Kahu-Kiwi cloak | New Zealand

This is an amazing postcard from New Zealand. It shows a Maori girl in Kiwi feather cloak. 'This highly prized cloak is ornamented with Kiwi feathers and is a Kahu-Kiwi cloak, usually worn for ceremonial occasions.'

Maori cloaks with feather decoration may not have been popular in the period before European contact. About forty cloaks were collected on Captain Cook's voyages, but few bear the traces of feathers. Mick Pendergrast, a specialist in Maori textiles, comments that cloaks decorated fully with feathers seem to have appeared in the mid-nineteenth century. They became popular by the 1880s, and remain prestigious garments today. 

Feathered cloaks are often extremely colourful, using pheasant, parrot, peacock and domestic fowl feathers. Sometimes dyed feathers are incorporated into cloaks. Feathered cloaks are normally worked in an upside-down position, starting at the lower edge. The work is suspended between weaving sticks, without using a loom. Vertical warp threads are arranged between the sticks and the wefts are twined across them. The feathers are attached during the twining process. [British Museum]

In the back there is a Tauranga postal stamp with the date 19 February 1979. The handwriting says: 'Dear Margaret, we are on our last stages now of our tour of New Zealand. I shall take it easily at that seaside bungalow, where the beach is within a minute walk. What a wonderful country. We never cease to admire the scenery and many other things. 

We expect to be home on March 5th, going just to San Fransisco for 2 nights. 

I'm afraid it has been a very tiring winter for youin England, one of those years when all the bad things come at once. I do hope it will be followed, as in 1947 by a lovely summer. Look forward to seeing you again then. 

Much love, Nina'

Well, I do hope that Margaret had a lovely summer and no more bad things happened to her.

Hoozdo Hahoodzo | USA

Even though, map postcards are not my favorites, I really like this one. It is from Arizona, United States of America.

Arizona (Navajo: Hoozdo Hahoodzo; O'odham: Alĭ ṣonak) is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the Western United States and of the Mountain West states. It is the sixth largest and the 15th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It has borders with New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, and Mexico, and one point in common with the southwestern corner of Colorado. Arizona's border with Mexico is 389 miles (626 km) long, on the northern border of the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California.

Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. It was previously part of the territory of Alta California in New Spain before being passed down to independent Mexico and later ceded to the United States after the Mexican–American War. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.

Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; some mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Mountains); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Alpine, and Tucson. In addition to the Grand Canyon National Park, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments. About one-quarter of the state is made up of Indian Reservations that serve as the home of a number of Native American tribes. [wikipedia]

Sweethaven, the Popeye Village | Malta

This postcard is from Sweethaven, the Popeye Village at Anchor Bay, Malta, constructed in 1979 for the filming of the Robert Evans - Robert Altman production 'Popeye', released by Paramount and Walt Disney. It stars Robin Williams as Popeye the Sailor Man and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl.

 

The construction of the film set started in June 1979. A construction crew of 165 working over seven months was needed to build the village, which consists of nineteen wooden buildings. Hundreds of logs and several thousand wooden planks were imported from the Netherlands, while wood shingles used in the construction of the roof tops were imported from Canada. Eight tons of nails and two thousand gallons of paint were also used in construction.

In addition, a 200–250 foot breakwater was built around Anchor Bay's mouth to protect the set from high seas during the shooting.

The set was completed in seven months, and filming commenced on January 23, 1980 and wrapped later that year on June 19. The film, based on the comic strips by E. C. Segar, is set around the fictional village of Sweethaven, where the sailor Popeye arrives in an attempt to find his long-lost father.

Although the film had mixed reviews, Popeye Village remains a popular tourist attraction. [wikipedia]

Please receive | Malawi

This is a postcard from the Landirani Trust, an organization supporting orphans in Malawi.

In 2005, the Landirani Trust was born out of a visit to Malawi by Heather and two friends. In those early days the charity hoped to be able to provide some basic necessities such as clothing and blankets. It wasn’t long before we recognised the desperate need to put in clean water and build schools. These became two of our major activities in recent years, which in turn led to health and our building a maternity unit in 2013/14.

The word ‘Landirani’ means ‘please receive’ in the local language Chichewa and over time the charity has achieved significant awareness in Malawi and is recognised by major agencies such as UNICEF as well as the Government of Malawi. Therefore we will continue to be called the Landirani Trust in Malawi.

In the UK however, not surprisingly Landirani has proved more of a challenge for people to remember! Since the generous donation of a 10 acre site by grateful chiefs where we work, we are embarking on an ambitious programme to build ‘Sam’s Village’. We want to move away from hand-outs and instead create self-sufficient training programmes that can support thousands of local people and show them how to improve their lives. Once built the Village will be self-supporting but to get to this stage will require significant financial investment.

Most of our fundraising takes place in the UK and we recognise we need to have a more memorable name which people can identify with .. one which will express our vision for the people of Malawi. And with that African Vision Malawi was born!

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | England

Set amongst a series of parks and estates along the River Thames' south-western reaches, this historic landscape garden includes work by internationally renowned landscape architects Bridgeman, Kent, Chambers, Capability Brown and Nesfield illustrating significant periods in garden design from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The gardens house extensive botanic collections (conserved plants, living plants and documents) that have been considerably enriched through the centuries. Since their creation in 1759, the gardens have made a significant and uninterrupted contribution to the study of plant diversity, plant systematics and economic botany.

