Brussels, Royal Palace

This first thing I noticed about this post card is that it looks like it was a black and white picture that they went back and colored. It's got a little "Pleasantville" look to it, the movie where everything goes from black and white to color. Which would be fitting since our post card came from 1959, about the same time the movie is set. I always try to find out who is on the stamp. I'm a curious girl. I found a stamp website that had this exact stamp on it and it said the person on the stamp was a "leader man." Seriously?! Come on stamp collectors, you can do better than that. Luckily, the next site I came to gave me some answers. This is King Baudouin. His full name is Albert Charles Leopold Axel Marie Gustave. Poor royalty, always stuck with these long crazy family names. Anyway, old Albert here was king from 1951 to 1993.

All Hands on Deck

These two pictures came out of the same book and are in excellent condition. Aren't these great! Everyone is up on deck. Maybe they were all getting seasick below. It's not exactly a Caribbean cruise though, is it. Look at those warm clothes and blankets. But it can't be miserable cold, they all have smiles on their faces. Isn't it curious, it's all women, other than the little boy. Do you suppose they are going on a trip or are they moving from their home country to somewhere else? Perhaps the husbands have gone ahead and gotten a job and a home ready and then sent for them. I think that was a fairly common practice way back when. Whatever their story is, I love the pictures they left behind. The little boy is a crack up. What a cute face. And the woman in the other photo trying to sleep, or just soaking up some sun and having a zen moment, love it. If only someone had written on the back of these pictures.

Kaj Munk "Neils Ebbesen"

Another Kaj Munk article. If you have not read the other Kaj Munk posts, I recommend doing so. This article ran in December 1945. Just for your reference, Kaj Munk was assassinated by the Gestapo in January 1944. This article is talking about a radio program that brought to life one of Kaj Munk's plays, Niels Ebbesen. It talks a little bit about it not being exactly the way Munk probably had meant for it to be put out there. The play is about a real Danish hero who lived in the 1300's who was known for his killing of Count Gerhard III. This act symbolized the beginning of the liberation of Denmark. Romantic Danish poetry and modern ballads praise Ebbesen as a freedom fighter. Munk used his play, Niels Ebbesen, as a direct attack on Nazism. And we know where that got him. I am more and more impressed by Kaj Munk. I can see why I find so many articles about this amazing man.

Valentine, The Movie

I guess going to the movies was a much bigger deal than it is now. This is a 10 page booklet all about this movie, Tine or Valentine. It gives the names of the characters and the actors who play them, a synopsis of the story, and pages of photo's from the movie. You can also see that our movie lovers saved their tickets, reserved seating and all. This is like going to see a show on Broadway. This would be amazing information to have. I cannot tell you how many times I've been in a movie, staring at one of the actors and its driving me crazy because I can't place where I have seen them before. Boom! Open my little guide book, and there I would find a name and a bio of everything they have done in the past. Of course, now days this would just be an app on a phone...hmmm. Not a bad idea, which probably means it already exists, in several variations. I guess I need to download.

Genova, Italy

Buongiorno principessa! Italy! Love Italy. And anything Italian makes me think of Roberto Benigni and his movie, "Life is Beautiful." Cobbled stoned streets, gelato on every corner. What's not to love? I will admit I have not been to Genova, but the pictures look amazing and I have promised myself that my next trip to Italy will include the coast. The post card is from 1980 and it has a lovely little stamp that looks like it has characters from Madeline, you know, lives in Paris in a house covered with vines, but it's probably not. Still, a cute stamp.

Christer Pettersson

I will admit that I took one look at this guys picture and thought he looked like a serial killer. I was feeling kind of guilty for stereotyping, and then I started to translate the article. Go figure, the guy's trial for murder was just about the start. He was being accused of killing the Swedish Prime Minister. I still feel a little bad about the stereotyping though. Anyway, Christer Pettersson was a Swedish criminal who was a suspect in the 1986 assassination of Olof Palme, the Prime Minister of Sweden. In 1988 he was convicted of the murder in district court but acquitted on appeal the following year. They said they didn't have enough evidence, no murder weapon for one. The PM was murdered while walking down a street with his wife in Stockholm. His wife later picked Christer out from a line up. After his release, he was compensated with $50,000 which he promptly blew on alcohol and drugs. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 2004. Right before he died, he contacted PM's son and said he wanted to meet with him. The son said he wanted to confess to the murder. The meeting never happened. After his death, associates of Pettersson's claimed that he had confessed to killing the PM but it had been a mistake. He had meant to kill a drug dealer who often walked down the same street and dressed in a similar fashion as the PM had been dressed. This was never confirmed. Don't you just hate it when you kill the wrong guy?

