Chinzei Hachiro Tametomo | Japan

I love the colours of this postcard! It shows the mighty Chinzei Hachiro Tametomo. Minamoto no Tametomo (源 為朝, 1139 – April 23, 1170) (also known as Chinzei Hachirō Tametomo (鎮西 八郎 為朝)) was a samurai who fought in the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156. He was the son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi, and brother to Yukiie and Yoshitomo.

Tametomo is known in the epic chronicles as a powerful archer and it is said that he once sunk an entire Taira ship with a single arrow by puncturing its hull below the waterline [pictured on this postcard]. It is also added in many legends that his left arm was about 4 in. longer than his right, enabling a longer draw of the arrow, and more powerful shots. He fought to defend Shirakawa-den, alongside his father, against the forces of Taira no Kiyomori and Minamoto no Yoshitomo, his brother. The palace was set aflame, and Tametomo was forced to flee.

After the Hōgen Rebellion, the Taira cut the sinews of Tametomo's left arm, limiting the use of his bow, and then he was banished to the island of Ōshima in the Izu Islands. Tametomo eventually killed himself by slicing his abdomen, or committing seppuku. He is quite possibly the first warrior to commit seppuku in the chronicles.

In the Chūzan Seikan (1650) by Shō Shōken, the first history of Ryūkyū, is mentioned that he made his way down to Okinawa during his exile, and sired the first known chief of Chūzan - Shunten.

Written after Invasion of Ryukyu (1609), this narrative was probably constructed to connect and legitimise the relation of Japan's imperial family with the Ryukyu Islands. During the Meiji period the myth was considered as an official and historical fact for the Japanese "legitimacy" and "sovereign right" of the annexation of the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1879.

The stamp is placed in the front side of the card. Apost stamp with the date 6 October 1921 can be seen in the back

Nunobiki Waterfall | Japan

This postcard shows Nunobiki Waterfall, (布引の滝 Nunobiki no Taki) is a set of waterfalls near downtown Kobe, Japan, with an important significance in Japanese literature and Japanese art. In Japan, Nunobiki is considered one of the greatest "divine falls" together with Kegon Falls and Nachi Falls.

Nunobiki waterfalls comprises four separate falls: Ontaki [the one pictured here], Mentaki, Tsutsumigadaki, and Meotodaki.

A well-known section of the Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari) describes a trip taken by a minor official and his guests to Nunobiki Falls. They begin a poetry-writing contest, to which one of the guests, a commander of the guards, contributes:

Which, I wonder, is higher-

This waterfall or the fall of my tears

As I wait in vain,

Hoping today or tomorrow

To rise in the world.

The minor official offers his own composition:

It looks as though someone

Must be unstringing

Those clear cascading gems.

Alas! My sleeves are too narrow

To hold them all.

This card has a post stamp dated 25th October 1923, 11:45pm, however the handwritten date is 25th September 1923. It was written by a father to his daughters and it reads: 'H.M.S. Despatch, Kobe, Japan 25/09/23 Dear Sonny, I hope you will keep these nice post cards & not make them dirty or lose them. Perhaps you can put them in mummy's album. Lots of love from Daddy'.

Well, I can safely say Sonny kept them in pristine condition! Her Daddy would be very happy!

Minatogawa Kobe | Japan

This beautiful postcard comes from my beloved Japan. It shows Minatogawa Kobe.

Kobe (神戸市 Kōbe-shi, Japanese) is the sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is located on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Osaka Bay and about 30 km (19 mi) west of Osaka. With a population around 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.

The earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. For most of its history, the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from kanbe (神戸, an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine). Kobe became one of Japan's 17 designated cities in 1956.

Kobe was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the 1853 end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan and nuclear-free zone port city. While the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth-busiest container port. Companies headquartered in Kobe include ASICS, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Kobe Steel, as well as over 100 international corporations with Asian or Japanese headquarters in the city, such as Eli Lilly and Company, Procter & Gamble, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Nestlé. The city is the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef, as well as the site of one of Japan's most famous hot spring resorts, Arima Onsen.

In the back it reads: 'H.M.S. Despatch, Kobe, Japan 25/09/23 Dear Sonny [?] I expect you & sister Margaret are quite living [?] strong after your holiday. I hope you are ever so good too. Lots of love to both from Daddy'

He sure cared about his daughters. That's why he sent another card just a few days later.

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.

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.

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.

British Hieroglyphics | England

This morning I went to Tolworth Postcard Fair and I had some amazing finds! The most intriguing postcard of them is the one below:

I cannot quite make the writing, but on top left it's written: 'HIEROGLYPHICS found at Pompei. "E.E."'. Then there is a smaller postcard of Windermere glued on. On the right there is more writing [which I cannot easily read] and some sketches of what it seems like a daily calendar.

In the back the address is written with some beautiful calligraphy. It was posted on 24 July 1901 from Ambleside and a half penny stamp commemorating Queen Victoria's Jubilee was used.

House of Savoy | Italy

This is one of the most interesting postcards I own. It depicts the Savoy Coat of Arms. The House of Savoy (Italian: Casa Savoia) is one of the oldest royal families in the world, being founded in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to the attainment of the rank of king (of Sicily) in 1713. Through its junior branch, the House of Savoy-Carignano, it led the unification of Italy in 1861 and ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until 1946 and, briefly, the Kingdom of Spain in the 19th century. The Savoyard kings of Italy were Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel III, and Umberto II. The last monarch ruled for a few weeks before being deposed following the Constitutional Referendum of 1946, after which the Italian Republic was proclaimed.

