Jun 17, 2017

Croydon Minster | England


This postcard shows the Parish Church in Croydon, England. Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is Grade I listed. Six Archbishops of Canterbury are buried in the church: Edmund Grindal (d.1583), John Whitgift (d.1604), Gilbert Sheldon (d.1677), William Wake (d.1737), John Potter (d.1747), and Thomas Herring (d.1757).

The tower houses a ring of 12 bells cast by the Croydon firm of Gillett & Johnston in 1936, replacing an earlier ring of eight. The eight original bells were recast and hung with new fittings in a new frame with four additional trebles. The new ring of 12 was dedicated by the Bishop of Croydon on 12 December 1936 and the first peal on the new 12 was rung for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937. The tower and ringers are affiliated to the Surrey Association of Church Bell Ringers.


The card was sent on 6 February 1906 7:15 pm. It reads: 'Dear K, I shall be home tomorrow unless anything turns up. But I expect it will be late, I will see you on Thursday at any rate. Yours Bert'. 
 

Kirchgang | Germany


This lovely postcard shows four girls and their mum [?] going to church. The written date is 06 August 1907.


The postcard was posted on 08 August 1907. Unfortunately it is written in German, so I cannot understand what it says [I get very disappointed when I don't understand what it's written in the back of a postcard. It almost feels like a fragment of history slipping through my hands].

Jun 10, 2017

KLM |Egypt


Again, I am not a big fun of aviaton postcards, but I kinda like this one. It shows a KLM aircraft.


It was posted from Egypt but I cannot make out the dates. I researched the stamps, and I found out that the first two were issued in 1954 and they are showing a farmer under the general theme 'Agriculture'. The third stamp was printed in Egypt and it shows Cairo mosque, Sultan Hussein, circa 1953.

Camel cart | Pakistan


A similar card with the one in the previous post, this time a camel cart in Karachi, Pakistan.


Judging from the handwriting, the same person send this postcard, too. It was posted on 14 March 1955. If only I could understand German!

Regarding the stamp used on both postcards I found the following information: Pakistan 1951 SG58 4a. Saracenic Leaf Pattern, Fourth Anniversary of Independence, green. Perforation 13.

Karachi | Pakistan

This black and white postcard shows a donkey cart in Karachi (Urdu: کراچی‎; Sindhi: ڪراچي‎; ALA-LC: Karācī) - the capital of the province of Sindh - is the largest and most populous city in Pakistan, as well as the 2nd most populous city in the world. 
 
Though the surroundings of Karachi have been inhabited for millennia, the city itself was founded as a village named Kolachi which was established as a fortified settlement in 1729. The new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi, whose son is said to have slayed a man-eating crocodile in the village after his elder brothers had already been killed by it. The city's inhabitants are referred to by the demonym Karachiite in English, and Karāchīwālā in Urdu.

The settlement increased in importance drastically with the arrival of British colonialists, who not only embarked on major works to transform the city into a major seaport, but also connected it with their extensive railway network. By the time of the Partition of India, the city was the largest in Sindh with an estimated population of 400,000. Immediately following the independence of Pakistan, the city's population increased dramatically with the arrival of thousands of Muslim immigrants from India, with Karachi remaining the primary destination of Indian Muslim migrants throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Known as the "City of Lights" in the 1960s and 1970s for its vibrant nightlife, Karachi was beset by sharp ethnic, sectarian, and political conflict in the 1980s with the arrival of weaponry during the Soviet-Afghan war.






The card was posted on 16 March 1955 from Karachi.

Mount Pelion | Greece


Last week my parents went to amazing Pelion, Greece, and they send me these two postcards. I can honestly say that the colour of the sea is exactly like that in real life! Pelion or Pelium (Modern Greek: Πήλιο, Pílio; Ancient Greek/Katharevousa: Πήλιον. Pēlion) is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in central Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean Sea.


In Greek mythology, Mount Pelion (which took its name from the mythical king Peleus, father of Achilles) was the homeland of Chiron the Centaur, tutor of many ancient Greek heroes, such as Jason, Achilles, Theseus and Heracles. It was in Mount Pelion, near Chiron's cave, that the marriage of Thetis and Peleus took place. The uninvited goddess Eris, to take revenge for having been kept outside the party, brought a golden apple with the inscription "To the Fairest". The dispute that then arose between the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite and Athena resulted in events leading to the Trojan War. When the twins Otus and Ephialtes attempted to storm Olympus, they piled Mount Pelion upon Mount Ossa (this is the origin of the idiom, to "pile Pelion on Ossa").


They used a 0,80 euro stamp picturing Aristotle.

Maha nuwara | Sri Lanka


I really like this postcard, the colours, the pose.. It shows an Elephant Parade in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Kandy (Sinhalese: මහනුවර Mahanuwara; Tamil: கண்டி) is a major city in Sri Lanka, located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea plantations. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and is also the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of The Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988.

The city and the region has been known by many different names and versions of those names. Some scholars suggest that the original name of Kandy was Katubulu Nuwara located near present Watapuluwa. However, the more popular historical name is Senkadagala or Senkadagalapura, officially Senkadagala Siriwardhana Maha Nuwara (meaning 'great city of Senkadagala of growing resplendence'), generally shortened to 'Maha Nuwara'. According to folklore, this name originated from one of the several possible sources. One being the city was named after a brahmin with the name Senkanda who lived in a cave near by, and another being a queen of Vikramabahu III was named Senkanda, and after a coloured stone named Senkadagala. The Kingdom of Kandy has also been known by various names. The English name Kandy, which originated during the colonial era, is derived from an anglicised version of the Sinhalese Kanda Uda Rata (meaning the land on the mountain) or Kanda Uda Pas Rata (the five counties/countries on the mountain). The Portuguese shortened this to "Candea", using the name for both the kingdom and its capital. In Sinhalese, Kandy is called Maha nuwara, meaning "Great City" or "Capital", although this is most often shortened to Nuwara.

