Blooms and Correspondence

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Central Park, Correspondence, Easter, Nature, New York City, Postcards, Spring, Tulips

This past week, I went to New York City. Having never been, it was quite a treat to see the skyscrapers, museums, Central Park, and the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a whirlwind tour of the city. I stumbled upon many famous sites (the Flatiron Building, the Dakota Building, John Lennon’s “Imagine” mosaic, Alexander Hamilton’s grave, and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” to name a few). The weather was lovely and it was nice to see so much green space in New York City. Even better, the flowering trees and tulips were in bloom.

As if New York City wasn’t excitement enough, I have since traveled another 650 miles in the past 48 hours, just to come home for Easter. How could I miss out on family and food? In the spirit of Easter and an early spring, I’ve decided to devote this blog to my collection of Easter postcards. 

All of these postcards date between 1900 and 1915. It’s interesting to see that many Easter traditions have remained the same. The images and correspondence on my postcards show that worship, the exchange and eating of eggs, outdoor games, cemetery visits, and focus on children were common practices.

According to Annie Rose, Easter postcards contain a great deal of symbolism. For instance, eggs represent new life. Many of my cards depict eggs in addition to flora and fauna. You might also notice that several of my postcards appear surprisingly secular, considering Easter is a Christian holiday. This concept was agreeable in the early 1900s, as people considered spring scenes a symbol of Christ’s resurrection.

Do you collect holiday postcards? I’d love to hear about it. Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

A Wandering Mind Afloat

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Design, Fish, Lake, Limoges, Musings, Spring

This afternoon, I ignored my to-do list. It’s already a mile long; I figured one more hour of relaxation wouldn’t get me into too much trouble. (Though that is yet to be determined.) On such a beautiful day, I just couldn’t trap myself indoors any longer. Instead, I sat by the lake and sketched my Limoges Room. In case you’re not attuned to my daydreams, I’ve been designing a room in my head for quite some time. It is crafted specifically for the storage and display of my collections, especially Limoges. With any luck, this room will be in my Victorian house someday. I say this scoffing to myself, “Pssh! As if you’re even close to buying a house!” Oh well, a girl can dream. It never hurts to be prepared.  

Here’s my sketch. It’s pretty darn rough, but it felt good to put something down on paper. I long to have wall-to-wall display cases with plenty of storage above and below. Eh…dollar signs…

At least the lake makes a nice backdrop!

In keeping with the theme of the lake, how about a fish?

I bought this Limoges plate last year in Waynesville, Ohio, the “Antiques Capital of the Midwest.” Despite a slight variation in the second dorsal fin, I think the piece depicts a European brown trout; a native freshwater fish in France. This would make sense, considering the plate was decorated in Limoges. The wispy brush strokes and soft muted tones are classic techniques of Lewis Straus & Sons. On the back of the plate, you can see the blue LS&S overglaze export mark, which dates from 1891 to c. 1920. The manufacturer’s underglaze backstamp, however, is a bit of an enigma. It features a tower with initials beneath it. According to Mary Frank Gaston in The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Limoges Porcelain, the letters are G.I.D. Personally, I don’t agree. The letters appear to be B.T.D. on my plate. Either way, this stamp is so rare that I have not yet found any others for comparison. For now, the company will remain a mystery.

Well, now that I’ve set your mind a-wandering, go out and enjoy the rest of this lovely spring day!