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The Paper Girl

The Paper Girl

A Vintage Graphics Blog

A Birthday Postcard and Almost-Milestone

7 February 2025

an antique birthday greetings postcard

I recently turned 39.

This has nothing to do with the birthday postcard that I’m sharing today, other than the fact that a birthday was recently had. I hid my birthdate on Facebook to avoid the influx of notifications and was surprised that I didn’t completely escape (thank you again for your kind wishes, Aunt Peggy & Shona!), but thankful all the same.

I wouldn’t be able to remember birthdays if Facebook didn’t occasionally remind me, either (I’d be wise to start adding them to my phone calendar, I suppose). I wouldn’t say it’s laziness. My brain is full of all sorts of mush and panic at all times, so there’s all sorts of nonsense happening. Other things slip through my grasp. Whoops.

The postcard above makes excellent use of forget-me-nots to make up the word ‘Birthday’, though it does get a little lost in the shuffle. It might have been more effective if ‘Greetings’ was done up the same way! Imagine a typeface in this style. You couldn’t use it on anything that wasn’t a heading or title.

To say I’m not particularly thrilled with hitting 39 is an understatement: I thought I’d be more independent by now, with less debt and more freedoms. Instead, I’m scrabbling to get by and I don’t even have my own place to live. I’m eternally grateful to my parents for housing me, mind you, it just feels… like failure.

I owned a house from 2009 to 2014! Had I known back then what I know now, well. No use dwelling on that. ADHD took a lot from me and now I’m doing what I can to dig myself out of it, which means setting up some services. I’ll be advertising those in the coming weeks.

So, apologies if I’m a little glum. I’ll perk up again in time. In the meantime, now that I’ve switched newsletter service providers, consider signing up for my newsletter and inviting me into your email. I’ll keep it positive, and I’m told I’m a fucking delight. 😀

Ta-ta for now,

signed, missie

P.S. Did you enjoy today’s blog post? Consider buying me a coffee or subscribing to my newsletter!

Filed Under: Blog, Postcards, Vintage Graphics

Lakewood Lodge, Coboconk Real Photo Postcard

26 January 2025

A few weeks ago now, I found some of my old Coboconk postcards, including this Lakewood Lodge, Coboconk Real Photo Postcard (RPPC).

We’ve covered RPPCs here before, and they’re a very common category—but they’re also among the most interesting because anybody could make these postcards and send them to friends. I’ve stumbled on RPPCs of all sorts, even some by amateur photographers!

lakewood lodge coboconk
The historic Lakewood Lodge, now known as The Saucy Willow Inn.

When the main house was built in 1878, it was as the home of Mr. Adam Carl, who owned the surrounding farmland (including the ‘point’ that makes up the end of Albert Street) until 1919. He sold the house to some Americans, who gave the home its “Lakewood Lodge” moniker, and they owned it until 1927.

The Lodge first became a tourist destination when Mrs. Bertha Caton purchased it around 1927. She made it into a summer lodge and hosted visitors, who kept coming back because of her hospitality, her delicious food, and the beauty of the location—you could canoe right into Balsam Lake from Lakewood!

It must have been awfully quiet for Mrs. Caton in the winter months, when she had the property to herself and wasn’t renting to tourists at all. Winters in Coboconk back then were far more harsh than they are now.

The postcard shows the Lodge during the 1950s. In the present day, Lakewood Lodge is The Saucy Willow Inn, and its most recent owners have completed extensive restorations on this beautiful property.

Considering a visit to Coboconk? Book your stay with The Saucy Willow Inn and experience its historic charm for yourself.

Ta-ta for now!

signed, missie

P.S. Did you enjoy today’s blog post? Consider buying me a coffee or subscribing to my newsletter!

Filed Under: Blog, Canadiana, Postcards, Real Picture Postcards Tagged With: canada, canadiana, coboconk, postcards, real photo postcards, vintage graphics, vintage images

A Beautiful Victorian Calling Card

3 January 2025

This week, as I was digging around on my external hard drive, I found something I knew you all would adore.

free victorian calling card graphic

When calling cards cross my desk, they’re usually in big batches—I have two little boxes FULL of them, for example—so I’m not sure how this one wound up separated from the pack!

Disembodied hands show up quite often in old calling cards, as do florals. Each card would be left somewhere to inform someone that they had a visitor, and designs ranged from the simple “signature on a rectangle of heavy paper” to “specialty printed graphic with shiny gold details” and everything in-between.

A deep dive into the world of the Victorian calling card is due, I think, but not today. For now, enjoy this transparent PNG—and if you’d like to download it at a much higher resolution (8″ x 4.5″ instead of 4″ x 2″) while supporting my work, you can find that file by clicking into my shop.

Thank you for joining me, I’ll be in touch again soon.

xoxo,

signed, missie

P.S. Did you enjoy today’s blog post? Consider buying me a coffee or subscribing to my newsletter!

Filed Under: Blog, Calling Cards, Vintage Graphics Tagged With: birds, calling cards, doves, ephemera, flowers, hands, vintage graphics, vintage images

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Hello!

I'm Mel, a vintage reseller and ephemera collector. I share pieces from my collection, insights into the antique business, tips, and graphics. Join me for inspiration for your vintage art and antiquing adventures!

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