The Design of this Tag is Perfection

This repair tag from Grand Electric Co. is the most favorite piece of ephemera I own. The design is sublime; the bright yellow, with nonly the deep black, every squiggle and font. Maybe one day I will blow it up into a poster. 

I wish I was friends with Aaron Draplin, because I think he would love this. Have you seen this Aaron?

Have a Good Time at the Rose Festival

It's already Rose Festival time here in Portland. Truthfully, I don't really partake in the Rose Festival as much as most people, but I like that it exists. I have always loved the local festivals they have in towns all over the U.S.

I do, of course, like to collect Vintage Rose Festival Postcards. The costumes and floats were so pretty back then. Even in black and white you can see that. Here are a few I wanted to share before Rose Festival time is over.

The back of the postcard seen above

Happy Rose Festival from the Summer Capital of America! (Really?)

The Rose City

Portland is also called The Rose City and every year there is a Rose Festival here that has many events and last from a month from May to June.

I have been collecting some old images of the rose Festival and will post some as it gets closer to that time, but today I wanted to post this awesome photo with these two women surrounded by roses. I love the way they are looking at each other and someone literally made a frame of roses for people to pose behind. I don't know if this took place during the Rose Festival, but it's a good guess.

I also just put this pretty tinted postcard of the girl picking roses in the Etsy shop today, so the two of them inspired me to do a little collage with them. Behind the title are some young Rose Festival participants in the early 1900's.

Portland is in ridiculous bloom right now, Flowers, trees, everything is blooming and the streets look like illustrations with all the green leaves and bright colors. Enjoy the blooms in your town!

Vintage Postcard & Photo Show this Weekend!

This weekend is the Annual Webfooters Postcard Show and Sale.

The Show and Sale consists of a room full of postcard, antique photo and paper enthusiasts visiting, buying and selling old images all day long.

You can see some really interesting things there. Things like old Portland trolley advertising signs, sheets of vintage mug shots, vintage menu's and magazines, maps, directories, brochures, lots of pictures of long gone places all over the world - maybe even your home town, and bins and bins of postcards and photos for as little as 25 cents each!

There will also be a silent auction this weekend. Make sure you get a look at all the tables with the silent auctions and sign up for anything that interests you. Here's a list of the items that will be offered.

Another feature of the weekend Webfooters show is that the Bridal Veil Post Office will be there. They will have stamps to sell and usually have a special cancellation. They may only be there one of the days. If you catch them, please buy some postage from them. This small post office is always at risk of being closed and the sales they do at the Webfooter's Show every year helps them keep afloat.

It'll be a fun weekend. I know it's supposed to sunny in Portland this weekend, but a couple of hours looking at postcards can only add to your good feelings. Hope to see you there!

His Mustache had Become a Problem

I have been looking forward to sharing this with you all. This is such a great portrait. 

It's also for sale on the Etsy shop.

lacey christmas wishes

I like how this Christmas postcard from 1912 recreates the look of a lace doily. Very intricate and pretty.

This was sent from what looks like Nebraska to Portland Oregon on December 18, 1912.

Dear Cousins,

The pkg. for yourself and Ethel rec'd in fine condition, which Flora and I are very thankful, will give Lucy hers at Xmas time, I am not able to do any writing or I would write you a letter, but would be pleased to get one from you. I can only do certain things with my arm, will not be able to come my hair for some time yet.  With love to all, from your Aunt E Loomis

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I am seeing emails that say "last minute presents" and it's freaking me out. I just got started. The holiday season goes by so fast.

I did a little post on the PonyBoy Press blog about using copies of old family photos for Christmas tags. You an also use copies of your favorite Christmas postcards and cards. Here are a few I made just now.

Some new Christmas and New Years items added to the shop, including a beautiful handmade card from 1915.

Postcard and Antique Paper Show this weekend

Just wanted you all to know about a Postcard, Stamp and Antique Paper Show this weekend in Portland. This is a big one!  Admission is $5.00, but you can get a dollar off if you print this up and bring it.

