Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I thought one good way to celebrate is to take a look at one of New York City’s most beloved landmarks, St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

I’m not sure of the date but I’d guess mid 20th century based on the little I can see of the cars. Here’s the back:

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is located on Fifth Avenue at 50th Street. It is the leading Catholic Church in New York City and one of the grandest Cathedrals in the World. Cornerstone 1858. Dedication 1879. Consecration 1910. Restoration 1947. Built of American marbles in modified French Gothic.

SAN FRANCISCO AT NIGHT

The fabulous city of San Francisco, as seen from Twin Peaks, is a never-to-be-forgotten sight. The city with its myriad lights and skyscrapers has a perfect background in the waters of the Bay. The imposing Bay Bridge is San Francisco’s link to the East Bay cities in the background.

(This card was postmarked 1960.)

Soft lighting, feathered hair, and a giant automobile that would never fit in your garage. It must be the 1970s! 1977 to be precise, in the form of a dealer postcard for the 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Coupé.

This was one of two full-size Lincolns for the 19777 model year, the other being the fabled Town Car. This particular car was also used in one of the company’s sales brochure, so if I’m not mistaken this gorgeous paint color was called “cinnamon gold moondust.” Outstanding.

Here’s a wonderful early-to-mid century postcard from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (aka the Christmas City”).

There’s no postmark or other text on this one.

There is no postmark on this one but it seems to be from the 1950s or so.

NATURAL COLOR PHOTO
DORNEY PARK, ALLENTOWN, PA.

The flag shown on the reverse side was a special Labor Day decoration. It was made of thousands of white and red apples for the stripes. Egg plant was used for the blue field and squash was used for the stars. Thousand flock to the amusement park each year to see the designs made entirely of fruits and vegetables for Labor Day holiday.

Postmarked June 18, 1956:

PIKES PEAK AUTO RACE

Here on Labor Day of each year gather the world’s best dirt track drivers to test their skill on the 10% grade up the side of Pikes Peak, rising 14,110 feet above sea level.

Courtesy this vintage car dealership postcard comes this fun image of the 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente Convertible. It’s the best bargain under the big top!

Antique Memorial Day postcards are among the most evocative piece of vintage ephemera you can collect. With their elegant imagery mixing both patriotism and remembrance of those who died in service of this country, they are almost uniformly somber but almost uplifting at the same time.

The postcards on display here mostly date from the first few decades of the 20th century, when the holiday was more often known as Decoration Day. That’s due to its roots as a day to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers. Not coincidentally, these cards are heavy on the Civil War imagery.

One of the few cards of its era to recognize soldiers from the pre-Civil War period.

“GAR” is for Grand Army of the Republic.

“There honor comes, a pilgrim gray, to bless the turf that wraps their clay.”

“They fought like heroes, long and well, and then like heroes died.”

“May the wreaths they have won never wither nor the star of their glory grow dim.”

My favorite.

An unfortunate misspelling.

Celebrating the USS Monitor.

In Airline Memories, I share aviation items and curiosities from the long history of commercial flight. You’ll see everything from ephemera to souvenirs and other branded items from various U.S. airlines. If you have a request or anything else to share, leave a comment or contact me directly.

Not only is today St. Patrick’s Day, but we are just weeks away from the 80th anniversary of the founding of one of the world’s most iconic national airlines — Aer Lingus. So to celebrate both occasions, here is a collection of some cool, vintage Aer Lingus items I’ve come across.

As always, click on any item for a larger version.

1981-82 Aer Lingus airline timetable

Aer Lingus BAC One-Eleven postcard, c. 1960s-70s

1969 Aer Lingus print ad

1950s Aer Lingus luggage label

1960 Aer Lingus route map

c. 1950s Aer Lingus ticket jacket