Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Magical Mysteries...

The way I post most of my photos here is via Flickr.com
The really cool thing about that is that I basically get two audiences--some people just cruise Flickr and comment on people's images.
There are pools (groups) of photos posted regarding certain themes, years, kitsch.
I know at least one blogger who stopped blogging and just posts to Flickr now--her collection of vintage images garners almost a cult following.

People can comment on the images I post, and I can comment on theirs, then I can see the responses as they come in.

I posted the back of a vintage postcard several months ago, because I love the beautiful penmanship, the calligraphy probably delivered by quill, and the ancient postmark.
french calligraphy on old postcard
I asked if anyone could translate the words.
Today, someone finally did just that.
Imagine my surprise.
I was told, "You have to read it in a mirror and the first line from the bottom to the edge : Que cette carte te trouve en bonne santé, ainsi que ta mère.
Je t'embrasse
Jean !"


I consulted Babelfish for a translation.
The message is just a basic well wishing, "That this chart finds you in good health, like your mother."

How fascinating!
What inspired the backward writing?
Such a delicious mystery.

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5 Comments:

Blogger Way Out Wear said...

That is very fascinating, and well done. It would be fabulous to hear the story behind it.

I too, love seeing old handwriting, we just can't write like that any more can we?

12:29 PM  
Blogger Sarah B. B. said...

Mirror writing! Who would have thought? The French geek in me wants you to know that the "ainsi" means "as well as," rather than "just like" in this case, and also that the familiar form of "you" (tu/toi/te/etc.) means that the writer knew the recipient well, or that perhaps the recipient was much younger than the writer. The closing, "Je t'embrasse" also conveys a lot of familiarity.

What a neat thing to have! :)

4:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I haven't cruised Flickr for awhile (my son is a photographer and loves to do that also). Thanks for the reminder. btw...having grown up with 8 years of French in Canada, I can tell you that Babelfish has the wrong use of "carte"...the translation is simply, "card". Which, of course, makes more sense. Cheerio.

7:27 PM  
Blogger woof nanny said...

Oh! Thanks Mike! That makes sense. I just assumed the photo side was a chart of some kind, but I have so many postcards...I couldn't remember which this message belongs to. So thanks for clearing that up.

7:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you had a notoriously nosy postman this would make sense. Perhaps even a war thing? How old is the postcard? I wonder if the sender was the mother speaking of herself?

I bought a book in a charity shop. A photo postcard was inside speaking of the war and how the family was effected/divided. I left it in there as it felt like the right thing to do. I've often wondered who th people were too.

12:37 PM  

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