Tag Archives: Wisconsin

Gem Room, Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin

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This card shows a young woman observing some stalactites in the Cave of the Mounds.

Photo by Diemer, Madison, Wisconsin


Regrettably, the black and white photo, combined with the limited lighting in the cave, result in a photo that is not particularly evocative of the name.  As a result, it is not clear why this is the Gem Room, other than the fanciful imaginations of the owners and marketers. The description states simply:
Gem Room – Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds Wisconsin
The woman’s attire indicates this photo is from the 1940s.

Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin

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This week is a tour of a typical cave exhibit of the mid-century. This one, Cave of the Mounds, was discovered in 1939 and opened to the public for tours. The experience was expanded with the addition of several more rooms in the cave throughout the 1940s.

Photo by Diemer, Madison, Wisconsin


The description on the back states simply:
The Oak Grove parking area at the entrance arch to Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wis.
The vehicles in this photo, along with the fashions in following images, place these photos in the 1940s.
 
 

Door County, Wisconsin

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This folio features locations primarily associated with water in the Door County, Wisconsin area. This county is in the northeast corner of Wisconsin made up of a long, narrow peninsula extending into Lake Michigan.

All Images Curteich Color 3-D Natural Color Reproduction









These photos are a combination of candid photos and those, like the beach scene above, where the people in the foreground are clearly aware of the photographer, though not formally posed. Earlier in the collection, the photo at the cave looks almost like a family snapshot.
The images are readily dated from the legend on the front. This collection dates from the 1950s.
 

Beach Scene, Manitowoc, WI

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This is a fairly unusual composition for American postcards. While the image is common, what stands out is the attention paid to the photographer by the people in the near foreground. Rather than a candid photo with their faces turned away, they are posed for the photographer’s benefit.

Genuine Curteich-Chicago “C.T. Art Colortone”


This card marked the last one before the journey proceeded to Green Bay. The beach is not otherwise identified, as there is no description on the back. The black markings across the upper half are the result of mechanical cancellation.
Both the bathing suits and the postmark identify this in time, and the date is June 1939.

Downtown Manitowoc, Wisconsin

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This image shows an idealized view of a principal street in the town of Manitowoc, WI.

Genuine Curteich-Chicago “C.T. Art Colortone”


There is no description on the back of this card. The black marks across the sky in the image were caused by mechanical cancellation. As the cars depicted would indicate, the date on the card is June 1939.

Little Norway, Blue Mountain, WI

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This is a colorized card of the iconic building that represents the Little Norway collection in Blue Mountain, Wisconsin. It is a chapel building, originally built in Norway but was disassembled and moved to Wisconsin and reconstructed. The Little Norway website indicates that the exhibit, which has been privately owned for 75 years, is now closed with the plan to reorganize ownership and management, presumably through a charitable trust.

Genuine Curteich-Chicago “C.T. Art Colortone”


Oddly, there is no description at all on the back of the card, save the note shown below the photo above. For more about this building and the larger collection, visit the website linked above.
This is consistent with other postcards acquired in the early 1940’s.