Tortoise: Guinness Ad Campaign

Postcard US-4015876 to Germany shows "Tortoise" from a vintage Guinness ad campaign poster. The tortoise was an appropriate candidate to promote Guinness beer as a pick me up, circa 1936.

Survival against the Odds

Postcard GB-749952 from the United Kingdom shows an illustration of St Paul's Cathedral by Dave Thompson,

St Paul's Cathedral, an Anglican cathedral, sits on the highest point of Ludgate Hill in London., originally founded in AD 604. The present English Baroque style church from the late 17th century, is one of the most famous and most recognizable landmarks in London. At a height of 365 feet  or 111 meters, it was once the tallest building in London between 1710 and 1962. It held peace services for the ending of World War I and World War II.

The card came with one of the eight stamps from Great Britain’s Royal Mail, honoring Ernest Shackleton’s survival story against the odds during his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition from 1914 to 1916.  The stamp depicts the crew Striving to Free Endurance from the ice in February, 1915,

The cathedral itself was also a survivor of the Blitz, a period of strategic bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany during World War II between October 1940 and April 1941.

Toucan World Cup

Outgoing postcard US-3373322 to China shows a vintage color poster advertisement featuring Guinness and a football (soccer) supporting toucan with an Irish shamrock scarf, with a tag line "Lovely day for a Guinness."

As for the 2014 World Cup in the recent news, the last two of the 12 stadiums built for the purpose of hosting the Brazil World Cup have finally been completed, 10 months after the tournament ended, while at least four others have either turned into a parking lot, been used by homeless people, or become other white elephants. The waste fueled the continued controversies about the amount spent on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, which, as many protesters claimed, should have been used to deal with the poverty issues and to improve infrastructures in the country.

Ringling Bros. Ending Elephant Acts in 3 Years

After 145 years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its elephant acts by 2018, among the concerns over animal treatment.

The circus currently has 13 elephants traveling with its tour units. They will be relocated to the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida once their acts end. More than 40 other elephants are already at the Center. However, other exotic animals such as lions and tigers will continue performing.

It's a victory for the animal rights groups such as PETA and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who have been claiming mistreatment of circus animals for a long time. While the parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was able to won a nearly $16 million settlement from a number of animal-rights groups including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year legal battle, it was the shifting consumer perceptions done the elephant acts in.

The stamped card features one of the eight USPS Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps which uses a reproduction of a 1926 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster made by the Strobridge Lithographing Company, showing an ornately costumed elephant. The vintage poster used a bragging tag line “5 Big Herds of Performing Elephants in 5 Circus Rings at One Time” to advertise the Greatest Show on Earth. The card has a pictorial first-day-of-issue postmark on May 5, 2014 from Sarasota, FL 34230.

Don't Tread on My OBAMACARE

Postcard US-3091308 to Connecticut was a political advocacy card for ObamaCare. Today marks an important deadline for people in the United States to sign up for individual and family ObamaCare insurance plans that take effect on January 1, 2015. However, several states have offered extensions due to high demands. Otherwise, the next earliest effective date for ObamaCare insurance plans will be February 1, 2015. 

For coverage starting in 2015, the open enrollment period runs from November 15, 2014 to February 15, 2015. If you need in-person assistance, You can visit an insurance broker, a navigator organization, or an enrollment store. Remember to bring a photo ID, proof of income such as W-2 or tax return, immigration cards or papers, and your Social Security card. The consumer assistance center at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can be reached at 800-318-2596.

Nevada Healthlink sign up sign  in the Boulevard Mall (top left), ObamaCare Poster at a bus stop in Las Vegas (top right), People line up to sign up insurance plans at an enrollment store in Las Vegas (bottom)

Swim for Health in Safe and Pure Pools

Postcard RU-3152940 from Russia was a 1940 vintage poster commissioned for Cleveland Division of Health in Ohio, sponsored by Federal Art Project under the Works Progress Administration

According to Wikipedia, "the Works Progress Administration (renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration; WPA) was the largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, employing millions of unemployed people (mostly unskilled men) to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. In a much smaller but more famous project, the Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects."

The poster was part of the Work Projects Administration Poster Collection at the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division in Washington, D.C. 20540. It promotes swimming as a healthy exercise by showing a man and a woman in a swimming pool.

