The Cedar Chest - antique postcards, vintage photographs, forgotten ephemera

Follow me on Instagram

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Sat, 21 Sep 2019 21:02:00 +0000

Although I plan to come back to blogging someday. Most of my blogging is done on Instagram now.

I'd love it if you followed me there. Thanks!
https://www.instagram.com/the_cedar_chest_ephemera/

Easy and Cheap No-Commitment Way to Display Postcards, Art and Ephemera

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 19:22:00 +0000

I just moved into a new house. The walls are all freshly painted a sort of light khaki color. I actually like the color, which surprises me a bit. After over 10 years of being in the same place that was covered with holes (because I am terrible at estimating where I want to hang something) it was so nice to be in a place with smooth walls.

The problem is that it makes me a little paralyzed. I am afraid to hang anything because I know myself and I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. Also, I'm not really sure what I want to display. I want to put up different things than I had up before.

This is what inspired my No-Commitment Wall of Favorite Art and Ephemera.™

As you can imagine with my fear of commitment I have gotten heavily into Command Strip usage. So, I decided to use Command Strips to put up hooks and then display my favorite pieces from my collection along with other artwork I like. This way I can change it around whenever I feel like it and I can take the hooks down without leaving nail marks. Amazing! So, my wall is like one big inspiration board.

My No-Commitment Wall so far.

In order to achieve this, I used some hard PVC Sleeves that I had for storing and protecting my postcard and ephemera collection. These are great things to have just for that reason alone. If you have ephemera or photos that are fragile or that mean a lot to you, sometimes just a soft sleeve isn't enough. These rigid archival sleeves protect them like crazy and BONUS, they are great to use for display.

Another cool bonus of this tactic is that the hard case makes it possible for you to create little collages or your favorite things. For example the letter with the Victorian scrap that I have in the bottom right-hand corner of the above image. That is just two separate things placed together, no gluing needed,

So, here's how you achieve it:

Step One: Buy some Command Hooks you like or use Command Strips on ones you already have.
Step Two: Find some things you want to display and put them in the appropriate size hard plastic sleeves (now conveniently located in my shop).
Step Three: Use binder clips to hang them from said hooks

That's it: You're done and when you decide to take them all down or move them around you'll have a wall free of holes or chipped paint.

The only thing I wouldn't recommend displaying this way is originally painted items. The paint might end up sticking after a long period of time. I don't know this for sure - it's just a guess.

It'll be interesting to see how much my wall grows and what will be on it this time next year. Have fun and if you do this, share it with me on The Cedar Chest Facebook or Instagram page.

Ghost in the Woods

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:05:00 +0000

I bought this real photo postcard many years ago when I was still in California. I liked the image of the woman with the bonnet walking fast through the woods. It wasn't until over ten years later that I realized that I don't think there is a woman in a bonnet - and who wore a bonnet in 1925 anyway, but it is just an illusion made from the dark shadows of the creek in the background - or is it?

I still feel like I see her more clearly than the woods alone. She seems to be carrying something. Do you see her? Is it a person, an illusion or a ghost? Please tell me your opinion.

The Cedar Chest Blog Lives! Now on Instagram, too.

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Sat, 28 May 2016 02:11:00 +0000

I have neglected this blog for too long. I could blame it on moving, but that was just part of it. But, the good news is that I am now in a new home with a cleaner office and I am now going to (I swear) finally organize my large ephemera collection, which will include, of course, adding more beauties to the shop.

I also started an Instagram account for The Cedar Chest. You can follow me on there are see pretty things almost daily. Here is a little sneak peek of what I have posted so far on Instagram. I hope to see you there!

The Design of this Tag is Perfection

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 20:52:00 +0000

This repair tag from Grand Electric Co. is the most favorite piece of ephemera I own. The design is sublime; the bright yellow, with nonly the deep black, every squiggle and font. Maybe one day I will blow it up into a poster.

I wish I was friends with Aaron Draplin, because I think he would love this. Have you seen this Aaron?

