This morning, while looking for a certain postcard in my vast collection of them, I have been revisiting places I have been to, in the past, and also becoming reacquainted with the travel experiences of friends and family. Postcards are downright fun! I have seen covered bridges, St. Louis, Missouri, Georgia, Minnesota, Iowa, Alaska, many species of flowers, prize winning stallions and views of Guanajuato, Mexico from postcards sent from a high school pen pal. I’ve looked at the renowned quilts made by Susan McCord in the nineteenth century, examples of “Naive Painting,” and the work of Henri Rousseau. There are photo postcards of monkeys, moose, and a raccoon washing an ear of corn. In the mix, I have saved postcards sent to announce special events such as the 75th anniversary of the League of NH Craftsman, and announcements for new quilting titles.
There is a photo postcard of the magnificent Gothic cathedral that I visited in Seville, Spain with its flying buttresses and gargoyles. Spanish art made by Goya, Murillo, Velazquez and others shine forth from a series of cards that I collected at El Prado in Madrid. A view of Roman ruins can be seen in postcards from Valencia. My temporary “home town” of Pamplona is caught forever by the camera that took the photos of other postcards. Next, we have a Pileated Woodpecker, feeding her baby who is reaching its beak up from inside a log. Too cool!. A bald eagle sits in profile on another card while the yellow Aspen trees of Colorado pay me a visit on the next one.
A photo of the plane that brought me home “Air France” is on another postcard I’ve saved. New Hampshire mountains in the autumn and snow covered trees in the winter mark the seasons, as does a photo postcard survey of “Golden Pond” (Squam Lake, NH in the summer). Natural wonders, such as Glen Ellis Falls at Pinkham Notch, NH are also ever present and just at my fingertips. For a change of pace, one postcard just says “Hi!” Several landscape postcards are 3-D. The Mount Washington Cog Railroad, a famous tourist attraction in New Hampshire, peeps at me from yet another piece of ephemera, the train’s steam emanating profusely. Yellowstone National Park is represented in this collection, as is the Baroness Von Trapp and her daughter, Hedwig, on the porch of the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. Lighthouses, lady slippers, Birch trees, blooming cacti, big cities, monuments in the Capitol, the “Old Man of the Mountain,” and summer camps where I have worked are all available to revisit, at any time.
As you can tell, I love postcards. They are usually inexpensive, although they used to be a lot less expensive than they are today! They are taken by professional photographers and they are easy to carry home, or mail, to remember your special trip. Now that I have gone through all these cards, I have not yet found the one I am seeking. I am thinking that I should go to Walmart, buy a big album and see through, archival sleeves with divided sections so that I can better preserve and store this collection. It would make it a lot easier, in terms of “finding” exactly what I want to look at again, in a more expeditious manner. But, no matter. I’ve “enjoyed the trip!”
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
