Today I have the pleasure of sharing five postcards from my collection. They were all sent to the same address in France, one a year commencing 1950 and ending in 1954. I found the cards at a vintage fair in Blandford, Dorset in 2015. The images caught my attention and when the stall holder told me a story of unmarried girls, fancy hats and kissing between strangers, I found myself reaching for my purse.
Returning home I quickly got down to some research (thank you Google). In essence, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is a Christian Saint and virgin.
Vive La Sainte Catherine
Saint Catherine’s Day, is celebrated each year on the 25th November. Catherine is the patron saint of libraries and librarians, as well as teachers, archivists, and all those associated with wisdom and teaching. Her qualities are reputed to be beauty, fearlessness, virginity, and intelligence.
All very straightforward until I turned to the Free Dictionary which suggests Catherine is a figure from folklore rather than history. It goes on to say her feast day is no longer observed in the Roman Catholic Church calendar. According to Wikipedia the Church, persuaded by the overwhelming opinion of historians that Catherine had probably never existed, removed her from the calendar of saints in 1969. However, in 2002, while the majority of historians had not changed their minds, the Church had, and she was reinstated.
Wikipedia goes on to say ... Saint Catherine of Alexandria was a popular figure in Catholic Iconography. She was of noble origins, and dedicated herself as a Christian after having a vision. She was imprisoned by the Roman Emperor Maximus and ordered to be put to death on a spiked wheel. The wheel reportedly shattered the moment Catherine touched it, which may explain why her name is associated with a firework that revolves as it burns.
But what of the stallholders tale of unmarried girls, fancy hats and a great deal of kissing between strangers. Still searching for answers I stumbled across a blog by the name of A Woman's Paris where it all began to make sense. Saint Catherine’s Day is essentially a day when unmarried women over 25 years of age pray for a husband. The Catherinettes (as they are called), wear green and yellow hats made by friends or colleagues. The green represents wisdom and the yellow hope. The choice of colours is not accidental as it is said green and yellow do not “marry” well.
All I know for sure is the cards are very pretty, and I'm happy to have them in my collection.
But something else occurs to me - why no card in 1955 or in subsequent years? Maybe our Catherinette moved home, or perhaps she found her happy ever after... What do you think?
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Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights hast thirty one
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse,
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s *chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
According to this online Macbeth Glosary *chaudron are entrails. Who knew?Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I
William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616
This poem is in the public domain
By Pumpkins fat and witches lean...
By coal black cats with eyes of green,
By all the magic ever seen...
I wish you luck this Halloween..
Happy Halloween to family, friends, and all readers of my blog. Stay safe this Halloween. Me? I will be hiding under the bed covers.
I must say a very big thank you to Yvonne for this fantastic Halloween card (right). If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Yvonne, you will find her over at Melancholy and Menace or at her Etsy shop here
Do you believe in fairies? Valentine's Rene Cloke Postcard number 3930.
Posted to an address in Sloane Court, London in 1941.
Message reads ... Dear Virginia I hope you were very good in the car. Don't forget to tell Nanny that your blue pram cover is in the bottom drawer in the day nursery lots of love Nanny.
What do you think about when you read those words sent to a little girl in 1941? I imagine a large town house with a staff of uniformed nannies residing over a nursery located on a floor somewhere far away from the rest of the family. I’m thinking of the days when children of wealthy families were kept 'out of sight and out of mind' other than at set times when they would be brought down to see the mistress of the house. Or is it possible the card was sent by the child's grandmother in the hope it would be seen by her other grandmother? Have I been watching too much Downton Abbey perhaps?
Secrets. Valentine's Rene Cloke Postcard number 4619 - undated and unused.
The Pixy School. Valentine's 'fine art' postcard Number 3715.
Sent to Miss Dashwood of Ealing, London in September 1949.
Elfins of the Brook. Valentine's 'fine art' postcard number 3931.
This was sent to the same little girl as the first card this time the message simply reads - See you at tea time xxx
The Dream Fairy. Valentine's Rene Cloke postcard number 4621.
Sent to 'Shirley' with love on her birthday.
Fairy Artists. Valentine's Rene Cloke postcard no 4729 posted on the 21st December 1951.
The Basket Maker. Valentine's Rene Cloke Fairy Series. Posted in 1954.
Sent to a Miss Harris with heaps of love and kisses from Uncle Glynn & Auntie Anne xx
The Little House Beneath the Trees. Valentine's Rene Cloke Fairy Series number 5110.
Sent to 'Sarah darling' unfortunately the card has suffered some water damage, and the message is illegible.
A Song of Summer. Valentine's Rene Cloke postcard no 1330 - undated and unused.
The Fairies go Marketing. Valentines Rene Cloke Postcard No 3332B
Posted on the 1st December 1950 and sent to Darling Angela. Message reads...I thought you would love to see these little fairies going to market. Can you dance as light as a fairy? Love and lots of hugs and kisses from Mummy and Paul xxxx
Can you dance as light as a fairy? I certainly can’t I have two left feet and absolutely no coordination.
Postcards from my collection;
A set of six postcards sent from Charlie to Maudie during February and March 1904. You may remember a previous post about Charlie and Maudie here
Dear Maudie, I'm sure this sweet set will please you. très bon! With love Charlie
Dear Maudie, only 7 weeks to Easter!!! It’s pouring with rain again and I’ve been playing all the funeral marches I’ve got to cheer me up. It seems like sacrilege to play anything more lively in Godalming. Metcalf has just started on an eight mile tramp through the mud, so we’re all happy. Adieu pour joyous! Charlie.
