Praca Da Estacao – Rio Claro, Brazil

This vintage Wessel postcard shows Praca Da Estacao in Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. If I'm not mistaken, Praca Da Estacao means Station Square in English.

This is a special postcard because my mom was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She, along with her family, immigrated to the United States in 1952. After the family arrived in New York, they bought a car and some camping equipment and traveled across the United States to California. Along the way, they took pictures and bought postcards. I've written about their immigration in my genealogy blog. If you're interested in their story, click HERE.

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© 2012 - 2013 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

General U. S. Grant's Bed Room in Grant's Home, Galena, Illinois

This genuine Curt Teich C.T. American Art vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection shows the bedroom of General U. S. Grant. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how old this postcard is. I'm not familiar enough with the Curt Teich postcard dating system to figure out what the 2320-C-N means. Those numbers and letters are located at the bottom right of the postcard.

With other Curt Teich vintage postcards in my grandparents' collection, I've been able to determine their dates by using the "Guide to Dating Curt Teich Postcards" on ebay.com. 

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© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Kitchen, General U. S. Grant Home ~ Galena, Illinois

This is a genuine Curt Teich "C.T. American Art" vintage postcard. It was published for Larey's in Galena, Illinois. The postcard shows the kitchen of the General U. S. Grant Home in Galena, Illinois.

My maternal grandparents and their family visited this historic home in 1952 on their way to Southern California. They emigrated from Brazil on July 7, 1952 and arrived in New York City on July 22, 1952. They bought a car and some camping equipment and traveled across the country toward their destination in Southern California. If you'd like to read about their immigration story, click HERE.

Transcription from back of postcard -

The kitchen in the General U. S. Grant home is furnished with typical furnishings of the 1865 period. The cook stove, the old iron type with warming oven, the iron kettles and earthenware are genuine antiques. The furniture is solid walnut. Bennington pitchers and English china dishes adorn the table and old fashioned cupboard.

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© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Palms and Flowers in a California Residential District

This is a 1931 C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection. It was published by the Western Publishing & Novelty Co. of Los Angeles, California.

The postcard shows beautiful flowers and palm trees in a California residential area. Isn't it a beautiful scene? Unfortunately, the postcard doesn't specify exactly where in California this is. Does it look like Southern California? What do you think?

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© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Parlor, General U. S. Grant Home, Galena, Illinois

This is a genuine Curt Teich, "C.T. American Art" vintage postcard. It shows the parlor of the General U. S. Grant Home in Galena, Illinois.

Transcription from back of postcard:

The parlor in the General U. S. Grant home has the original horsehair covered walnut furniture that was in the home when given to the Grant family in 1865. The vases on the mantel are of Bohemian glass with miniature paintings, accurate in every detail, painted by a famous painter of that day. They were a gift to the General while on his world tour. This home is now a state memorial and open to the public daily. Admission free.

My grandparents, Debs and Willis Webster and their family, visited the General U. S. Grant home as they traveled across the United States from New York to California in 1952. There are several vintage postcards of this historic home in my grandparents' collection.

If you'd like to learn more about the historic General U. S. Grant Home, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Greetings from Hollywood California

This is a 1936 C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard which was published by the Western Publishing & Novelty Co. of Los Angeles, California.

My grandparents and their family emigrated from Brazil to the United States in 1952. They arrived in New York and traveled across the United States on their way to their final destination of Southern California. There are many vintage postcards from California in my grandparents' collection. The postcard I'm sharing with you today is one of them.

Hollywood is a popular tourist destination. After arriving in California, my grandparents and their family visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Here's a picture of them at this famous tourist spot. My two uncles are the little boys in the photo and my Grandma Willis is to the left of them. Willis' mother is the woman in the foreground of the photo on the right.




I did a little bit of research online, and it appears that the younger of my two uncles (the one on the right) is standing on the handprint/footprint square for Diana Wynyard. And directly behind him is the square for Judy Garland. My other uncle is standing in between the squares for Mickey Rooney and Norma Shearer. Willis' mom is standing on the square for the Ritz Brothers.

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© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Dining Room in Gen. U. S. Grant's Home, Galena, Illinois

This 1944 Genuine Curt Teich "C.T. American Art" vintage postcard is one of several postcards from my grandparents' collection showing the General U. S. Grant Home in Galena, Illinois.

As they traveled across the country from New York to California in 1952, my grandparents and their family visited this historic home.

If you'd like to learn more about the General U. S. Grant Home, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last