New images of old stuff

I've been bolstering my collection of vintage Florida postcards of late, and have found it more cost effective on Ebay than in antique stores. I tend to get obsessed with Ebay items about once a year, hopefully I'm done with '09. First it was Roseville Pottery, then Peter Pauper Press books, then the artist Joy Postle and now it's Florida postcards.

Here are 3 from my first shipment from Florida sites I've blogged about.

The Fountain of Youth postcard shows the stone cross supposedly laid out by Ponce de Leon out with 15 vertical stones and 13 horizontal stones to indicate the year, 1513. Nearby they found a small silver vessel with a parchment inside stating that Ponce de Leon claimed this land in the name of Spain.

The caption on the back of the Marineland postcard says: 

"DOCTOR" BRUSHES TEETH OF TRAINED WHALE

MARINELAND FLORIDA

Bok Tower seems to have been one of the most prolific producers of postcards and ephemera in the state. I wonder if that is an indication of its popularity in the past? This is the first vintage Bok postcard I've collected of the non-linen variety.

And finally I was contacted earlier this week by an individual looking for vintage images of Edgewater Drive in College Park, the Orlando neighborhood originally developed in the 1920s. I tried to point them in the right direction, but it seems there aren't many images around. If you know of any, please contact me. I came across this image of the old College Park Publix. While I loved the signage and facade, the narrow aisles were a hassle and I almost always accidently ran into some poor little old lady with my shopping cart while trying to navigate through the store. The old store was torn down and a new one replaced it. However, several old Publix buildings that have been re-used for other businesses still remain around Orlando; a subject for a future blog perhaps...