Deltiology

Deltiology, the official name for postcard collecting, is thought to be one of the three largest collectable hobbies in the world along with coin and stamp collecting.  Postcards are popular because of the wide range of subjects, with just about every subject imaginable being at some time, portrayed on a postcard.  History itself can be tracked on postcards, from historical buildings, famous people, art, holidays and more.   read more »

"MY HEART IS A CHILD". These words were taken from a poem Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle once wrote to her mother. Ellen was born January 8, 1865 in South Columbia, New York, about 200 miles from New York City. She was shy and delicate and loved to draw and illustrate.  read more »

Raphael Tuck & Sons were publishers from the mid 1800's into the early 20th Century. Raphael Tuck & Sons were proudly known to be the Publishers to Her Majesties the King and Queen, with printing houses in London, Paris and New York.  read more »

I've got a treat for you!

With Bari J's permission I am posting images of her wonderful aprons with links to her blog and shop AND links to the two tutorials on how to make these wonderful vintage-y aprons that everyone NEEDS to have in the kitschen.

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I am so pleased and tickled that Gabreial Wyatt of Vintage Indie wanted to post a feature on her blog about Vintage Image Madness.  I shared the love of vintage images with her and her blog readers of a full page collage sheet of vintage valentine images!

Check out the post here and feel free to grab yourself a wonderful (if I do say so myself) full page collage sheet!  Download the collage sheet here.

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I have been a little slow in posting to the blog about the wonderful ornaments I received back from Lenna's valentine swap. These little beauties are all so sweet and perfect for the big day!  read more »

Jodie of Gypsy Chick Designs has a BEAUTIFUL new FREE download available - I urge you to check it out! I love it and it's perfect for a last minute Valentine's gift for that someone special in your life.  read more »

I had fun participating in Lenna's Valentine Ornament Swap - this was a 3 for 3 or 6 for 6 swap in which we had to create an ornament for Valentine's day. Lenna is the hostess of all hostesses - she'll have these swapped out and mailed back to us on Monday (a two day turnaround time) just so we have them back in time for the big day.

Here's a snippet from her swap blog (http://creativeswaps.blogspot.com) about this swap and my submission in particular....

Last, but certainly not least, here are Casie Metcalf's Valentine Ornaments all the way from Maine!

Casie did a beautiful job creating pendant ornaments with images from downloadable sheets like Wedded Bliss -available from her very own online company called: Vintage Image Madness. You can read more about the company and their downloadable sheets here on this page.  read more »

The legend of Lady Godiva tells of a woman who rode nude through the streets of Conventry, all for the sake of lower taxes. The year was 1057. Lady Godiva was the wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia, one of the three great earls of 11th century England. Leofric was so exasperated by Lady Godiva's constant requests to reduce the taxes of Conventry that he declared he would lower the taxes only if Lady Godiva would ride through the town naked. She did so, covering herself with only her hair. The town rejoiced as taxes were lifted. Whether or not this account really happened, one will never know but the legend did spark enough interest to carry it through 930 years of story telling.

The coined phrase 'peeping tom' originated from this event as well. In seventeenth-century England, a later account of the story contended that Lord Godiva required all the townsmen to remain indoors while his wife took her famous ride. Peeping Tom was a citizen who grabbed a few glances out his window at the beautiful nude horseback rider. Of course, in this version of the legend, Peeping Tom was immediately struck dead.

Images of women and horses experienced great popularity at the turn of the century, bringing to life a fantasy that can be traced back to Lady Godiva. Around 1903, a photographer named Gerlach seized the Lady Godiva theme but with a much more romantic interpretation. While he did not photograph nudes, he did take the liberty of portraying women in risqué bodysuits, placing them in dark dramatic settings with the wind blowing gently through their hair.

The trend of portraying romantic women and their horses continued long after Gerlach's day had come and gone. Photographers and producers of fantasy images continued this popular theme through the end of the 1920's, using hand-applied color to enhance the effects of the image.

This information provided by Pam at Tallulahs.

1873: The first United States government postal cards are issued. There are regulations created that govern the size and postage cost for these new mailings. Only government issued post cards are allowed to be mailed; no “counterfeit” postcards can be used. One side of the card is for address and stamp; the other side is completely blank and used as a space for writing a personal message. No picture is featured on these plain cards.  read more »