These type of postcard were most common in the US in the 30's, but their production survived well into the 50's, till they were completely replaced by the Photochrome cards. The interesting thing about these is that they are based on black and white photographs. A master copy was hand colored then mass produced. By default the coloring artists took some liberties. I'm pretty sure that in case of this one the sky is entirely the colorist's creation. And that's what attracts me most to these cards: They tether on the edge of fact and fiction.
The cards are printed on soft, textured linen paper. They are specific to the US - the previously flourishing European printing business took a long time to recover from WWII.
Posts
9 comments:
When you are in the creative biz, taking liberties is almost the norm.
I'm surprised how many blogs are about post & greeting cards. Maybe I should bee less surprised re post cards.
Fascinating. I love your little history lessons.
The foreground looks creepy to me, not sure why. Maybe it's the colors, or maybe the arrangement of those melons.
At a quick glance of the image, I thought it was seashells on the shore. Then I put my glasses on and noticed they were not quite seashells.
I think I've seen a sky like that somewhere though...maybe without so much blue.
I like the card very much, and nice little fact there on the colors. I always wonder where you come up with these cards and pictures.
Something distinctly otherworldy about thos postcard.
A similar thing was done to german silent movies, whereby each cell was hand painted so the film showed colours shifting slightly in shade as each cell played - saw it in a film museum in Berlin. Fascinating stuff and it truly is a style of filmmaking that I am sure could be resurrected to some degree as it looked incredibly unique.
What a cool postcard! I don't collect this era, but I do have a few and they're always interesting, both in subject matter and coloring.
these cards do hold up well. Must be rag. My favorite is still the shot with all the desert cacti on it
Post a Comment