Ilfracombe | England

This morning we want for a nice walk at Guildford, where I stumbled upon I cute vintage shop. There I found some very interesting old postcards.

The first one shows Ilfracombe, a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along the Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west. The resort is hilly and the highest point within the parish boundary is at 'Hore Down Gate', 2 miles inland and 860 feet (270 m) above sea level.

The landmark of Hillsborough Hill dominates the harbour and is the site of an Iron Age fortified settlement. In the built environment, the architectural-award-winning Landmark Theatre is either loved or hated for its unusual double-conical design. The 13th century parish church, Trinity, and the St Nicholas's Chapel (a lighthouse) on Lantern Hill, have been joined by the Damien Hirst owned statue, Verity, as points of interest. [wikipedia]

Nazaré and Vila Real de Santo António | Portugal

Last night we went to a Portuguese restaurant, so today I browsed through my collection and found these two postcards from Portugal.

This postcards shows washerwomen of petticoats at Nazaré, Portugal. Nazaré is a town and a municipality in subregion Oeste and Leiria District, in Portugal. It is one of the most popular seaside resorts in the Silver Coast/Costa de Prata, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,158, in an area of 82.43 km². The municipal holiday is September 8 with the Festas da Nazaré a religious and profane festival with processions, bullfights, fireworks, folk dancing and a fair. The town consists of three neighbourhoods: Praia (along the beach), Sítio (an old village, on top of a cliff) and Pederneira (another old village, on a hilltop). Praia and Sítio are linked by the Nazaré Funicular, a funicular railway. [wikipedia]

Land's End | England

I recently went to Land's End in Cornwall (England) with some friends. I was blown away by the beautiful scenery.

Land's End (Cornish: Penn an Wlas or Pedn an Wlas) is a headland and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England. It is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England, is within the Penwith peninsula and is about eight miles (13 km) west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road.

Bamforth & Co Ltd postcards

Bamforth & Co.  

1870-1990 Holmfirth, England  James Bamforth began his career as a manufacturer of lantern slides. In 1890 he started production of illustrated song lyric slides that audiences could sing along to at shows. This quickly became his most popular selling item. In the years following, the Company became the largest producer of model slides. From this vast photo inventory Bamforth began to publish of a variety of postcard types including comics, greetings, propaganda, real photos, and views, but especially song sets, many of which were reproduced from lantern slide images. Today they are best remembered for their series of saucy seaside postcards, which may have numbered close to a 100,000 different titles. While this series was begun in 1902, they did not become very popular until the 1930’s. In 1906 Bamforth opened a New York Office at 35 West 21st Street. By 1910 they had become a Limited company. The Company was sold to ETW Dennis, but in 2000 the rights to their images was purchased by Ian Walker. [source]

Market Drayton | England

This is one more postcard I found in St Ives. I researched a bit but I couldn't find any information about the woman pictured or the costume she is wearing. I finally found who she is! Read all about her here!

On the back it reads: 'Many thanks for card, was pleased to hear you have so many cards. I have not counted mine lately. 

Eathel B.

15/12/05.

The postcard was posted on 16 December 1905 at 8:30pm from Market Drayton with a half pence stamp picturing King Edward VII. Stamps for King Edwards reign were issued on 1st January 1902 until 1910. The inland postage rate for postcards was ½d (halfpenny) throughout this period.

Market Drayton is a market town in north Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh and Staffordshire border. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" (c. 1868) and earlier simply as "Drayton" (c. 1695). In 1245 King Henry III granted a charter for a weekly Wednesday market, giving the town its current name. The market is still held every Wednesday.

Mr Hayden Coffin

Wow! It's been so long since I last uploaded a postcard here! I went to St Ives in Cornwall for Easter with some friends. In this small, picturesque town I found the cutest little vintage shop, selling old toys and postcards. One of my finds is this postcard:

This dapper gentleman immediately caught my eye. As you can see his name is Mr Hayden Coffin and he starred in 'A Country Girl'. Below the photograph it reads: 'Doesn't he look nice? We are going to see him in "Lorna Doone" [...] quite a new caricature (?) for him. Please remember me if you see him. Love & love (?) F. P. I.'

Charles Hayden Coffin (22 April 1862 – 8 December 1935) was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes. Hayden achieved fame as Harry Sherwood in Dorothy (1886), which became the longest-running piece of musical theatre in history up to that time; other similar roles followed. In 1893, he joined the company of George Edwardes and starred in a series of extraordinarily successful musical comedies.

Italian Family business | Italy

Mrs N. Drury must have been a lovely lady. I found two postcard sent to her by her children and grandchildren in two subsequent years.

The first one was sent by her grandson, Richard, from Rimini, Italy. Mrs Drury lived in Middlesex, England.

He wrote: 'Dear Grandma, The weather is very good here, and I am having a most enjoyable time. Give my love to all at 59 [the number of their house], and I hope you are all well. Love, Richard'. It was postmarked on 24 June 1967. The first two stamps used were of 5 and 10 lire. The third one commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Republic [2 June 1946-1966].