Via Airmail

A Few Bookish Postcards

I recently shared these postcards over at my book blog, but thought you might like to see them here as well.  I don't think I've shared any of these here yet.  I received them all through themed swaps on the Postcrossing Forum, direct swaps or through bookish friends who know I collect any postcards that have to do with books/libraries or reading. 

Doesn't this look like a quaint little house?  It's actually the Wells Memorial Library in Upper Jay, NY.  It is situated in a small, rural town of 326 residents.  It looks quite homey and comfortable, don't you think?  I could spend some pleasant time there browsing books I suspect.  You can read more about it here, and take a peek inside here.

From library to bookstore.  Another very browse-able place, don't you think?  The caption on the card reads "Antiquariat der Literatur, Zurich".  Not sure if that means used books or just general bookstore, but it's a great space.

Isn't this a great image?  It's one of my favorites so far (though how to choose with so many wonderful cards?).  As it happens I had a German penpal who I used to be in regular contact with, but over the years our cards had gotten less and less regular.  Since I have been in a letter writing mode I sent her some postcards and it turns out she is also on Postcrossing and sent me this postcard as a surprise.  Hopefully we'll be in more regular contact once again.  This painting is by George Dunlop Leslie (1835-1921) and is titled "Alice in Wonderland".  It's home is at the Royal Pavilion Libraries & Museums, Brighton & Hove.  More about the museums here.  Doesn't the little girl look slightly annoyed?

Just a general book lust image here!

Two of my favorite subjects in this one--books and the seaside.  It's such a "civil" looking scene.  Properly dressed ladies in their hats and frocks undertaking suitably ladylike tasks whilst on their holidays.  And when they finished I am sure they must have had tea and cakes in a nice little tea room.  Sounds nice to me.  The painting is by Alfred Victor Fournier (1872-1932) and is titled "Am Strand", 1929.

Many thanks to Catherine for this one.  It's an image I can relate to only too well (how often do I wish I was at home curled up with a good book?).  The artist is Edgar Fernhout (1912-1974) and this is listed as "Interieur".  It's found in the Coll. Centraal Museum, Utrecht.

More book lust.  The caption on this--"Von le Corbusier bis Baudelaire".  It looks like a shelf of German art and architecture books.

More (enviable) reading women.  The artist is W.B. Tholen (1860-1931).  The painting is titled "The Arntzenius Sisters".  This is in the Collectie Stedlijk Museum Het Catharina Gasthuis, Gouda.   What do you think?  Picture books?  They are awfully oversized.

And I'll round things out with one more bookstore.  This is Bilbo's Bookshop in Bath on the "busy corner of Milsom Street & New Bond Street.  This is a detail from an original watercolor by Toby Longworth.  The caption reads "Over 30,000 titles on a third mile of shelving are housed in a listed Georgian building.  A tour of Bath by horse & carriage starting from Bilbo's can be had in the season."  I couldn't find anything on this one online, so I'm afraid they are now defunct?  How sad is that?  30,000 titles.  Heaven.

I'm getting quite a collection of bookish postcards, aren't I?  Now I need to decide how best to display/store them.  

Sunday Stamps: Postal Services

This week's Sunday Stamps theme is anything to do with stamps--stamp collecting, the postal services, mailboxes, etc.  I've got two stamps that fit the theme nicely, though I have shared them before.  This first came from Russia.  It shows a mail truck sitting in front of a post office.

This second stamp is from Estonia and is a post horn, which is an international symbol of the postal system.  I'm slowly beginning to accumulate new and varied stamps on my postcards, so hopefully can find some that match different themes.  I also just received a box full of cancelled stamps, which I will share here soon!

You can see more stamps with this theme at Viridian's Postcard Blog.  Just click the box below and follow the list of links!

 

A Library in Belarus

Another library postcard has come my way, and it happens to be once again in Belarus.  I shared the National Library of Belarus a while back, which is located in Minsk.  This one is near Minsk in a small city called Molodechno.  I'm afraid there is no further information about it on the postcard (rather it is written in Russian, or Belarusian--not sure which, so I'm not sure what it says).  It looks quite nice, though, and very large.

I've received a smattering of postcards of libraries now, and I always love seeing them.  Unfortunately I've not been able to find any postcards of my own local libraries!

The stamp is the same design as the one I shared here.

{BY-427500}

Postcrossing card #30

Tallinn, Estonia

This postcard from Estonia took a whopping 48 days to arrive, but it's well worth the wait!  Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and also the largest city of this northern coastal country.  The postcard shows the Art Museum of Estonia in the top left and bottom photos.  The photo on the top right is Saint Catherine's Passage, a picturesque lane in Tallinn's Old Town. 

