|
Wanna read the latest
from Clever Magazine? |
||
 searching for a stamp... The Phantom's Postcard Tour
continues... |
||
|
This summer we're taking a break from our tour of the United States to wander through Europe. As I sorted through the Phantom's postcard collection, I came upon several old European cards, some dated as early as the late 1800's, so I've decided to share them with you. |
||
|
||
|
We'll start in Gibraltar around the turn of the 20th century. Notice the woman tourist in her long skirt in this very old painted postcard. Our next stop is Paris! What follows is a message that was written in a very small hand onto the back of an old postcard of Notre Dame. As I tried to decipher it, I was surprised by many things this young lady alludes to. First of all, she was traveling unchaperoned -- in 1905 -- with several other young ladies. AND, they had been away from home for many months. Her note to Miss Austin sounds suspiciously like it might have been addressed to a favorite teacher. It seems affectionate, yet sort of formal, as though she was trying to convince Miss Austin that they were indeed learning something about Europe, while having lots of innocent fun... |
||
|
This is
just a note – because I never am in a letter writing mood nowadays. But
want to send you more than a postcard for once to keep my poor memory
green. We have been in (Ha! Jane simply couldn't have known that her message to Miss Austin would appear on a website nearly a hundred years later to be read by 1000s of surfers around the world.) |
||
 Here's a lovely old tinted postcard of Notre Dame, during the time our correspondent was in Paris. People often placed the stamp onto the picture side of the card. |
||
 And here's another postcard of Notre Dame photographed from the other side. It's rare these days to see so few people visiting this area. Wouldn't it be fun to be the only tourists in Paris. What a thought. |
||
 And then a riverboat trip is in order... can't you just feel the chill in the air? |
||
 On to Italy, famous for their beautiful cartolinas. Here's one that was written in 1911. I have no idea what the message says, but the handwriting seems so passionate, almost like poetry. Often postcard messages are truly mundane, but once in a while they tell us secrets about strangers -- very voyeuristic, don't you think? |
||
 Firenze's famous Ponte Vecchio on the Arno River -- one of the most famous bridges of all. These days tourists flock there to check out the fabulous jewelry stores that line the bridge. Just one of the attractions of Florence. Makes me want to go shopping. |
||
And finally, here another one from Firenze. The message on the back of this card reads: This is the statue of Duke Ferdinand -- the statue which inspired (Robert) Browning's poem "The Statue and the Bust." We are told that this bust is a figment of the poet's fancy. But the statue still occupies the centre of the square. The buildings form a quadrangle, and the lady might have looked out from any of many windows as the duke rode past. Sometimes postcard senders cannot resist the opportunity to teach us some lesson about the local culture. And there's plenty to be learned in Florence. Dream on... |
||
|
||
|
Home
| The Clever Archives | Contributors
to Clever Magazine | Writers' Guidelines © No portion of Clever Magazine may be copied or reprinted without express consent of the editor. |
