Saturday, November 19, 2011

Saturday's postcards: Peaceful scenes from around the world

It's always a good day for some quiet, peaceful scenes from around the globe.1 That's the theme of today's postcards.

Vermont covered bridge


The above undated postcard was published by Don Sieburg of New London, New Hampshire. The caption states: "VERMONT COVERED BRIDGE near White River Junction2 in a picturesque setting with sparkling waterfall and colorful fall foliage of THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE."

This is one of more than 100 authentic covered bridges in Vermont. One of those bridges, the Bartonsville Covered Bridge, was destroyed by the flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in late August.

Callander Bridge & Ben Ledi


Here's another scenic bridge.

This undated postcard from Valentine & Sons Ltd. features Callander Bridge and Ben Ledi (the mountain in the background) in Scotland.3

Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia


This undated postcard is a Mirro-Krome Card by H.S. Crocker Co., Inc., in San Francisco. It was published by The Book Room Ltd. in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The caption states simply: "PEGGY'S COVE, Famous beauty spot on the South Shore of Nova Scotia."

The small community, which was once known for its fishing industry but is now primarily a tourist attraction, was known as Peggy's Cove from 1961 to 1976 but is now officially called Peggys Cove, without the apostrophe.4

For more on the history and legend of Peggys Cover, check out this website.

Drottningholm Palace, Sweden


This undated black-and-white photo was taken by Gustaf Hilleström.

Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. The original stone palace was built by John III of Sweden in 1580 for his queen, Catherine the Jagiellonian of Poland.5

Check out more on the official website of the Swedish Royal Court.

Plaza Altamira in Caracas, Venezuela


This undated Spanish-language postcard from Caracas, Venezuela, features "El Obelisco de la Plaza Altamira."

Altamira is a neighborhood in Caracas6 (a city of 1.8 million) that dates to 1577. Plaza Altamira, which includes an obelisk and a fountain, was built by Luis Roche, who owned most of the area in 1943. The square was completed in August 1945.

In 1967, the Venezuelan and French governments agreed to rename Plaza Altamira to Plaza Francia, but, apparently, it is still most commonly called Plaza Altamira.

Footnotes
1. Especially after another week of tumultuous and gut-wrenching coverage of the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky/The Second Mile/Joe Paterno scandal.
2. One of the residents of White River Junction is famed meteorologist Jim Cantore. Also, interestingly, White River Junction is home to the Center for Cartoon Studies, a two-year art school focusing on sequential art.
3. Another postcard from Callander was featured on Papergreat last month.
4. Perhaps the removal of the apostrophe was a money-saving move.
5. The marriage between members of the Swedish and Polish royal families led to much consternation and strife.
6. The official name of Caracas is Santiago de León de Caracas.

2 comments:

  1. I think my favorites are the bridge in Scotland and the Plaza Altamira. Cool cards.

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  2. Regarding the removal of the apostrophe from "Peggy's": I love the idea that this was a cost-saving measure. However, one must consider that the bridge may never actually have belonged to Peggy. Also, there may have been more than one Peggy involved. The world may never know.

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