#PFTL: “Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio” Part 3: The Variants
In this 3rd and final part of the many faces of the "Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio" postcards, we'll look at the outlier cards that almost fall into one of the main styles for this card, but the designer got one little bit wrong, so those cards fall here. These cards literally span the entirety of postcard history, and our first card may be the oldest & closest to what we all think of for this card... almost.
NOTE: The FreshWater Cleveland PostCard Archives Team does its best to transcribe the very old (often more than 100 years) script writing, that can often be faded, written in pencil, tiny, etc., and, at times, in other languages. When we cannot determine a word, it is replaced with "[???]." When we make a guess, the word itself will be followed with "[?]."
Greetings from Cleveland (1908)Postmark: Cleveland JAN 12 1908 10:30PMMaterial: Linen
Card Front: The text "Greetings from Cleveland" with the block letters being masks for images behind them &emdash; some of which may or may not have to do with Cleveland. No mention of "Ohio" yet; that comes in the 40's.
Written Text:
Cleveland O. Jan 12 - 4PM. I am waiting for train to Ft. Wayne at 7:30. It is raining and not pleasant to get around. Will see you 13t. By by X X - P.B.
Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio (ca 1930s)Postmark: (Unused)Material: Linen
Card Front: In very small text, ""Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio"" (quotes included) in the top border with a night scene likely of Lake Erie (the card doesn't specify). This card was actually part of a group of other cards called "Water Scenes."
Card Back: C.T. Water Scenes - 10 Subjects
Greetings from Ohio (ca 1940s)Postmark: (Unused)Card Front: "Greetings from Ohio," no mention of Cleveland, because, in this version, an attempt was made to highlight that Ohio has other cities.
Card Back: A "Natural Color Card" made by E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, Wis. - HHY
Printed Copy:
Ohio's lakes, parks, forest and recreational areas are open to all. Grand scenery, temperate climate, cozy wayside parks, a good time every hour of the day.KEY TO VIEWS ON THE OTHER SIDE: —
O - Indian Profile Rock, near East Liverpool
H - The Picturesque Ohio River
I - Terminal Tower, Cleveland
O - Union Terminal, Cincinatti
Howdy from Cleveland Ohio (ca 1940s)Postmark: (Unused)Card Front: "Howdy from Cleveland Ohio," with Cleveland in a very condensed block-style treatment. I have never met a person from Cleveland that said "Howdy".
Card Back: Pub by Wilbur Evans, 4310 Mayfield Road, Cleveland, Ohio, 44121
Printed Copy:
CLEVELAND, OHIO
Cleveland is highly industrialized and is known for its steel, paint, textile and auto parts manufacturing. Cleveland also has the finest concentration of Museums in the world.
Hi from Cleveland Ohio (ca 1980s)Postmark: (Unused)Card Front: "Hi from Cleveland Ohio", where "HI" serves as a mask for images of Cleveland. This picks up the brush script from that usually is reserved from "Greetings from," on other cards, but steals the "Hi from Ohio" messaging that used on more generalized Ohio postcards.
Card Back: Crown Greetings, Inc; 216-623-4680
Printed Copy:
HI FROM CLEVELAND, OHIO Picturesque Cleveland and buildings overlook the Cuyahoga River. Terminal Tower and Standard Oil (Sohio Building) dominate the sky of this blooming city.
Greetings from Cleveland Ohio (ca 2010s)Postmark: (Unused)Card Front: "Greetings from Cleveland Ohio", but... it's not right. This comes from Cracker Barrel, and, we did add it to the archive, but every time we look at it / hold it, it just feels wrong. The clip art?... "From" instead of "from"?... font choices?... colors?... all of it?... it's almost like it was designed by people from Tennessee who haven't ever been to Cleveland.
Card Back: SeekPublishing™ 1055 Ridgecrest Drive - Millersville - TN - 37072 - www.crackerbarrel.com