Dearest Maudie, I was quite overwhelmed with gratitude to receive such a beautiful card from you this week. It’s too kind of you and I shall never forget it. (You don’t mind me mentioning that I had that one already, do you?) Easter is getting nearer and nearer. Doesn’t the tempus seem to fugit? Metcalf went to a dance last week he can’t dance, so he wallflowered and talked scandal with all the other old women. With love, Charlie.
Dear Maudie, the C. M. will do very well, thank you. I haven’t quite decided yet what I shall send you when this set is finished. I’m not going out at all on Monday, as I’m sure to be in great demand. Who is the luckless wight you mean to fix? Love Charlie.
Dear Maudie, only four weeks to Easter! I suppose it wasn't you who wrote to Metcalf on the 29th? He didn't have a chance of accepting, as he could not recognise the writing. Isn't the weather simply lovely? With Love Charlie.
Dear Maudie, this is the last of this sweet set. How quickly the time does go, doesn't it? With love, Charlie.
I purchased these six postcards, and the previously featured set from an auction. I've often wondered about Charlie and Maudie and decided to see if I could find out anything about them. If you would like to know more, please pop over to my family history blog here (You will need to scroll down the post to read the rest of the story)
Thanks for spending some time with Maudie, Charlie and me...
Looking for new ways to promote your (Etsy) shop or website? Have an event to share with the world? A party, a wedding maybe?
Would you like to have 100 postcards printed for free?
Lucky you! The people of uprinting.com have been kind enough to provide me with an awesome giveaway especially for my lovely blog readers!
One winner will receive:
100 5" x 7" Postcards
14pt Cardstock Gloss
No Folding, Front and Back Printing
How to Enter:
Leave a comment on this post, tell me how you’re going to use the postcards.
Get an additional entry:
Follow me on twitter @ismoyo and tweet about this giveaway for one additional entry.
Please include @UPrinting and @ismoyo in your tweet. You may use the following if you'd like:
@ismoyo is giving away 100 postcards printed by @UPrinting http://bit.ly/pVQdEF
This giveaway will be open until July 15th at 11:59pm (EST). Winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Winner will be announced on this blog an on twitter after confirmation.
Disclaimer:
This giveaway is limited to US residents 18 years old and above only.
Winner cannot have won another UPrinting contest in the last six months
This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, an online printing company, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive postcards for hosting. See more information about postcards and available postcard designs on UPrinting.com.
I could talk about all that happened over the last year, both good and bad. But lets just say it has been adventurous. Today i'm taking the day off to celebrate life.
Happy Birthday to me!
I don't think i have ever been more ready to start a New Year. All though i am amazed that life brought us to the year 2010 already. Life gave me some tough times over the past year, but things seem to be turning around for me. Plus i will not, won't let the bad times overshadow the good. There were many good times in 2009. And i am planning to have many more in 2010!
I thank everyone for sharing in my adventures and let's make 20-10 one to never forget! Wishing all a loving and safe new years celebration! Watch out for the fireworks and be happy!
Pfew... sometimes life just catches up to you. I took care of things and am ready to get back to work full steam ahead!
It's October already. Oh my. Time flies. 3 months left to this year. Only 84 days till Christmas. I think i will put up our tree early this year. I got such lovely vintage ornaments, can't wait!
Oh yes, i am sorry to say that due to my offline 'adventures', i missed my blogiversary! When i started i didn't know how long this would last, how long i would be able to keep it up, now it has already been four years!
Four fun years. Its so amazing how this blog made connections happen that otherwise would not have. It has been an outlet for me to show my crafts, my collections, my thoughts and feelings when i was moving from Amsterdam to NY.
I love all my visitors, the ones that only read my stories and the ones that leave me comments. I love the ones that have been with me from the beginning, and the ones that just recently found my little place on the net.
I don't think i would have lasted so long without all your feedback! Thank you so much.
On this note, my loving hubby has just started a blog, taking his first steps. He is a great songwriter and maybe that makes it only logical that he is a great story writer too. He does this daily talk thing, sharing poetry, sharing his thoughts on music, life and new york. I have put a statcounter on his site and now he has discovered that he can check how many visitors he got every day. Not that many yet since he just started out. So do me a favor, click on this link and check out his blog, it would make him very happy. And seeing his happy face makes me happy. Oh, hope you don't mind a little slang, he writes as he talks.
I'm out for now, prepping a lot of new exciting things.
Lets make the end of this year count!
The blog has a new banner. What's going on?
Since my shop has gone through some organic changes, going from mostly handmade, to primarily vintage finds, i think it is only logical if my blog goes through a similar change.
Plus i must admit it has been awhile since i last did some actually crafting. How can i define my blog as a craft blog when there is hardly any creating going around?
I have always posted vintage finds and scans from vintage books mixed in between the craft posts. Basically it will be turned around, more vintage with a bit of crafting (i'm thinking tutorials). Oh, and i also have a lot of vintage craft books i can share from!
And i will continue with my Etsy finds, just because there are so many wonderful goodies on Etsy and i love windowshopping!
So at first i thought to post vintage photos and write witty comments under them. That would have been nice, but i am not that witty. Well sometimes i am. And then mostly in my native Dutch tongue.
Then i thought to keep it simple and just share the photos, maybe with a caption here and there and that's it.
Too easy.
So i'm gonna try this: Share some of my thoughts about what it is i'm showing. When i look at the photos in an early seventies interior decorating magazine i am happy.
I hope my loyal readers will still enjoy dropping by and who knows, we might meet some interesting fun new people along the way!
Oooh! I'd love to use these when I open up shop (still in the product development stage). Postcards would be the perfect way to promote my new store!
I would definitely use them to promote our Etsy shop!! We are currently trying to get enough money to pay for a medical procedure that our furbaby needs, so I need to promote, promote, promote!!!