The Bad Boy

I usually have this thing about not posting two pictures in a row, but this picture slid out of a book today and I can't quit thinking about it. It could be the way it's so bent and used, but I really think it's the guy. He's got this cool, swanky kind of look to him that I just can't seem to shake. Like he knows someone is taking his picture, but he's not totally committed to it. He's too cool for that. You wanna look at me, here I am, in the flesh. It's the head tilt, the way his mouth is curled in almost a smirk. He's a bad boy. The kind you want, but your mother warns you about, which totally makes you want him more. And every girl out there wants a bad boy. I can see you shaking your heads, but it's true. Girls just have different lines drawn as to what dictates a bad boy. Girls, you know I'm right. You may not want a bad boy forever, but you still want one. We can't help it. Look at this guy. He's got cool written all over him, of course we want him! And I'm telling you, someone wanted this bad boy, wanted him badly. Carried this picture around with her, dreaming and wishing, likely for a long time. I don't blame her. There is something about him. Maybe it's his bad boy appeal, or maybe I just need to see that mouth smile. Wow, totally flabbergasted by an 80 year old picture.

Family Portrait

This picture is the first in an entire album found at Book Decor. How fun to pick up a leather bound book and find that it is full of family pictures! What a great family. I guess there must be a rule about when boys graduate from wearing little sailor suits to wearing ties in pictures. And I need to address the obvious here, the hairdo on the left. I almost called it a beehive, but it's not quite beehive. I don't know what you would call that. Or how you would make it do that in the days before styling gel, mousse, and hair spray? I'm tempted to call this a "Brady Bunch" type of situation. The three blonde kids look similar, and then there's the dark haired group. Maybe this is a large family by marriage. His six kids and then marries her and has three? Or she was a widow with three of her own? Either way, love the clothes. And I think the little girl looks like Reese Witherspoon.

Hand Drawn Card

What is with people who hand draw on their cards? I never see this. Even people I know who have talent and can really draw don't draw on their thank you notes. Maybe we just don't have the time, or more likely, we just don't take the time. Our time has the Internet, more tv channels than are necessary, movies, gaming systems, etc. sucking us dry of time. Around the time this card was made, they had movies, but not several out every weekend to choose from. No tv. Books for sure, but they weren't digital and easily taken and read everywhere. So, I guess if you're going to give someone a note, you may as well make it personal and draw on it. I like the use of shading in this picture and the way the artist drew the hair. Eh, noses are difficult. Overall, a nice little card.

Rudolf Broby-Johansen

This article is letting us know that Rudolf has passed away. The year is 1987. Boy, this guy lived a crazy life. His father passed away when he was quite young and he helped his family survive by playing the violin for local farmers. When he did make it to school, at age 11, he decided he wanted to be a poet. He actually had a piece printed in 1920. That same year, he and couple of buddies, formed the Communist Student Fraction. It didn't last long and he formed the New Student Society. He went on to publish more poetry. One piece in particular got him into some trouble. The name of the piece was Blood. Five days after publishing the book, the Department of Justice brought charges against Broby - because the book had "obscene content" - and tried to confiscate the warehouse. 621 copies of the book were already in circulation, 700 had gone to print. In the District Court he was fined 300kr, or 14 days in jail. Must of been some "obscene content." It took 45 years, 1968, before the book appeared in a second printing. He went on to publish more works, start his own magazine, and was involved in arts education. Pretty interesting guy, not the happiest looking fellow, but interesting.

Lone Girl at the Beach

I love this picture. Isn't she brave? Here I am at the beach, I'm the only girl in sight, and I'm going to stand up where everyone can see me, and have my picture taken. Maybe she is one of those girls who is totally comfortable with her body and it was no big deal. I am more of a board short and rash guard shirt girl myself, so when I see pictures of girls at the beach in their bikini's, I am often impressed by how brave they were to get their pictures taken. Captured on film FOREVER in their swimsuit! What if you were all bloated that day? It could haunt you forever. Alright, enough about my insecurities and back to our picture. She does seem to be the only girl in sight. I like to think that maybe her boyfriend wanted a picture of her to take off to college or war or something equally romantic and tragic. Or maybe she just lost 85 pounds and her friend took the picture to celebrate the skinny! Either way she looks fantastic, and I have totally seen that style of swim suit on people recently. Some styles just keep coming back. Sadly, some never go away. Just like the guy with the speedo in the background on the right. Seriously guys, unless you're an Olympic swimmer, please don't do the speedo thing. Please.