History of Caylon Tea | Sri Lanka


I usually like postcards that show the way of living in a certain country, so this was an immediate hit. It shows locals plucking up tea in County Estate, Ceylon. The evolution of tea in Ceylon is an extraordinary story. While tea is the obvious focus in this tale, it is in fact the culminating result of what was a remarkable plantation enterprise that commenced under British colonial rule post-1796. This enterprise embarked with coffee growing as its core harvest, and indeed, the first coffee plantation preceded tea by nearly half a century. Ceylon coffee progressed to being amongst the world’s best, before the ‘coffee rust disease’ decimated the industry, by the 1870s.

This gave rise to the tea industry of Ceylon, which not only flourished, but proceeded to gain repute as the world’s finest tea. While James Taylor is the rightfully acknowledged pioneer, the success of the industry had numerous benefactors, across multiple fields. Roads, railways, bridges and tunnels; botanists, engineers, surveyors, and even politicians. It was this cohesion and collective contribution from the various professional spheres that enabled the industry to prosper as it did.

Red Fort | India

 

This postcard has beautiful colours. It shows the Agra Fort, which is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India. It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty till 1638, when Mughal capital was shifted from Agra to Red Fort in Delhi. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site and is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled city.

This powerful fortress of red sandstone encompasses, within its 2.5-km-long enclosure walls, the imperial city of the Mughal rulers. It comprises many fairy-tale palaces, such as the Jahangir Palace and the Khas Mahal, built by Shah Jahan; audience halls, such as the Diwan-i-Khas; and two very beautiful mosques.

Jun 3, 2017

75 Wedding Anniversary


This is a Wedding Anniversary postcard. It reads: 'Sunny Days
As the date of your Wedding Day 
Once more come around, 
Accept my good wishes 
For a life that's joy crowned.'


It was posted on 8:30 pm 26 December 1912 and next to the stamp it is written with pencil '75 Wed Anv'. On the left it reads: 'All good wishes from L. W. & W. Trusting you will have many anniversaries'

A familiar face and some cake on the floor


I got this postcard at Tolworth Postcard Fair.  I was so excited when I saw it, as this is a familiar face. If you remember from one of my previous posts, I was wondering who this girl was. On this postcard you can see the whole picture and -lo and behold- her name: Miss Edna May! Edna May Pettie (September 2, 1878 – January 1, 1948), known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian musical comedies.

May was born in Syracuse, New York to Edger and Cora Pettie. Her father was a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier. At the age of 5, she played Little Willie Allen in a production of Dora. The next year, her performances "charmed a number of audiences lately with her child voice". By the age of 7, she had joined a children's opera company and performed Gilbert and Sullivan productions in Syracuse. She studied music at the New York Conservatoire as a teenager.

May made her professional debut in 1895 in Si Stebbings in Syracuse. She then moved to New York to take the small role of Clairette in Oscar Hammerstein's Broadway show, Santa Maria. That year, she married Fred Titus, who held a world record for cycling. They had no children and divorced in 1904.

CISV International

This is a postcard of CISV. The design was done by Lisa Ahlstrand and Debbie Wise. CISV International is a global community of dedicated volunteers, creating opportunities for all ages to experience the excitement and enrichment of cultural diversity through our educational programmes. CISV was founded in 1950 on the belief that peace is possible through friendship – and that the real difference can be made by starting with children.
 

It was posted on 24 October 1989 from Hisings Kärra, Sweden. It reads: 'My dear friend Elena! Happy birthday [I wear our ring every day. Do you?] I hope you'll have a good day. I had a "good" birthday even if I was crying all the time. I had a GREAT summer and that's the best. I miss you a lot. Maybe we'll see each other next summer. Kim & I think of going to a seminar and then come to see you. Wouldn't that be great? I hope my dream will come true. Keep in touch! I love you & miss you Karin. Take care!

Sälen | Sweden


This postcard shows a skier at Sälen, locality situated in Malung-Sälen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 652 inhabitants in 2010.

Despite its small population, Sälen receives many tourists every winter. Sälen is best known for hosting the start of Vasaloppet, the oldest (since 1922), longest (90 km), and largest cross country ski race in the world, with over 15,000 participants in the main race alone. It is also known for its many alpine ski resorts, of which there are seven. The oldest resort in Sälen is Högfjällshotellet which was built in 1937 remains popular for recreation, cross country skiing and downhill skiing. Newer resorts with steeper mountains are Hundfjället and Granfjället. Other resorts are Stöten, Lindvallen, Näsfjället, Tandådalen, and Kläppen. Today Lindvallen, Högfjället, Tandådalen and Hundfjället are operated by the Skistar company. Lindvallen and Högfjället are connected with ski lifts, as is Tandådalen with Hundfjället The vertical height is up to 350 m. Most visitors are Swedish families with children; as such there is little in the way of nightlife, no central square or plaza, and accommodations are decentralized.

It was posted on 6 April 1982 [if I can read the stamp correctly] from Örsundsbro. It reads: 'Hello!! It's wonderful here. The sun is shining and it's not very cold. We are skiing every day. This is in the north of Sweden called Sälen. I have seen a lot of handsome boys. A letter will come later. With love Hanna'.