This is my grandmother, Maude Belle McCann Brown Graham...
Grandma Maudie is my dad's mom. She was bedfast the last twenty-five years of her life and she lived with us for several years when I was a child. She had her own room and kept all of her favorite things close at hand where she could get to them whenever she wanted them.
As a child I used to sit on Grandma's bed and visit with her for hours. We would look at old photographs, make pictures from tiny shapes cut from construction paper that we would glue together on a background to make flowers, birds, and other pretty things, and we would sing together. (Grandma knew every song ever written up to that point in time!)
Sometimes Grandma would let me play with the big doll babies that sat at the end of her bed. At other times she would pull out one of the nearby shoe-boxes and go through the treasures that were hidden within. She would show me each thing and tell me the story behind it. I treasured those times together and still do! 💗
Among the things that Grandma loved most was the collection of postcards that she had received from friends and loved ones throughout the years of her youth and beyond.
As a child I used to sit on Grandma's bed and visit with her for hours. We would look at old photographs, make pictures from tiny shapes cut from construction paper that we would glue together on a background to make flowers, birds, and other pretty things, and we would sing together. (Grandma knew every song ever written up to that point in time!)
Sometimes Grandma would let me play with the big doll babies that sat at the end of her bed. At other times she would pull out one of the nearby shoe-boxes and go through the treasures that were hidden within. She would show me each thing and tell me the story behind it. I treasured those times together and still do! 💗
Among the things that Grandma loved most was the collection of postcards that she had received from friends and loved ones throughout the years of her youth and beyond.
Some of them were in really good shape; others were tattered, torn, faded, and barely legible, but through them she was able to maintain memories and a connection to friends that she had lost contact with over the years, as well as, loved ones that had passed on before (her mother, her brothers and sisters, my grandfather).
I enjoyed looking at Grandma's postcards as a child and I'm sure that's where I developed my own love of postcards, starting my own collection of them as a young girl, but I hadn't thought much about them recently, until, last month. In May I attended a class at Spring Interpretive Training on the traditions that surrounded a Victorian Christmas. Postcards were a big thing then and it was one of the topics that was brought up. That of course took my mind back to my grandmother's collection.
A few of Grandma's postcards are postmarked in the late 1800's, but most are postmarked between 1907 and 1923. There are some that are postmarked later and many that aren't postmarked at all. Some have messages written on the back; many do not. It's hard to imagine, but all of my grandmother's postcards are well over a century old now.
I thought it would be fun to share some of those cards with you here. It would be a really neat way to take a sneak peak into the past, as well as further preserve a little family history.
Is anyone else out there interested in vintage postcards? Does anyone here collect them...vintage or otherwise?
Until next time...
~Rebecca
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Beautiful post!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm so excited to be able to do this and put these postcards to use after a century of being hidden away! I'm looking forward to it! <3
DeleteWhat a lovely memory.
ReplyDeleteThank you! <3
DeleteThe cards are beautiful! Unfortunately sending cards and letters are a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteSo true! I love sending and receiving cards and handwritten letters and used to do quite a lot of it (pen-palling) , but, these days, not so much. That is something I hope to remedy in the days ahead. Thanks for stopping in and taking time to comment! Appreciate it! :)
DeleteThanks so much for linking up at the #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 1! Pinned ♥
ReplyDeleteThank YOU, Dee! Love your site! Blessings! <3
DeleteLove this post. My great grandmother saved every card she ever received and I ended up with them all. Its so nice to read them, especially the ones my great uncle sent home from WW2. So nice you get to share them with us. Found your a the #UnlimitedMonthLongLinkParty 1
ReplyDeleteWonderful, Sylvia! I'm so glad you found me! Yes! In addition to my grandmother's postcards, I have letters similar to yours...letters written from my great-uncle to my great-aunt during WW2. They were divorced, but she had saved them all those years. I obtained permission from him to read them after she had died, which is when they fell into my possession. What a privilege it is to be the keeper of such sweet treasures! Thanks for stopping in and leaving a comment! You made my day! Blessings! <3
DeleteI love old postcards, my collections are mixed in my Pinterest board and I use them on my blog, I have been enjoying the guardian angel ones. You really do have a treasure chest of memories.
ReplyDeleteAren't old postcards fun? I'll have to check your blog out and see some of the ones you have. Have a blessed day! And thanks for stopping in! <3
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