Happy New Year

The front of this postcard actually translates as Welcome New Year. At first glance I thought this was a such a cute little card, nice little cherub out in the snow wishing us a happy new year. Then I noticed our little anatomically correct friend is seriously lacking in the clothes department and it's freezing outside! The artist wants to make sure we know exactly how cold it is by showing us the frozen water in the pipe, and for the slower thinkers, even gave us a thermometer showing the frigid temperatures. Nice. I'm seeing some little wings so I am convincing myself that angelic naked kids can't actually feel the cold. Still, I think the artist has some explaining to do. I'm sure there are thematic elements I am totally missing. I hope. As you can see, our post card is from 1936 and mailed right in the nick of time, December 30th. The handwriting is beautiful and the lines are almost too straight to believe. The writing is so thin, I have to believe it was done with something other than your average pen.

Two of Hearts

A fairly decent sized book mark. 7 inches tall by almost 4 inches wide, this baby is not getting lost in a book. And with these bright colors, you will never lose your place. The funny thing about this book mark is that it looks like someone took a marker and painted in the red hearts and then stitched with brown thread around them. I was expecting the red heart to be a part of the fabric itself. I guess plain old orange was not going to do it. I must say, I do like hearts, they give our pumpkin color cloth a bit of character. I'm so glad people used book marks. I never find folded down corners in my Book Decor books. That must be a more recent trend. I am guilty of it myself. Only in books that are actually mine, not borrowed. And never hard cover, only paperback. Wow, I didn't realize I had rules about when I bend my pages.

Elderflower Drink

An Elderflower drink recipe! I had no idea this drink even existed, and there are apparently several variations. You can have an Elderflower Cordial, Elderflower Soda, Elderflower Liqueur, and even an Elderflower Cocktail. Mixed, shaken, or stirred. This drink can please anyone and everyone. It sounds like a bit of work to make this drink, it has to simmer for days. I'm more of an instant gratification kind of a person myself. Luckily, you can purchase this drink already made. I'm officially on the look out. If anyone knows of a good place in San Diego for me to get a really good Elderflower drink, let me know!

The Salt Sea Baths

This beautiful place is located in Sweden on the coast of the Baltic Sea. And this postcard seems to be quite old. If I am reading our stamps correctly, it looks like 1921. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked up some images of this city now and it looks amazing. Very beautiful. Back to the post card, can't make heads or tails of the writing, of course, but I do love the stamps. The man on the stamp is Gustaf V, the king of Sweden from 1907 to 1950. He holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden and the second-longest reigning. Who knew! Well, I guess Swedish people knew. My grandfather was Swedish, wouldn't he be happy to know I'm learning something about the place he came from.

Feeling Lucky?

A four leaf clover! As you can see, this is very fragile. Good luck often is, I think. I'm not sure I have ever actually seen a four leaf clover. I've looked for them, as a child, but every time I thought I had found one, it turned out to be a three leaf clover that had a torn leaf. Maybe they are actually fairly common and I am a poor seeker. Someone thought it was rare enough of a find to keep and place inside of a book, and I a grateful. Now I can say I have actually seen one. And perhaps, it will bring me a bit of luck.

Drinks in Hamburg

What you are looking at is the front and back of a very old picture. It's interesting, it looks as though who ever owned this picture wanted to erase the name of who was in it or eliminate something to do with the photo. Or, perhaps it was mislabeled in the first place. I like the idea that they tried to erase it better. It makes it seem a bit more mysterious that way. A secret meeting, or a jilted lover! Oh, that would be exciting. If that is our date on the front corner, 1929, then this is a decently old photo. It almost looks staged except that our table has far too many glasses on it. I like the platters, they look silver, not your basic china. Some sort of swanky restaurant I would guess. The meal is finished, they have had their brandy and are now enjoying good conversation and cigars. Yes, right after they had a secret meeting with an old lover! Alright, I read too many books or watch too many movies. But it's still better my way.