Curious Anonymous Stories – Part 4
DESIGN INSPIRATION / VINTAGE KITSCH
I purchased this early 20th century sequential postcard set in Madrid at Almirante 23, a shop that specializes in vintage postal memorabilia, letters and stamps – primarily of Spanish origin. Each of the cards was individually addressed to the same person, stamped, and presumably intended to be sent as a group.
The cards, however, were never mailed, the stamps never cancelled and the letter possibly never read. I dug them out of a box of thousands of random cards, in a room filled with hundreds of other boxes.
This is a triple curious anonymous story – number 4 in a series….
The first is of the writer, Antonia, whom, after covering every available inch of writing space on ten cards, never mailed them (card number one is missing, along with the author’s last name and the writing date).
The second story is of the girl in the photos, eating, praying and sleeping.
The final story is of the intended recipient, Srta. Amparo Hernandez – whomever she is or may have been.
Not much more to say here – I’ve never found a use for the cards but am still intrigued by the quality of the penmanship, the kitschy photos and the mini-mystery surrounding them.
The cards are shown in their printed numerical order.
© Markus Horak, 2010
Adorable pictures. Have you had them translated?
No – part of their appeal to me was that I don’t know what’s written on them. The possibility of scandal or mystery juxtaposed with these particular images is more interesting than the likely reality of ho-hum correspondence.