National Day of the American Cowboy

Yesterday was the National Day of the American Cowboy, declared by a resolution passed by the U.S. Senate. Senator Craig Lyle Thomas (February 17, 1933 – June 4, 2007) first started the tradition by naming the fourth Saturday in July “National Day of the American Cowboy” in 2005, coinciding with Cheyenne Frontier Days, an outdoor rodeo and western celebration held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The 2014 resolution, the tenth in a row, was introduced by U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) and John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), and co-sponsored by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota), John Hoeven, (R-North Dakota), James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska), Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota), Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Jon Tester (D-Montana), and John Walsh (D-Montana). The day this year falls on July 26, 2014, acknowledging the contributions from cowboys throughout history and their continued impact to the U.S. today.

The Senate passed the S.Res.488 unanimously on July 17, 2014. It's a rare feat for the 113th Congress.

Postcard US-2680033 to Massachusetts shows a Wyoming tourism poster with a tag line "Rodeo! stamped on every plate and into every heart, in Wyoming."

Greatest Show on Earth

Fifty eight years ago, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closed its very last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 16, 1956. According to Wikipedia, after World War II, the audience, whose tastes were influenced by movies and televisions, moved away from the circus performances. On the other hand, while crowds dwindled, the production costs had increased, which resulted in what an article in Life magazine observed "a magical era had passed forever." All subsequent circus shows have been held indoor and performed at arenas .

Featured postcard was made from replica of a vintage poster "The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth," c. 1899, billed as the world's largest, grandest, best amusement institution. It offers a general view of the twelve colossal water proof canvas pavilions. Credit to Library of Congress.

The U.S. Postal Service issued Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps early this year on May 5, 2014,

1937 Monaco Grand Prix Race Poster

Postcard US-2711140 to Sri Lanka shows a vintage poster from 1937, promoting the Monaco Grand Prix, a Formula One auto race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world. Grand Prix of Monaco 2014 will run from May 22 to May 25. The postcard was purchased at Zazzle.com.

Vintage Circus Poster

The U.S. Postal Service just issued Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps on May 5, 2014,
featuring eight designs of early 20th-century circus poster art that showcased eye-catching imagery of stunts, performers, and animals. However, the unveiling ceremony of stamps had drawn protests from PETA and other animal welfare organizations, marking the change of times.

Unfortunately a day before on Sunday, May 4, 2014, an accident occurred during the aerial performance at the 11 a.m. Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus show in Providence, Rhode Island, resulting serious injures to 11 performers. The initial assessment indicated that failure from a single piece of equipment - failed clamp - caused the incident. It is troubling to learn no redundancy of safety measure was built in. While we accept the inherited risks from those circus acts and appreciate the dedications from the circus performers, there are lessons to be learned so that the similar failures would not happen again, with the highlight of other recent circus accidents.

Outgoing postcard US-2776555 to Germany shows a vintage circus poster for the Greatest Shows on Earth by Barnum and Bailey Circus, featuring a trapees act. Credit to Library of Congress. The postcard was purchased from Zazzle.com.

Exactitude

Postcard US-2713420 from Illinois shows a 1932 Art Deco travel poster of train "Exactitude" by French artist Pierre Fix-Masseau (1905-1994). The original poster was a 39.25 inch x 24.25 inch color lithograph, part of the Modernism Collection in Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It was a gift from Norwest Bank Minnesota.

Lovely Day For A Guinness

In this St. Patrick's Day, we present postcard US-2399729 to Japan that shows a classic Guinness poster "Lovely Day for a Guinness" produced by S.H. Benson's advertising with art works by artist John Gilroy. Along with other distinctive posters created in the 1930s and 1940s such as "Guinness for Strength", "Guinness Makes You Strong," "My Goodness My Guinness," "Guinness is Good For You", the advertising campaigns contributed to Guinness's success. On the card, "the Flight of Toucans delivering the Black Stuff !!" It featured toucans that had become a symbol of Guinness among other animals such as a kangaroo, ostrich, seal, lion.

The postcard was purchased at the Guinness Store, located in the Shoppes at Mandalay Place between Mandalay Bay and Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. It is the first official Guinness store opened in the U.S. and boasts the largest selection of Guinness merchandise in one place outside of Ireland.

St. James's Gate Porter Brewery

Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness (1725–1803) at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Postcard US-2489828 to Whitefish, MT shows a vintage advertising poster from circa 1890s. The upper illustrations have Guinness Gate & offices on the top half and Victoria Quay with jetty & barges visible on the bottom half.

The postcard was purchased at the Guinness Store, next to Rí Rá Irish Pub inside the Shoppes at Mandalay Place in Las Vegas. It is said to have the largest selection of GUINNESS® merchandise in one place outside of Ireland.