Postcards From The Past

This morning, while surfing through various news sites while waiting for word on the Bobby Cutts verdict watch, I came across an article about a postcard that was delivered decades after it was sent. The article is in the Boston Globe (A special delivery: greetings from 1929) and details how the postcard, penned 78 years ago by a traveler with the initials M.C., simply says, "Greetings." Bearing a green one-cent stamp and a picture of Yellowstone National Park's Tower Falls, it is addressed to a "Miss Margeret McDonald." The article made me think about some of the old postcards that I've sold in the past on ebay, and about the boxes of old postcards I still have sitting here waiting to be sold. And it makes me think about how I really need to get busy and get the cards up for sale again! lol...

So, I've been looking through the images of some of the old postcard I've had or sold over the past few years. Most of the cards have never been mailed, but there are some that were and have enigmatic messages on them just like the one the fellow in the Globe article.

I wish I still had images of a couple of the postcards I sold a couple years ago. One of them was a postcard from a soldier to a girl that had a picture of the California coastline and was postmarked around 1918 or so. It was essentially a "Dear Jane" postcard.. He apologized to her and told her that he'd found a new "love". Another one from a soldier at the Presidio in San Francisco to his mother telling her how his training was going, the state of his health and how soon they would be going overseas, it was postmarked in 1916. Too many computer crashes since selling those cards, and the images were lost.

Other postcards that I've sold in the past have given people a glimpse of their family members. One, from Knott's Berry Farm of the stage coach (see below) gave me an email from a buyer telling me how thrilled she was to get the card. One of the men on the top of the stage coach was her Grandfather! Another card I sold that had been postmarked back in the 20's was bought by a fellow that recognized a name on the card. The card was sent from New Zealand by a young woman to her best friend in California. The woman who sent the card was the fellow's great aunt. Another fellow who bought an old card from me bought it because it has been addressed to the house next door to him, and he wanted to give it to his buddy next door... lol.. I love hearing from my buyers about why they've bought a particular card from me. I do have to admit that I don't hear from the buyers that often, but when the stories come in, it certainly brings a smile to my face. I guess I need to get busy and restock my ebay store! lol