High maintenance

Here’s a gal who likes her champagne dry and expensive. This reproduction of a 1930’s calendar poster from Gande, Price & Company of Hong Kong shows you just the type of high-class ladies you can attract with some high-class hooch. But, if you’re not a high roller, not to worry; they’ll hook you up with some Taylor’s Gin, Tuborg beer, or even some grape juice, if you happen to be dating someone who’s not as high maintenance as this lady appears to be.

This card is one of six poster reproductions which arrived yesterday from Qianqian, my new best friend in China. One of the cards she sent, a 1918 calendar poster from the Lobowl Medical Company, already exists in my collection. I’ll post the other four as the weeks go by.

Special delivery from Qianqian

Grab a Heine

This postcard reproduces a 1950s advertisement for Heineken beer, and arrived today from the Netherlands — where Heineken is brewed and is the number one brand. In truth, I’m not much of a beer drinker myself, but I doubt I could say no if this gal offered me one.

West Side Story

Good heavens! I hope this little girl doesn’t plan to rumble; they’ll go straight for her eyes. More likely this is a case of Engrish; the caption writer’s intent didn’t quite make it through the translation phase. This card was sent to me by Soso in China, who has some interesting designs of her own.

I like shiny things

This ad postcard for the SubTraction Corporation is certainly unique. SubTraction is a staffing company that places creative professionals. Creative professionals with poor fashion sense.

Nevertheless, a pretty girl is a pretty girl, even if she looks like she’s on her way to have dinner with the Tin Man. Then, after dinner, maybe a little horseback riding.

The exciting world of modeling

This advertising card for Baon, apparently a Russian women’s clothier, unfortunately gives no indication of when it was manufactured, but I imagine it’s within the last few years.

Olga in Novosibirsk decided that this girl was pretty enough to pass muster, and she’s right. In my most humble opinion, however, it takes a certain type of girl to pull off a sweater like this. Here’s a tip, ladies: a sweater should conform to one’s shape a little better.

Did you forget your tennis racket again?

How can this knavish rogue be expected to carry a tennis racket on his spiffy Beeza — or even remember it, for that matter, when he’s so busy perfecting his look? Tennis whites? Check. Garish red dinner jacket? Check. Year’s supply of Brylcreem used up for a single outing? Check. And it all goes great with his BSA motorcycle, painted in their signature green and gold.

Silly as this look seems, back then it apparently had the desired effect. The object of his affection looks especially perky today.

Many, many thanks to Brenda from 9teen87’s Postcards for this terrific blast from the past!

Good for what ails you

Anny in Taichung City, Taiwan found this card in her postcard album and decided I would like it.  She couldn’t be more right!  This postcard is a reproduction of a calendar poster from the Lobowl Medical Company.

According to Anny, the left and right side grids show various medicines, and the efficacy of each.  Each of the bottom corners also contains pictures of medicines, these in their Lobowl packaging: an expectorant on the right, and something called “Hazel-Rimefoam” on the left.  I’m not sure I want to know what that is.  Between those two pictures lies the Chinese calendar for the year 1918.

And yet, surrounded by all these potions, our spokesmodel has decided to make do with some herbal tea.

The pause that refreshes.

If this doesn’t make you want to pause for a Coke, then nothing will. “The ‘Yes’ girl, shown in this 1946 painting typifies the bathing beauties created by famed artist Haddon Sundblom for Coca-Cola in the 1940s.” This postcard was produced in 1995.

(This article originally appeared at Wild Postcards on 5 October 2008.)

Art by Scott Idleman

See, here’s the thing: the sight of a woman wearing nothing but gloves and shoes is tantalizing.  The sight of a man wearing nothing but gloves and shoes would be ridiculous in the extreme.  Do you begin to understand how I chose my subject matter?

This postcard was in my mailbox today; it’s one of a series of 26 Alphabet Erotica Postcards, designed by Scott Idleman.  Coincidentally (or not so much), it’s also the title and cover of the first book of the Erotic Alphabet series, edited by Alison Tyler.  Ms. Tyler has some catching up to do; as of this writing, she’s only up to L Is for Leather.

A thousand thanks to Rothko for sending me this card, and telling me the source.  Clearly there is some postcard shopping in my immediate future.

The Pause That Refreshes

No, I’m not shilling for Coca-Cola.  But the Netherlands apparently had this very bizarre promotion once upon a time; some sort of combination of meditation, syncopation, and carbonation, I’d guess.  Just imagine yourself floating, becoming one with the sky itself, naked except for a pair of really, really big headphones.  Suddenly, you belch.  The earth trembles.  (Who even uses headphones like that anymore? In case you can’t tell, her headphones are jacked into the Coke logo.)

The back of the card has instructions in Dutch: “More info?  Call:” followed by a phone number.  Since I don’t feel like making an international call (and since this promotion probably ended long ago in any case), I guess the true nature of this ad gimmick will remain a mystery.