This is an example of the China Poblana, or Chinese Pueblan dress style considered the traditional style of Mexico now. The model is standing in front of the University of Mexico building, intricately detailed in its own right.
The description is quite simple:
CHINA POBLADO
Es la Ciudad Universitaria de Mexico (Typical China Poblana costume)
The postcard was mailed, and the airmail stamp used is from a series printed in the 1950s.
Tag: 1950s
Washing Day, Ste. Agnes, Quebec, Canada
This postcard painting depicts washer women in the village of Saint Agnes, Quebec, now a part of Dundee.
The description on the back states:
WASHING DAY.
On top of the mountain, back of Murray Bay, stands a pretty village called Ste-Agnes. As described in this scene ,one can see that the rustic life of the peasants still survives. Old traditions are kept and cherished.
It is believed this series of cards dates from the 1950s.
The Mobile Butcher, Quebec, Canada
This card depicts a scene with a butcher’s card selling meats as it passes through the town. The location is stated as Pointe au Pic, which has been merged into the larger municipality of La Malbaie as of 1999.
There are two descriptions on the back of the card, one in French and one in English. The French title is Le Boucher Ambulant, which is incorrectly translated into English as The Country Butcher instead of The Mobile Butcher. The whole English description states:
THE COUNTRY BUTCHER.
As we say in French, “Happy peoples have no history.” A few steps from the Manoir Richelieu, at Pointe Au Pic, this picture characterizes the simple philosophies of life.
There is no indication of the age of this postcard, but it is believed to be from the 1950s.
Sous Le Fort Street, Quebec, Canada
The first of three cards with painted images of French Canadian scenes.
The card represented has no description on the back other than the location. However, later cards with this image do, and the description for the identical card states:
SOUS LE FORT STREET, QUEBEC – This street like many others is characteristic of old civilization. Quebec can claim more than three and a quarter centuries of existence.
— It is not possible from the information on the card to determine its age. It is believed to be from the 1950s.
City Hall Square, Copenhagen, Denmark
An elevated view of the City Hall Square in Copenhagen.
The description states:
COPENHAGEN – The CITY HALL SQUARE – the busy centre of the city. The City Hall was built about 1900 by the architect, Martin Nyrop. The building with the tower to the left is the “Palace Hotel”.
The postcard was mailed, and is dated July 23, 1953, so the picture depicts the square as it looked in the early 1950s.
Michigan’s Lower Peninsula
This week the folio features a collection of sights around the lower peninsula of Michigan.
This folio does not have a publisher or printer credit, nor any description page. It dates from the 1950’s, as indicated by the photo of the incomplete Mackinac bridge, which was finished in 1957.
Salt Lake City, UT Folio
The week concludes with an extensive set of colorized images from Salt Lake City and areas nearby.
As indicated in the description above, the population at the time this folio was produced was over 170,000. The US Census figures for 1950 and 1960 indicate that this estimate falls between those two census totals. Thus, this folio was produced in the 1950s.
Temple Square, Salt Lake City, UT
From the overall city view yesterday the focus falls on the oldest historic part of the Temple Square area.
The description on the back states:
TEMPLE SQUARE, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. Within the walls of the world-famous Temple Square in the heart of Salt Lake City, stands the spired “Mormon’ Temple which required forty years of pioneer labor to build, and the domed Tabernacle, seating capacity 8,000 and housing the world-renowned Tabernacle organ. Temple Square is open to the public daily and free guided tours are provided.
This card has also been trimmed at the bottom to fit a scrapbook, but no information was lost. Another card in this series helps to date the photo to the mid-1960s.
Pennsylvania Turnpike
This folio features the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a toll road that crosses the state of Pennsylvania from west to east, and most of the way north and south.
This folio was unused, so there is no clear time stamped or written on the package. However, the absence of a ZIP code in the publisher’s address would indicate it was likely the early 1960’s or late 1950’s.
State of Alabama Folio
This collection covers public works, natural wonders and historical attractions from throughout the state of Alabama.
The third card shown gives a description of the photos from the back of the folio, as indicated by the numbered circles.
The folio itself is undated and unused, so there are no definitive indications of the date. The photographer(s) also avoided adding any clear indicators of time in the photos as well. However, the address shown under the photos uses the old zone system for mail, which was made obsolete by Zone Improvement Program codes, known universally as ZIP codes, in the early 1960’s. That combined with the fact that the only time my family was in this area of the country was during their move from Georgia to Texas in 1959, narrows the photo dates down pretty well to the late 1950’s.