Collections

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 00:03:00 +0000

I have been going through all my ephemera collections lately. You wouldn't know it by the quietness on this blog, but I have actually been immersed in my collections of vintage photos, postcards and ephemera.

I've been taking some pics as I discover little collections here and there. Here are some I've discovered. It's funny how you don't realize your collecting something sometimes until you see you've got several of a theme. I like that.

I was pleased to discover I have a collection of Elephant Valentines.

I'm always attracted to photos of shops. I love to see the merchandise and displays.

This is a selection of the dance cards and dance programs I've collected.

These photos are photos I've used in zines. They stand out to me amoungst the rest like they have day glo-paint. I am so familiar with them.

Using Vintage Christmas Cards for Christmas Decorations

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 02:34:00 +0000

I saw this image in the latest issue of Country Living and wanted to share it. I love how they use clothespins to attach some vintage (and not vintage) Christmas cards.

I see vintage postcards used as decor props in magazines all the time. If you need ideas of how to display your postcard collection my Pinterest board about it has lots of great ideas. Also, another fun way to display vintage postcards is to make a garland.

I've been adding a bunch of new vintage Christmas postcards to the shop. Most are over a hundred years. Check out the shop for some really lovely Christmas and New Years Vintage postcards and cards. More to be added soon!

Make a Holiday Banner from Vintage Postcards

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 22:18:00 +0000

Click to see larger

Although I use vintage postcards in all kinds of projects and even though I have a huge collection, I don't often display postcards or ephemera in my house. I guess I don't want them to get worn or damaged. However, I should start showing them off more, if for no other reason so that I can enjoy looking at them!

Here is a easy, cheap way to show off your vintage postcard collection without damaging the originals. Just scan and print the postcards you like on cardstock. I used 90 pound, because that's what I had, but something heavier would be better. Then use a hole punch and string with some pretty ribbon or yarn.

In the banner above I used a collection of unique and different Christmas postcards I liked, but you could make the a banner more unified by using all Santa postcards or all carolers or all snow scenes.

And you don't have to stop at Christmas, make a Thanksgiving banner, a New years one or an Easter one. Make one with any vintage postcard or photo collection you have. A banner of all linen postcards of the desert or the seaside would look cool. Also, one of all vintage family pictures would look great.

All you need is a color printer. I have a pretty old inkjet Canon MP600 which still works great.

If you need to add to your postcard collection, I am adding new holiday postcards all the time in the shop.

Heads Up, 7up!

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 01:43:00 +0000

A recent click-through visit to a website of a cook book store in New York made me remember all the great cooking pamphlets I have in my collection. So, I decided to dust off the old blog and share a couple with you.

It's a hot weekend in Portland, like 100° weather hot. So, these recipe books from 7up looked appealing to me. So refreshing! I love the illustrations and colors. I also really like 7up, so maybe I'll try some of these. Sometimes I mix juice (and sometimes vodka) with 7up. It may not be a legit recipe, but I recommend it.

This booklet is half page size and has the recipes in it shown below.

It also has recipes for Beef Stronganoff, Tuna Chow Mein, Sophisticated Baked Beans, Fudge Sauce and more. I get baking cakes and glazing ham with 7up, but not so sure about all these other things.

This pamphlet is 1/4 size and has some of the recipes in the larger one. It also recommends putting 7up in milk! Um, yeah, I'll pass.

Hearts and Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Sun, 19 Jan 2014 23:18:00 +0000

Valentines Day always comes when it's most needed. In the grey dark days of winter you get a chance to decorate and send cards with flowers and lace and pretty red and pink designs. The images and designs are always welcome and can help tide you over till the flowers start to bud.

At least that's the way it seems to me. Having a Valentine Tea or giving sweet gifts while the outdoors is all kinds of grey seems a perfect balance. Of course it depends on what part of the country you live in. Either way, Valentines Day is coming. I love vintage valentines. They are just so much sweeter, elaborate and have such nice sentiments.

I recently listed some new valentines on the site. You can give them as they are, scan them and create a new piece or use them to decorate for Valentines Day.

I love this idea from the blog Town and Country Living. She gathered the fallen bare branches and created a Valentine Tree with copies of vintage Valentine Postcards. So lovely.