The website is pretty minimal, but all you need to know is on this card. Have fun!

starting to return to normal

For the last month or so I've been busy working on my zine for the Portland Zine Symposium. This is why things have been so quite here.

The zine I made this year is all about Vintage Postcards! I wanted to do some outreach, teach some folks about them and tell them why they're so neat. People seemed to be really interested in them at the symposium and I even gave away some applications to the local Postcard Club.

If you read this blog, you probably already are a collector, but if you're interested I thought I'd let you know about the new zine. Below is a picture of my table at the zine symposium last weekend. You can read more about that on my other blog here.

This new issue of my hodge-podge themed zine Paper Crush is Paper Crush #4. Each zine comes with a free vintage postcard. You can find it at here on The Cedar Chest shop.

Now, I am working on getting the house and my life back in order. A back injury and a cold haven't helped me much. Hopefully, I'll be posting more postcards and photographs soon.

NE Tillamook and 15th St

I'm incredibly smitten with beautiful and unique house that has long left Portland. I just found out about it from the blog Vintage Portland. This wonderful image is from the University of Oregon Libraries and when you look at the large image it is overwhelming how clear a picture it is. What a stunning house, I so wish I could see it.

This is what is there now. The little white house next door still stands, but unfortunately this run of the mill apartment building is now where this house once stood. The house was demolished in 1965.

View Larger Map

Not everything can survive of course, but I'm sure glad that at least someone got an image before the house was gone.

let's get a treat

I would so love to go to this Soda Fountain in Portland. Unfortunately, it's long gone. I would like someone in Portland to make a sweet pretty place like this ( no more 50's style diners, please) where we can get green river sodas and malts with extra malt.

This soda fountain postcard was sent April 9th, 1914 to Mrs William Forest in Fairview, OR. It was sent by Lizzie and she started the note off with "Sisters".

Lizzie was taking care of some people who had the measles. The people with the measles lived at 1279 E Yamhill. The exact house number is not there. It could be gone or renumbered. There are some old houses in that neighborhood.

The Holland Restaurant is another lost restaurant I totally want to go. I see these postcards pretty regularly. The Holland was a pretty popular place from what I gather and I think there were more than one. The last one closed in 2001. It was in Vancouver.

The people behind the Holland are the same people who own the Burgerville Fast Food local chain. Which, by the way, is the best fast food ever. So, good, lots of quality, local foods and good vegetarian options.

Here's some good info about The Holland / Burgerville history:

In 1922, Jacob Propstra, a Dutch immigrant who had moved to the United States in 1912, and shortly thereafter took a job at the Old Imperial Creamery in Portland, founded the Holland Creamery in downtown Vancouver, Washington. The butter and egg business evolved into the Holland Butter and Ice Cream Co., and when Sunday visitors stopped by to sample the product, Propstra added cones. In 1928, the business moved to another nearby location. Propstra put in tables and chairs, and, in 1933, he began to offer cheese sandwiches at the newly expanded Holland Restaurant. The average per customer sale at the time added up to about 11 cents.

In 1935, shortly after the restaurant began to offer sandwiches, George Propstra, Jacob's son, who was three months short of completing a college business degree, joined his father in the family business. George Propstra had started out scooping ice cream, washing cans, and wrapping butter as a boy, along with his two brothers--all "part and parcel of being in one of those dairy families," as he described it in a 1982 Oregonian article.

In 1956, Jacob Propstra retired and George Propstra assumed control of the business and "realized that the butter, egg, and ice cream businesses were all to be dominated by big outfits. ... We finally saw the handwriting on the wall," he was quoted as saying in the Oregonian. "[A]t the time, we were a one-horse operation." However, there was room to grow in the restaurant business. "We had had a taste of the restaurant business and could see it was a small man's business. You could grow slowly and carefully, opening one restaurant at a time." In 1957, The Holland added a $30,000 bakery addition, located in the restaurant building; the bakery sold Danish and French pastries and all types of cakes. (info from here)

I could really go for a lime soda and a danish pastry.

before the eruption

Today is the anniversary of the Mt St Helen's eruption in 1980. I recently got a stash of Washington State memorabilia at the Webfooters auction and looked through it tonight for some Mt St Helen's related stuff. Sure enough, I found some things.

