Toliver Dirigible Airship, San Diego, California

"The wonders of this ship are almost beyond any description. Few people in San Diego realize the wonders that have been accomplished during the last few months in the construction of the Toliver airship...When this ship makes its initial flight in May it will make a showing that will startle the whole world"

-newspaper advertisement for the Toliver Aerial Navigation Co, April 5, 1911.

Interesting note: In May of 2010, the world's largest airship landed in San Diego after setting a distance record. That airship is 4 feet shorter than Toliver's. Check out the lower right hand corner of the card to get a feel for the size of the "monster flying machine"....Toliver himself perhaps?

Short story HERE about Toliver and his life...not a happy ending! 

Cherokee Marksman

Is it my imagination or did the Asheville Post Card Company out of North Carolina produce some of  the most politically-incorrect (by today's standards) postcards of the linen era?...BTW, nice job on the skin tone...NOT!

Hope you all are enjoying your 4th of July Holiday!

Air Mail - Postal Cards - 1st Day of Issue

They're a postcard, they've got airplanes and they're postmarked 1st day of Issue! It's a trifecta for me!

"World's Most Unusual Drugstore"

"The famous talking Mermaids, one of the most different and outstanding of the many attractions at the World's Most Unusual Drug Store--Daily bring fun and merriment to thousands of visitors to Webb's City in St. Petersburg, Florida - DON'T MISS THIS UNUSUAL FEATURE"

...unusual indeed! The mermaid thing might not have caught on, but James Earl "Doc" Webb's idea of an Express Line for "10 items or less" did!

From Desert to Oasis

Uncle Sam hitching a ride on the Bacardi bat to get away from the "dry" U.S.A. The document pinned to Florida is undoubtedly the 18th Amendment to our Constitution. One of my (many) personal favorites...the postcard, not the amendment!

At Your Beck and Call!

Harry Watson Hackney was born in New Jersey and opened his first restaurant on the Boardwalk in 1912. Destined for greatness, Hackney's had enough business to remain open year-round by the later 1920s. Pretty remarkable for what was once a seasonal destination. It was known as America's Largest Sea Food Restaurant, taking up an entire city block. With a seating capacity of 3,200, Hackney's was once the star of the New Jersey surf!