I hope you'll stop by the Cedar Chest Shop and see the Valentine Selection. And check out the Half Off section, too!

Goodbye 13, Hello 14!

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 03:53:00 +0000

Just getting this New Years post in at the last minute. I wanted to share some New Years-ish ephemera with you from my collection, I say New Years-ish, because this particular postcard you see below is not totally New Years related, but it feels like New Years to me. Especially since attached to it is a printed calender for the year 1977. Also, the Inn reminds me of Holiday Inn. This Lovett's Inn still exisit. Maybe you will go there if you're in New Hampshire.

Just in case you're not familiar with the film Holiday Inn (and from what I've heard, the chain of motels did take there name from the film) here are some images from the film.

The other piece of ephemera is this Happy New years card from 1876! Looks like it was from some business. 1876 was the year the first telephone call was made. It was only 11 years after Lincoln was shot.

The last thing I want to share is this snapshot of some kind of party. I'm gonna pretend it's a new years party. I mean what is going on here?

The lady in white seems a bit traumatized by this party.

Well, hey I am already hearing fireworks.

Get your kicks, pals! Mine involve some lady comedy and hard cider. Happy New Year!!

Lawrence Welk Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 22:39:00 +0000

Things have been busy for me the last part of the year and I haven't been able to post here as much as I would like to. Hopefully I can at least get this one Christmas post in. I wanted to share this Lawrence Welk Christmas Card. In it is a punch out calender with a picture of Lawrence Welk on the back.

Lawrence Welk was a big thing at one time. He had a show on that ran from the 50's through 1980. He had a resort and a restaurant, maybe more than one. It was a big deal. I like watching the old shows, especially the color ones. The colors and sets are amazing and kooky sometimes. It's nice to image that such a sweet simple musical program was so popular. My grandparents would watch it a lot when I was a kid. At that time they were probably my age now.

Hello September

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:18:00 +0000

It's a tiny travesty that I haven't done a blog post on here since the beginning of June. The summer was much busier than I expected and now it's September and truthfully, I'm glad.

One of the reasons I've been busy is that I have a new job. When I was cleaning up my office today I found an old photo I got a few months ago. It seemed appropriate to post it now not just because of my new job but in honor of Labor Day. Having this extra day off gave me a chance to catch up on life a little bit more and I'm grateful for that.

I seem to collect images of people at work. Often offices. I like office party photos, too. These one below is an 8x10 and it's great to take a good long look at.

It looks like this was a newspaper and I'm guessing the guy in the middle is the editor. He seems to be the only person expecting a photo to be taken. Some interesting expressions here.

I particularly like this vignette and wonder what was going on there.

Hope you had a great Labor Day. I posted a couple new things in the shop today. More to come!

Hello Summertime

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 21:30:00 +0000

A couple days ago I went out to Sauvie Island and got some of the very small and very sweet Hood Strawberries that are in season here in Portland for only a few weeks. Today I attempted to make a couple jars of Strawberry jam. In my typical cooking fashion I kind of screwed it up, but, really strawberries and a little sugar, how bad could it be? It'll be delicious.

So, in honor of the summer, strawberries and all I wanted to add some new postcards to The Cedar Chest Shop. Hope you are enjoying the bounty of June.

A new listing in the shop. Such a great photo from 1907. Click on photo to see the listing.

A wonderful summer picnic, a faded memory - a faded photograph

These young women are ready for Summer. Imagine the adventures they had.

Have a Good Time at the Rose Festival

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 23:00:00 +0000

It's already Rose Festival time here in Portland. Truthfully, I don't really partake in the Rose Festival as much as most people, but I like that it exists. I have always loved the local festivals they have in towns all over the U.S.

I do, of course, like to collect Vintage Rose Festival Postcards. The costumes and floats were so pretty back then. Even in black and white you can see that. Here are a few I wanted to share before Rose Festival time is over.

The back of the postcard seen above

Happy Rose Festival from the Summer Capital of America! (Really?)

