The Postcard Challenge 2012

Week 11  The Netherlands

Week 11 finds our Bookseller in The Netherlands. He sounds like a happy tourist and proud owner of a very important antique map: Bleau color map of Africa, 1617, framed so viewer is able to see both sides.

Translation of Hank's postcard:

The Netherlands are as beautiful as they are interesting. Lots of prints and maps in all the bookstores. I bought a beautifiul Bleau color map of Africa in a two sided frame. This is the Dutch edition from about 1617,
Paid a ton for it, but I think we can do well with it (I hope)
Luv,
Hubby

An American, Mary Mapes Dodge, wrote a book in 1865 called Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland. This book is where the story of the boy who stuck his finger in the dike originated, but he was a different character,one who had no name in the book. Hans is a skater who, according to Wikipedia, introduced Americans to speed skating.

Amazon, last look, had 1196 copies of this title, in various editions and conditions. No one seems to have a copy of the true first edition, nor the first edition that was printed a year later in the Netherlands.

This is a digital enhancement of a watercolor painting i did of Hans. Not a good job at keeping poor Hans in good proportion, but I planned the space weirdly and did not give him quite enough room for his legs, so I tried to show them bending as he skates.  :)

P.S. here is a picture Hubbs thought was too much like the Empire State bldg, but it was originally for this week.  It also was only inspired by, but is nothing like the real thing, the fascinating and lovely Aurora Borealis.  (Please look below for the post card and make any comment for that for Week 10, not this one.)

Week 10 CANADA

Our Bookseller finds himself at home this week, taking care of the store while wifey flits up to Canada to see the Northern Lights again. Her sister generously drove her to see the Aurora Borealis in all its glory.  Rose has an obsession about them and will not sell books on the subject, hoarding them for herself.

 I forgot to change the handwriting on the generic card to mine, but this digitized so badly, you can't tell the difference anyway and will need the translation:

Dear Hank,
Thanks for taking over the store duties on your brief stay home. It was so wonderful to be able to see the Northern Lights again! My computer rendering does them no justice! I will be back before this card.
Love, 
Wifey

In her call to him, she tells him he can share what she is seeing in part by checking out the book: AURORA The Mysterious Northern Lights, by Candace Savage. Firefly. 2001. BUT, she warns him, DO NOT DARE SELL THAT BOOK!  She, of course, treasures it for herself.

If he can't find it:" just GOOGLE, and then look at Aurora Borealis in the various colors.  FANTASTIC!  Too bad the solar flare did not allow you to see it in NY this week."

For this image, I looked at various photos of the Aurora Borealis, and then did several fantasy 'paintings' with some of the colors, and merged two of them.

Week 9     Switzerland


Our Bookseller is still flitting around Wales, revisiting Hay-on-Wye, and other attractions, and settling down at The Dragon, in Swansea, birthplace of Dylan Thomas. He might go to Switzerland before next week, but for now, he is the recipient of another post card, from Wifey.

TRANSLATION of Wifey's handwriting:

Dear Husband,

I failed to place in the race in Switzerland, but at least I did not fall off the camel (at anytime I was on one.) Yes, I rode that camel, but not in Switzerland, and certainly not recently, so don't panic. The race was in 2008. I was nowhere near Dielsdorf at the time.I am still slaving in the store. LOL!
Doug and Sebastian told me they would drop off this postcard at the hotel on their way back to Scotland. Isn't it fun? Do you remember seeing it before? Actually, I copied it from a photo someone took of me when I was in Egypt, in case you don't. When things are slow at the store, I whip out the art supplies, andI finish things like this off on the computer. 

CONTINUATION FROM POSTCARD, in a note in a book she has sent to Hank:

See? I am keeping busy! 

      We had this book in the store, so I sent it along,with the boys, too. (Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for a New Kind of Heroine, by Holly Morris. Villard. 2005.) You might read it to unwind after a long day of hiking the Matterhorn, or whatever you are doing between bookstore visits. It's pretty interesting and light reading. She is an amazing woman! Amongst other things, she climbs the Matterhorn, and even becomes the first woman ever to enter the traditional camel race of the Saharan oasis town of Timia. In the Tuareg camel race, Holly came in second (to last.) So,how appropriate is it for this trip? It is very inexpensive, so you can leave it for the next traveler in the club car of the train or at the airport.

   Take the guys out to dinner before they leave or get lost in the Alps. Give them hugs for me.

Love,
Wifey

 BLAME SHERI for my card!  I felt pressed for time and rather than starting something new for this week's card, I asked Sheri to find a way to let me use what I was drawing/painting at the time. When she wasn't fast enough, I had to resort to Google once again. :) It just happens that there is an actual foundation for such a convolution of images and ideas as my Swiss postcard. 

The original photo of the gentleman and the camel:  (AP Photo / Keystone, Patrick B. Kraemer)