Thursday Postcard Hunt | Timbered

Postcard of Melsungen (Germany), sent by Sandy.

Postcard of Cantebury (United Kingdom), sent by Laura.

For some unknown reason, I have recently found some timbered houses in my mailbox...

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
June theme: DETAILS

• Week 1 - Architectural
• Week 2 - Geological
• Week 3 - Faces
• Week 4 - Tchotchkes, or touristy items

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Famous Houses on Postcards

Senate - The Residence of the Russian Federation President
Moscow, Russia

Mendelssohn House
Leipzig, Germany

Postcards received through Postcrossing. Would you like to live there?

Houseanniversary

Gefieleseteerd èn veul suukses in ùllie neij wonning

Do you celebrate the anniversary of your house? I do.

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

The Group of Seven | MacDonald

Church by the Sea (1924),

 by J.E.H. MacDonald

Canada Post commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Group of Seven’s first art exhibition with a set of stamps issued on the May 7, anniversary date of that exhibition held in 1920 in Toronto, Ontario. Each stamp depicts a painting by one of the artists.

Bryon sent one of them on the back of a postcard depicting another MacDonald's work:

Artist's Home and Orchard (1927),

 by J.E.H. MacDonald

It even get a big round cancellation from Tornhill, Ontario, where the artist lived since 1911:

I must say that I didn't know about the Group of Seven until last year, when I received this postcard from Rosemary:

Falls, Montreal River, 1920
 by J.E.H. MacDonald

HitM | Moving House

In 2018, when I moved from Morocco to Spain, I started the project Houses in the Mail. I received a bunch of nice contributions, and I sent a few houses, too. The mail still brings houses from time to time. Like this postcard showing a Moving House from 1962, sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). 

Two years ago, I wouldn't imagine that in 2020 I would spend so many time at home. A moving house would be a good thing right now...

HitM | Fairy Houses

Tangled, 2010
The Art of Disney: The Renaissance and Beyond (1989-2014)

Without being aware, Bryon (the USA), sent a postcard for the Houses in the Mail project which is very appropriate for these days we spent at home: Rapunzel's House.

[Update: I have never seen the film Tangled. But thanks to this article sent by Bryon, I have realised her quarantine lasted 18 years, and she was living in the Kingdom of Corona - ?!?]

But maybe you would prefer Snow White House in the woods...

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937
The Art of Disney: The Golden Age (1937-1961)

HitM | Burly Cobb's House

Burly Cobb's House, South Truro, 1930-1933
By Edward Hopper

Postcard sent by Bryon (the USA) showing an unusual perspective from a favourite painter featuring another House in the Mail.

The last house of the year! I haven't thought of any new postal project for 2020...

HitM | Barraca

The barraca is a rudimentary rural house typical of the Valencian region. Although you can find very few of these barracas left nowadays, it has become one of the defining symbols of the Horta de Valencia.

Another house for the Houses in the Mail project!

Wie zoet is krijgt lekkers

'Who is sweet gets sweets'... And Sinterklaas surely thought we are, because some sweet goodies landed at our place!

That is a curious thing, because Sinterklaas is supposed to go from Spain to the Netherlands... But he left gifts for us at Heleen's place, and then she had to send someone sent the chocolate and everything back to Spain. But I'm not going to question the way Sinterklaas delivers the gifts, of course!

The Sinterklaas presents arrived inside an envelope showing several houses: houses of chocolate, a church and a former train station that is now a house and a restaurant. Houses in the Mail!

HitM | Colourful Houses of Groningen

This postcard is from a Postcrossing Meeting held in Groningen on 28 September. I thought I could add these colourful houses to the Houses in the Mail project...

Another postcard from the same meeting. The orange spots on the map show the earthquake areas, due to gas extraction from the Groningen gas fields (more information). On the right, the Earthquake Monument.

The stamps with the flag of the province were designed for the meeting as well:

HitM | Norwich Houses

Elm Hill

This postcard wasn't sent for the Houses in the Mail project, but I thought I could add it. How beautiful is this street?

