Today’s card is an interesting one because it is a card sent by a person from the United States, with a painting of Mount Fuji in Japan and the author of the book from which this reproduced painting was taken, is Dutch (Hokusai, by Matthi Forrer). See how different countries merge into a single postcard?
Pam sent this postcard from Texas, USA. She stuck washi tapes which looked very pretty. Washi tapes are decorative tapes made of natural fibres (like bamboo or hemp). They don’t leave residue marks when removed.
This card showcases one of the paintings – “Fine Wind, Clear Morning”- from the ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ by Katsushika Hokusai, a Japanese artist of the Edo period. The series depicts Mount Fuji from different locations and in various seasons and weather conditions. Despite its name, it actually consists of 46 prints, with 10 of them being added after the initial publication.
‘Fine Wind, Clear Morning’, along with Hokusai's other print from his acclaimed Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series, ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’, is perhaps the most widely recognized pieces of Japanese art in the world. Prints can be found in museums worldwide including the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In March 2019, Fine Wind, Clear Morning was sold for $507,000 at an auction in New York.
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| The Great Wave off Kanagawa |
She had discovered this series of paintings by Hokusai through Postcrossing.
Let’s see what she had written –
“31 March 2019. Sun, Wind, 18°C.
Hello Vishnu! One of my favourite discoveries in Postcrossing is “36 Views of Mt.Fuji” by Katsushika Hokusai. This is one of those 36 views. Best wishes! Pam.”
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| published with the permission of the sender |
Pam had attached 4 beautiful stamps. Let’s have a look at them one by one from the left.
The 5 cent stamp features American Toleware. In American collectables and antiques, toleware refers to kitchen-related objects created from metal, typically tin or thin steel, and are often in decorative styles. The art style came to the United States from Europe.
The 10 cent stamp features an American Clock made circa 1805 by Simon Willard. The clock was later called a banjo clock because of its shape — a small head enclosing the clockworks and a long shaft containing the pendulum.
There are two circular ‘forever’ stamps that feature a football (soccer ball) and a basketball. The USPS celebrated the United States’ passion for athletics with the Have a Ball! stamps. The issuance featured colourful illustrations of eight different sports balls, which includes these 2 stamps.
The round Have a Ball! stamps feature a special coating applied to selected areas of the stamps during the printing process to give them a textured feel.
The postmark was illegible in this one too. I guess most of the postmarks from the USA are illegible as they are marked digitally.
Pam has inspired me to collect the 46 views too! I’ve just received one of the 46 views. Still, a long way to go!
Labels: Art, Nature, Postcard, United States