The landscape design of Kew Botanic Gardens, their buildings and plant collections combine to form a unique testimony to developments in garden art and botanical science that were subsequently diffused around the world. The 18th century English landscape garden concept was adopted in Europe and Kew's influence in horticulture, plant classification and economic botany spread internationally from the time of Joseph Banks' directorship in the 1770s. As the focus of a growing level of botanic activity, the mid 19th century garden, which overlays earlier royal landscape gardens is centred on two large iron framed glasshouses - the Palm House and the Temperate House that became models for conservatories around the world. Elements of the 18th and 19th century layers including the Orangery, Queen Charlotte's Cottage; the folly temples; Rhododendron Dell, boundary ha-ha; garden vistas to William Chambers' pagoda and Syon Park House; iron framed glasshouses; ornamental lakes and ponds; herbarium and plant collections convey the history of the Gardens' development from royal retreat and pleasure garden to national botanical and horticultural garden before becoming a modern institution of conservation ecology in the 20th century.[UNESCO]

The Gardens and its 44 listed buildings are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003.

King William's Temple, erected in 1837, with Rhododendron species and hybrids in flower on the slope, and the Flagstaff [214ft high] in the background.

Disneyland

Disneyland is the most magical place in the world! This postcard was sent in 22 July 1997 from Disneyland, Paris to Fareham, England. It reads: " Hiya, as you can see Shakita and I are in Disneyland Paris. We were supposed to be in Ireland [?] but it's apparently full. Weather great, food great, rides ....[??] Love Dad"

Raphael Tuck & Sons, The Early Days of a Postcard Pioneer

I always like the fragments of history one can learn by simply reading the back of a postcard. So, when I started to notice the name 'Raphael Tuck and Sons' on many of my vintage postcards I decided to look into it. The story is fascinating! [Sources: wikipedia, aboutpostcards.blogspot.co.uk]

Most Deltiologists will recognise the name Raphael Tuck & Sons, one of the most prestigious and prolific postcard publishing companies. It was however the sons of Raphael, Adolph Tuck in particular, who managed the explosive growth of this most successful business in its early postcard era.

Raphael was married to the former Ernestine Lissner in March 1848. She gave birth to seven children, four boys and three girls, all born in Prussia prior to their migration to England. They moved in Bishopsgate in the City of London on October 1866 to set up in business selling picture frames from a small shop. Raphael sent out his sons, Herman, Adolph and Gustave to bring in more business. Herman and Adolph also went on selling trips, and at the end of the day they would check the results of the day's work. The one with the higher sales would have the bigger egg next morning for breakfast.

Three of the four sons participated in the firm established by their father. Their second son, Adolph, was chairman and managing director of Raphael Tuck and sons, Ltd. until his death on 3 July 1926. He was created a baronet on 19 July 1910. The Tuck coat-of-arms features a shield with a flaming antique lamp above which are two hands in the attitude of prayer, with two crossed F’s in a circle at the lower part of the shield. The crest shows a seated lion supporting an artist's palette whereupon is inscribed the work “Thorough". The Tuck motto inscribed on a ribbon below the shield is “Cum Deo”.

Kutná Hora | Czech Republic

Kutná Hora (medieval Czech: Hory Kutné; German: Kuttenberg) is a city situated in the Central Bohemian Region of Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. Kutná Hora and the neighboring town of Sedlec are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the most important buildings in the area are the Gothic, five-naved St. Barbara's Church, begun in 1388, and the Italian Court, formerly a royal residence and mint, which was built at the end of the 13th century. The Gothic Stone Haus, which since 1902 has served as a museum, contains one of the richest archives in the country. The Gothic St. James's Church, with its 86-metre (282 ft) tower, is another prominent building. Sedlec is the site of the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady and the famous Ossuary. [wikipedia]

This card was sent in 1980, when Czechoslovakia still existed. Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia (Czech and Slovak: Československo, Česko-Slovensko) was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until its peaceful dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993.

A game of squash from Brussels to West Sussex

I lived in Brussels for almost a year in 2007 and it is a place that will be forever in my heart. I still remember how mesmerized I was when I first saw Grand Place.

The Grand Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by opulent guildhalls and two larger edifices, the city's Town Hall, and the Breadhouse (French: Maison du Roi, Dutch: Broodhuis) building containing the Museum of the City of Brussels. The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 361 ft), and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Every two years in August, an enormous "flower carpet" is set up in the Grand Place for a few days. A million colourful begonias are set up in patterns, and the display covers a full 24 by 77 metres (79 by 253 ft), for area total of 1,800 square metres (19,000 sq ft). The first flower carpet was made in 1971, and due to its popularity, the tradition continued, with the flower carpet attracting a large number of tourists. [wikipedia]

The second postcard was sent at 20 April 1982 and it reads: 'Dear Rick, staying in Brussels for a few days. My squash has not progressed very far! If you have the time I will give you a game (we'll knock about). Best to leave a message with secretary. Love "D" '

Do you think they actually played that game of squash?

Turtle Farm | Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica. The Cayman Islands are considered to be part of the geographic Western Caribbean Zone as well as the Greater Antilles. The territory is often considered a major world offshore financial haven for many wealthier individuals. One of the biggest tourist attractions is the Cayman Turtle Farm, shown on the postcard.