this stadium was part of the 1960 Summer Olympic Games, which Rome hosted. So, Hazel and Morty sound like they a...

by MJ Malleck// You may have noticed that I often find the “Canadian” connection when I am researching these postcards. Today I found a few. This is a card of the Ocean Dunes Motor Inn on 74 th and 75 th Ave North Myrtle Beach South Carolina. “Hi, Enjoyed our trip thanks to your people. The food here is just great. We are eating like kings. The golf courses are just great. Ted has played every day and I go out twice. Club houses and homes something to see. Weather cool but sunny. Getting a good rest and feeling great See you Thanksgiving. L. Ted & Bonnie.” There is no date, but the American Flag stamp (8 cents) is from 1971. And the mention of Thanksgiving makes me think this trip is taking place in September. I found an Ocean Dunes Resort and Villas, and a current photograph that looks almost exactly like this postcard. Now it is called the North Shore Oceanfront Hotel. Daily room rates are from US $69 to $500 for the Penthouse.   I wonder if by CLUB the writer m...

 MJ Malleck // Two postcards today, because they were taped together. Never mailed, just saved. They are from Washington, D.C. One shows the White House and one the State Capital building.  The serendipity always amazes me. This week even in Canada our eyes are on Washington. Roe vs. Wade, a precedent guaranteeing a woman’s right to abortion, was overturned by the US Supreme Court. And we are watching the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capital building!  The United States Capital sits in spacious grounds on the crest of a hill, dominating the entire city of Washington, D.C. It was designed by Dr. William Thornton who was the winner in a prize competition. Thornton, who had been born in the British West Indies in 1759 became an American citizen in 1787. His design for the U.S. Capital was chosen by President George Washington in 1793 and he received $500 and a building lot in the city. He moved to Washington in 1794 and was appointed a...

Today's postcard is unused, and it depicts an area of Scotland called Ganavan Sands, Oban, Argyllshire. As usual I am struck by the coincidences: I am currently planning a vacation to Scotland, to visit my neice who married a Scotsman and lives there. Her last name is now Valentine - and this postcard's publisher is also Valentine!! This is C102 of the Valentine's Scots Pictorial Series. James Valentine was an original member of the Edinburgh Photographic Society and his company, James Valentine and Sons Ltd. produced postcards up until the 1960s. This one is likely from 1960 or 1963. It shows a lovely seascape, and says this: "Ganavan Sands, Oban, Argyllshire - The strip of safe sand is the playground for visitors to the nearby busy holiday town of Oban." When you Google Ganavan Sands you will see that a new development of upscale homes is being build with a seaside view. The website for the developer includes a virtual tour of different versions of the homes. So...

A postcard from Austria: "19 February 1958 "Enjoying a skiing and sightseeing holiday in Western Austria. The kids are enjoying the snow, we had so little of it in France. Our Pension is called Daheim and it is like a ski lodge and much cheaper than staying at a hotel. Expect to go up to the top of Germany's highest mountain on a cable car soon, and intend to go to Innsbruck tomorrow. Took some ski lessons from a real Austrian ski champ, but I still get stiff and sore. Must be getting old!" The illustration (black and white) shows the highest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze, which is actually shared by Germany and Austria. The cable car, which takes you from the municipality of Ehrwald to the top, was build in 1926 and then renovated in 1991. It takes 10 minutes to get to the top. How ironic that this is the postcard right now, as we are in the midst of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada - and I remember that they were held in Innsbruck in 1976 (I was 15 years o...

Today's postcard (on top) has not been used, but I felt it was appropriate for Valentine's Day. It features a painting and is called "View of Lover's Leap and The Narrows". At the bottom it says "1652 Ft. Above Sea Level, Cumberland, MD. 4" On the back, it says, "Lover's Leap and The Narrows, Cumberland, Maryland. From Lover's Leap one may view the National Highway (U.S. 40) one thousand feet below. The city of Cumberland and surrounding states of Pennsyvania and West Virginia may be seen from this point." My research tells me that this postcard is likely showing a 1937 view, but may have been produced in 1951 as it is printed on linen stock by Marken & Bielfeld. In fact, I found a matching postcard (it is numbered 3 on the bottom) for sale for $8 to $10. It is by the same company, looks similar to this but is the 1937 Aerial View of the Narrows West of Cumberland (image on the bottom). The legend of "Lover's Leap" ex...

"Hi, again. Today we are having a waiting day. Patience you know. I told you I lost my wallet. Tried Kish Lorraine saw Laterna Magika going to Expo Theater Monday - The Supremes. Having fun. Love Betty" This postcard depicts the Great Britian Pavilion at Expo67. I was 6 years old and in Grade One. For some reason I had two tiny red placemats with the gold logo stamped on them - I think we got them in school. Of course the only image I remember is the big round dome, which was the USA pavilion at Expo67. This person lost their wallet - were they waiting for their ID to be returned? Or for money to reach them? How hard was all that to figure out in 1967 before the internet and the ATM technology we have today? Quiche Lorraine - I guess it's a French dish originally, but I made it for all my children's baptisms - because it's easy (with frozen pie crust) and you can assemble it in the morning and put it in the oven as you leave for church and when you return from th...