I have a number of photos from an aerial tour that a women took not too long before the mountain erupted. Judging by the photos I would guess they were taken around 1977-1980.

written on back: Mt Adams now directly behind St Helens.

written on back: more black smoke, we were six miles away

Below is some stationery from around 1930. It came in a set with other local mountains on other pages. The image is actually a linen type finish small postcard glued on the paper.

I wasn't living here when Mt St Helen's blew. I was about 14 and living in Southern California. I do remember it, though and all the footage.

I see Mt St Helens often from the Fremont bridge when I drive home from work. It isn't the perfect Mt Fuji of the America as they used to call it, but I like the weird shape of it.

professional

I love finding old Portland advertising postcards and ephemera. Here are two I got a while ago.

This postcard is advertising Dral Cleaners, which still exists in the same spot in the Sellwood neighborhood. I'll have to go visit sometime.

This other postcard ad is awesome. Ralph Vincent looks like quite the professional and serious photographer, don't you think? He looks like so many character actors, in fact he looks a lot like the guy who played the psychiatrist in Miracle on 34th Street.

The three month calender is curious. Was it his busy season? Also, why couldn't he take off his coat? His office in SW Portland is long gone.

Anyway, I like his style.

Maybe Ralph took the picture for the Dral Cleaners postcard.

the post postcard show report

The Webfooter's Postcard weekend is over and it was a great time. The Friday night auction was lots of fun and there were some amazing deals!

The weekend show was a good time. Lots of great stuff to look at and people to see. It was great to see some of my friends there for the first time. It was also a real pleasure to be able to have a nice long talk with Karolyn Grimes, about her life and her roles in the films "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Bishops Wife". She was such a delight and it was so neat to be laughing with her and saying our favorite lines from "It's a Wonderful Life". I could quote that whole film, as I'm sure she could. She is such a doll and she looks so much like she did as a kid.

Another neat thing to see at the show was a club member's personal collection of vintage beauty products. She brought them and displayed them on three tables just so people could see them. Apparently, she keeps them all in her bathroom! I love vintage packaging.

I got some great photos and postcards and I'll share some of them in future posts.

In the meantime here is a Easter Postcard I got at the show. I like how it is dark and not the usual Easter pastels. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Come Meet Karolyn Grimes, "Zuzu" from It's a Wonderful Life at The Webfooters Post Card Show this weekend

I can't believe I forgot to mention this is my earlier post, but perhaps it's best because it merits it's own entry. There will be a celebrity at The Webfooter's Postcard Show this weekend and I'm betting she was in one of your all time favorite films.

Pretty much everyone loves the film It's a Wonderful Life. Many of us may have even seen it more than any other film. One of the most memorable scenes is when George Bailey, who's at his wit's end, visits his daughter Zuzu who has a cold.



Karolyn Grimes is the woman who played Zuzu in this film and she appeared in many other films during her childhood. It's super exciting that she will be at The Webfooters Postcard Show and Sale this weekend. She'll have a table and will be selling and signing memorabilia. I really like this 8x10 image of the whole cast:


Karolyn was also in another great Christmas film, The Bishops Wife. This is a lovely film. And Cary Grant and Loretta Young are so wonderful in it.



So, come by The Webfooters Show this weekend and meet a woman who was a part of some of the most classic films made. You can learn more about Karolyn Grimes at her website.

lunch or dinner in old Portland

Trader Vic's is a chain of tiki style restaurants that was really popular in the 50's and 60's. They still exist, but there aren't nearly as many locations. I recently heard that someone is trying to open a franchise here in Portland again. This restaurant was in the Benson Hotel.