The Rose City

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:44:00 +0000

Portland is also called The Rose City and every year there is a Rose Festival here that has many events and last from a month from May to June.

I have been collecting some old images of the rose Festival and will post some as it gets closer to that time, but today I wanted to post this awesome photo with these two women surrounded by roses. I love the way they are looking at each other and someone literally made a frame of roses for people to pose behind. I don't know if this took place during the Rose Festival, but it's a good guess.

I also just put this pretty tinted postcard of the girl picking roses in the Etsy shop today, so the two of them inspired me to do a little collage with them. Behind the title are some young Rose Festival participants in the early 1900's.

Portland is in ridiculous bloom right now, Flowers, trees, everything is blooming and the streets look like illustrations with all the green leaves and bright colors. Enjoy the blooms in your town!

On the Shelf

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:13:00 +0000

I am very fond of this vacation response postcard I found a while ago. It was so common for people to send postcards from their vacations that response postcards were created. Who knew? This was the first one I've seen.

The message says:

Am glad you're having a high old time,

and I'd like to be there myself;

but there seems to be seasons for everything,

and I guess this is mine for the shelf.

Does this message sound a little bitter to you? Snarkyish? Ha! I find it funny, but aren't we are a little envious of people's vacations?

it might seem like I've been on the shelf here at the old Cedar Chest Blog. I have been busy and had other things that keep placing themselve in front of me. I've spent the last couple of days organizing all my ephemera (Um, yeah, I have WAY too much) and am going to posting more on the blog and in the shop soon (fingers crossed).

Are vacationing soon? I hope you have a high old time and that is said with no bitterness (unless you're going to Prince Edward Island).

Collections, what's yours?

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 01:04:00 +0000

What do you collect? I'd love to know. I find other people's collections really interesting. Please share your collections with me here or on my Facebook post.

Something I have wanted to collect is images of other people's collections. It's pretty hard to find and I've only mildly tried, but I want to share with you 2 of my photos from the collection.

This is a great image of someone's collection of model cars that they framed. I love the clean orderliness of collections like this when they are displayed.

I adore this image because it shows a room display from around the early 1900's with lots of postcards, photos and clippings, as well as some Indian baskets and other things. These are all the things I collect and I have many items from this time in my collection. I'm assuming this is a man's space. The newspaper article is about a football game. He's got a number of postcards, one with a Wisconsin pennant, a number of photos of women, some pictures of animals, some drawing and sketches, dried flowers and some American Indian photo. It's a good collection.

A fun photo collection is a shown on a website called With Cameras. Todd Wermer collects images of women with cameras. I love it when a person has such a defined collection of photos or postcards. Here are some of my favorite images from his tumblr site.

Happy Valentines Day to You from the Pacific Northwest

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:11:00 +0000

I have the perfect Vintage Valentines for folks in the Pacific Northwest. I am going to make it available for you to download and print. So, if you haven't gotten your Valentine yet, fear not. All you need is a color printer. Or you can simply post on your friend's wall with the image.

This valentine is made to be propped up. You can see the v slit and the tab slit in the bottom. Use an exacto knife there if you want it to be able to stand up. Print on cardstock if you have it. To download click on the image and choose download the large size..

Happy St. Valentine's Day from rainy Portland (although it is currently dry right now). Hope you have a great day!

A Valentines Banquet

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:41:00 +0000

I was excited to find this large portrait at a recent Postcard Club meeting. I love pictures of old fashioned Valentines parties. I have one other Valentines party photograph that I posted about a couple of years ago.

For some reason I feel the need to color in the hearts. So, I did, along with some of the ferns.

I would so love to be at this Valentine Party. It looks like a nice spread. Notice the man poking out from the doorway? On the back of the photo it says Hotel Goodland, Kansas. I wonder what kind of group of women this was? Were they all just friends or part of some club or organization?

Vintage Valentines and Kiddie's Play Roof

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 03:47:00 +0000

I was so charmed by this vintage postcard I found yesterday of the Kiddie's Play Roof Top at The St. George Hotel. Boy, I'd have liked to go there. Of course I imagine it just like this - as an illustration. Wasn't the past all like this? I looked for actual pictures of the play roof and didn't find any.