Another interesting house from the same city:

Strangers’ Hall Museum, Norwich

Along with these, I got more postcards from the city of Norwich. Not featuring houses but... they are just beautiful!

Deanery View

Poules Ferry and Watergate

Norwich Castle

St. Julian’s Church
Julian’s Cell Artist: Irene Ogden

HitM | Croft House

Picture: Colin Baxter

Intended or not, John (the UK) sent another contribution to the Houses in the Mail postal project. 

The postcard features a Croft House, a traditional dwelling in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It has a chimney, but some of the earlier houses just had a hole in the centre of the roof and the fire in the middle of the flor. Maybe for that reason they were also known as black houses. Very few remain: Now there are only exhibition ones and renovated ones to be seen.

HitM | Smurfhouse

No collection of houses would be complete without a Smurfhouse! Heleen (the Netherlands) painted this one on the back of a Smurfs packaging. 

Also, you can read the name of the Smurfs in different languages: 

-English: The Smurfs

-French: Les Schtroumpfs

-Spanish: Los Pitufos

-German: Die Schlümpfe

-Dutch: De Smurfen

-Portuguese: Os Smurfs

-Italian: I Puffi

In my language, Catalan, they are Els Barrufets (although when I was a child I had to read the comics in Spanish).

The Smurfhouse arrived inside of a plastic bag, protecting it. So the letter it contained inside a concealed pouch arrived safe and sound!

HitM | More Log Cabins

After showing those Canadian log houses, I have received another interesting postcard: Log Houses, Kodiak Village (1899). Painted by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh (1853-1935), and sent by Bryon (the USA).

HitM | Carlyle's House

Carlyle and his dog, Nero, in the garden
at Cheyne Row in 1857

Another special house for the Houses in the Mail project: Carlyle's House, in Chelsea (London, the UK). 

The house was open to public as a tourist attraction in 1895, and has been open since.

A Chelsea Interior by Robert Tait, 1857
Thomas and Jane Carlyle

Postcards sent by Laura (the UK).

HitM | Kensington & Kew

When I started the Houses in the Mail project I was not thinking exactly of palaces. But I guess a palace can be a home too. At least, Kensington Palace (London, the UK) was the childhood home of Queen Victoria and home to young royals for over 300 years.

The king's grand staircase
Kensington Palace

And Kew Palace (Richmond, the UK) was the home of George III and Queen Charlotte.

Postcards sent by Laura and Keita (the UK).

HitM | Cheese Dairy

I guess this wood postcard sent by Fabienne (France) was more intended for the VQR Postal Project. But it also fits in the Houses in the Mail project, don't you think so?

HitM | Bauhaus

Postcard sent by Eduard (Russia) for the Houses in the Mail project. It features the Swiss architect Hans Emil "Hannes" Meyer (1889 – 1954) and the Bauhaus designs.

HitM | Log Cabin

I am still amazed about the variety of houses that arrives fro the Houses in the Mail project! From Lilli (Canada) I got one I had not thought of: a log cabin. 

I like a lot Lilli's use of the stamps. I'd hope the fireplace in my cabin wouldn't produce so much smoke, though!

But it would be nice if, like on the envelope, the cabin was near a World Heritage site like L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (Dating to around the year 1000, it is the only confirmed Norse or Viking site in North America outside of the settlements found in Greenland).

And, of course, I would be honoured if my mail was delivered by Albert Jackson! He is thought to have been the first Black letter carrier in Canada. (Read more about this stamp.)

I know living in a log cabin isn't for everyone. But, just in case I (or you) would give it a try, the sender included a postcard that shows how to build one...

HitM | Timbered Houses

The Caldy Reading Room isn't actually a house nowadays, but the Church Hall.  Caldy Manor is now a nursing home. You can read here the interesting history of this place. 

More timbered houses and medieval rooftops in Sandwich, Kent (the UK).

Along with the previous one, a postcard from St. Peter's Church of Sandwich arrived.

Postcards sent by Laura and John (the UK).