This Newberry's "Columbia Room" restaurant was located on the mall level of the Lloyd Center in Portland. The back of the postcard says it one of the "Lloyd Center's finest eating establishments". The Lloyd Center Mall used to be a really big deal. At one time it was the largest mall in the Pacific Northwest.

The Living End

I love this photo and especially that Thurston Howell looking guy in the front. He's having a ball. These people all look pretty fun.

This is the Portland Yacht Club and their Shipwreck Dance which took place in Feb. 1965, according to the typed note on the back. A shipwreck dance seems like a good theme. You know who I love a theme.

Multnomah Falls

Here's a postcard from 1903 from Multnomah Falls, here in Oregon.




Here is a postcard of the falls from 1918.

Here is a pic of the fall that I took yesterday. More pics of the trip to the falls on my other blog, PonyBoy Press.

Portland Looks Good

I bought this postcard when I was still living in California over ten year ago. I found a bookstore near me in Mountain View that had lots of postcards in the back and I poured over them. I was longing to move to Portland and I collected a number of postcards from Portland and the Pacific Northwest.

Portland does look good lately. Summer here is beautiful. Ten years ago this summer I moved to Portland. Although I miss Bay Area people and some things there, and am very glad I moved here.

This was sent March 6, 1911 to Miss A. Ashenberg
c/o Durkins Liquor Co. Spokane, Wa

Hello there Anna,

Portland looks good. We'll leave sometime this week for Seattle.

Tilly Huedefurdhl
Genr'l Delivery - Seattle

a handsome card in every pound

One of the reasons I am drawn to Victorian scrap, trade cards and rewards of merit is because I love the idea that just a lovely piece of paper was a prize.

Around 1876 color printing became accessible and affordable. This is when trading and collecting scrap paper became very popular. This led to the a big trend in scrapbooks beginning around the 1880's.

This is an advertising trade card made around 1880-1890. These decorated paper cards were so sought after that businesses made them just to give away. They figured you would be less likely to forget them if you had a pretty item with their name and business on the back.

This company Closset & Devers sold spices, coffee and tea in Portland. They were the first firm in the Northwest to make use of vacuum coffee can.

This image below taken about 1905 and the information about Closset & Devers was found on Old Oregon Photos. A neat site!

follow me down to the rose parade

The Rose Festival is going on right now in Portland. Although I really don't take part in it, I have a fondness for it. I like things that are unique to cities. Especially my adopted city, of course.

I thought this would be a good time to post a couple Rose Festival related items I have collected. These photos are from the mid-Fifities and they came in a full album. I bought the album at an Antique store on the Oregon Coast about 8 years ago.

You can see the banner on the hat of the man, it says Rosarian. I love the Rosarians. They were marching in the Starlight Parade last night. Below is the text from their website.

The Royal Rosarians are the official greeters and ambassadors of goodwill for the City of Portland, Oregon. Royal Rosarians welcome visiting dignitaries from around the world, host hundreds of out-of-town visitors, march in parades throughout the region, and perform ceremonial rose plantings in honor of worthy individuals both in Portland and during Rosarian ambassadorial trips to distant cities throughout the world. Organized in 1912, the Royal Rosarians are a non-profit, civic organization. All services rendered by its members are gratuitous.

I don't know for sure that these pictures were taken during The Rose Festival, but let's just say they were. They are planting rose bushes. I love that the boy is dressed like a Rosarian.

And here is a postcard I got only a few months ago at a Postcard Club meeting.

It was sent to Vincennes, Indiana and is written in pencil. Some is hard to read.

June 14 1923

Dear Clarence and Darvell (not sure about last name),

We came to Portland with Em and Will in car...to see the Rose Festival Parade at 2:30 pm. It is now 1pm. You've never seen such a crowd, the city is packed. 5th grade kids selling boxes for seats on side walk to the highest bidder. Such fun. We leave tonight 11:30pm for Seattle, stay 2 days, then Spokane. I should love to hear from you, but will see you soon.

Bye bye Love,
Mother