"What makes this easily the most picturesque of Old Town's lanes particularly interesting is that it's home to the St. Catherine's Guild, a collection of craft workshops where artists use traditional methods to create and sell glassware, hats, quilts, ceramics, jewellery, hand-painted silk and other wares. The workshops are housed in the small, 15th- to 17th-century rooms on the south side of the lane, and are set up in an open-studio fashion so visitors can watch the artists at work, be it glass-blowing, weaving or pottery making."

I love postcards of museums, and this is my second one this week.

The stamp on the left is of the post horn, which I believe I read is an international symbol of the postal system.  The stamp on the right is a Christmas stamp.

{EE-128350}

Postcrossing card #31

Picasso Museum in Barcelona

Although not my first Spanish postcard, this is my first official postcard I've received from Spain.  In this case it came from Barcelona.  As I collect museum cards, the Postcrosser who sent this kindly chose a card of the Museu Picasso.  I love the card for its uniqueness.  What a beautiful courtyard.  The architecture alone is stunning and just imagine what the artwork inside must look like.  Perhaps one day I'll get to see it in person?   

I'm guessing the stamp on the left is another in the series on Civic Values and I've received another Todos con Lorca stamp (by chance I have both stamps on another envelope I received a while back). 

I know it is a little bit silly but I have to admit that it makes me inordinately happy to see another country flag show up on  my stats in Postcrossing!

{ES-160297}

Postcrossing card #29

A Journey from Rotterdam

I love it when a postcard tells a story, and this one does.  I'm told by the Postcrosser who sent this to me that this is where the Pilgrim Fathers began their journey to the New World before embarking on the Mayflower.  The houses are original.  They somehow managed to escape destruction of bombardment during WWII.  That's quite amazing to think of the history that these buildings have witnessed!  And it's quite a picturesque area, too.

I've received a number of these stamps on postcards and think it must be the standard international stamp for postcards/letters in The Netherlands.

{NL-1169068}

Postcrossing card #28

Shopping in Shanghai

I love the scene on this postcard.  I exchanged cards with a Postcrosser in China.  And believe it or not the cards took less than two weeks to cross the ocean each way.  I think it helps that the destination in China was Shanghai, a large city close to the coast.  I think the photo is quite striking.  It's so colorful and vibrant!

The information on the back about the image reads:

"Pedestrian Mall of Nanjing Road: Nanjing Road has a history of over 150 years, and is now one of the most popular shopping areas in Shanghai."

There is also a love mix of stamps on the back.  I especially like the second from right which looks like a historical event. 

By the way, the postcard is closer in size to a panoramic card, but I had to shrink it down to fit here.  This is definitely one that will be gracing my bulletin board for a while.

Cool Canadian Stamps

I recently bought a few postcard off eBay (am cautious of repeating that experience as I have found the postcards there to be overpriced . . . ), and the seller, who is Canadian, sent them in a mailer with these lovely stamps.

The stamp on the left is in honor of the Lunar New Year 2011, Year of the Rabbit.  I couldn't find the stamps on the right, but they might be part of their Beneficial Insects series as they are very similar in design.

I've gotten very few postcards from any Canadian Postcrossers (or postcard swappers), but maybe I'll eventually get one comemorating the anniversary of the Titanic (though then again maybe not as those are domestic stamps).

They're quite nice and somehow even managed to miss the cancelation mark, which means you can actually see the picture on the stamp!

To see more Sunday stamps check out Viridian's Postcard Blog and follow the links.

What's in Your Mailbox?

This is what was in my mailbox this week.  Isn't it lovely?  Actually I've had a number of really nice postcards in my mailbox this week but I seem to have fallen behind in scanning and sharing them.  It's such tedious work to scan the cards that (actually it is the re-sizing in order to fit here that is a hassle) I admit I tend to put it off until the weekend and then squeeze in a few to get me by during the work week.

This came my way through a swap on the Postcrossing Forum and I was so pleased to see it (though really I am so pleased to see any card!).  It came all the way from St. Petersburg, Russia.  Although I've seen a number of very cool mailbox related postcards I don't think I've seen any of US mailboxes, which in my mind are not so pretty or elegant as those I see overseas.  Of course all the gorgeous blooms do set this mailbox off nicely!

And a peek at the stamps that brought this card  my way.  I especially love the bridge!

Baofeng Lake, China

I've received my first official Postcrossing postcard from China.  It took 22 days to arrive, but it made it safe and sound all the way from Tianjin in Northern China.  The card shows Wulingyuan Scenery, Baofeng Lake ("Treasure Peak") in Hunan Province.   It's quite pretty, don't you think?  I thought perhaps it might have been the postcard to travel furthest so far, but the card I received from Argentina beats it by about 450 km.

The card is of the prepaid sort with a stamp on the back that shows the same picture on the front.

By the way, I had one expired card which was meant to have gone to China.  I sent a second card and it has happily arrived at its destination--taking only about two weeks or so.  I think the first card must either be taking a scenic route or is well and truly lost by now. 

{CN-569814}

Postcrossing card #26