I have added the postcard above to the shop along with a number of vintage valentines. The 1920's ice skater valentine below is moveable and so cute.

to ye future

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:33:00 +0000

A Happy New Year to you! I hope your Christmas was wonderful.

I love this week in between Christmas and New Years. There is really not too much you can do. Too early to put decorations away (I like having them up for New Years), you can take your time putting away gifts, finishing off the Christmas cookies and enjoying your new books and movies.

Here are a couple of New Years postcards I am very fond of. Here's to 2013! May it have lots of wonderful and joyous surprises.

Today is Postcard Friendship Friday. You can visit Beth's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy and see more posts from postcard blogs, most likely with a New Years theme.

A Merry Little Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 01:59:00 +0000

Thanks to any and all of you who check in here at The Cedar Chest or buy something at the store. Collecting and selling ephemera is truly a labor of love and I so enjoy sharing it with like minded people. Hope your festivities are just the way you like them.

The Bigness of Christmas in the 1950's

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 05:30:00 +0000

I read something recently in the book Christmas Memories by Susan Waggoner that astonished me about Christmas in the 1950's.

To all of us who were born after the huge surge of babies, known as the Baby Boom, that mainly occurred from 1946-1960, I think it's hard to really grasp how huge it all was. So let me tell you, it was a lot - a lot of babies, a lot of new houses in the suburbs, a lot of money due to the low unemployment and the low rise of inflation and a lot of buying.

There were a record amount of new families that were now settling into larger houses in the suburbs. These houses needed to be filled and they had the money to do it.

When Christmas came families didn't just get one tree for the main room, they now got extra trees for throughout the house. And gifts were no longer just one per person, people began giving multiple gifts, especially to the children. The children of the 1950's had everything on their Christmas list and then some (which explains why many of them later rebelled against their upbringing and claimed to not care about material things). In the 1950's there was no reason not to give and receive all you wanted. The average family was much better off than they had been before or during the WWII and Americans just wanted to have fun now that the war was over and the U.S. had won.

I knew all this before I read Waggoner's book, but I don't think I really grasped how much disposable income there was back then until I read that in 1951 Macy's ran a full page ad in the New York newspaper asking people not to buy so much. Can you imagine a store doing this?

People were buying huge amounts of stuff and coming back and buying more. The popular department store was unnerved by how much people were buying. They were questioning their motives. They were genuinely concerned that people were still in wartime shortages mode. They ran an ad that said in part the following:

This excerpt from the ad came from the Christmas Memories book. I wish I could find a copy of the actual ad, but it doesn't appear that one is online.

Again, I ask, can you imagine any store doing this or saying it? It is an amazing piece of history that seems to have been forgotten. I think the words that Macy's said in this ad are very wise and kind. The amounts people were buying most have been so bizarre to them to do this.

When I lived in the Bay Area and worked at a specialty clothing store, a woman who looked like she couldn't afford much came in. She was a little strange, but pleasant. She began pulling aside clothes she wanted and at the end of it her bill was about three times bigger than any sale I had ever heard of at the store, much less sold. It was weird. I was trying to talk her out of things. It was just uncomfortably too much. I felt really weird about it. And of course I was concerned with how she was going to pay for it. She went to the bank and came back with the cash (It turned out she was from a well off family and she later admitted to me that she didn't like to bother with having her clothes washed).

Because of this experience I can kind of understand how Macy's felt and I now understand more clearly what a financial and material boom the Fifties were.

I've been researching the Fifties particularly because it's the family theme this Christmas. Every year we have a theme for Christmas. It's often a decade, but it can sometimes be a country. Some of the ones we've done are the 1930's, Medieval times, the 1960's, the Old West and countries like Holland, Hungary and Switzerland. We base the meal, music and games around the theme and we dress up. I know it's kind of kooky, but it's very fun and we all enjoy a theme.

12-12-12 Sale - 25% off at The Cedar Chest

noreply@blogger.com (PonyBoy Press) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:32:00 +0000