Friday 15 June 2018

Weekend Postcards – Clocks / Time Tellers

Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic

Astronomical clock, Prague, Czech Republic
Postcard sent by Ginny from the US, June 2018

When this card arrived (this week), it seemed oddly familiar to me… Flickering through the postcrossing cards received over the past few months, I found that I had actually received another image of the exact same clock back in April (not previously shown on this blog, I think):

180419 CZ-1577539

Postcrossing card sent from the Czech Republic,
April 2018

The sender adds the following info on the back:
”This clock is on Prague Town Hall. It is 608 years old. At the top of the clock there are two windows with figures walking around. On the left and right are Misery, Vanity, Lust and Death.”


On the same day as Ginny’s card, I also received this time-related card from John in England:

Chester's Town Criers

“Chester’s Town Criers – David & Julie Mitchell, the world’s first husband and wife Town Criers.”
Postcard sent from Chester, June 2018

In the past, when most people could not read or write, town criers were the means of proclaiming all kinds of news to the people of the town. And in some places, evidently, they are still keeping up the tradition!


Also this week, yet another time-telling card found its way through my letter-slot:

180612 PL-1481254

Postcrossing card from Poland, showing a timepiece from the History Museum in Kraków.

I don’t know Polish, but with the help of Google Translate I managed to decipher some of the printed text on the back of the card. It seems to say that this is mantel clock with a Cupid figurine, French, made of bronze, and from the end of the 19th century.

4 comments:

  1. Time Tellers - I love this term, Monica! For me, the bells of the nearby church are my favourite time tellers. I have posted about this in 2011, before you read my blog, I think. If you are interested, the post is here.
    As for the first picture, even before I read the caption, I thought "That looks like the clock on Prague's town hall" - I've been to Prague 3 or 4 times and would love to visit again. That clock is an amazing work of art and certainly one of the most photographed bits of this beautiful city.

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    1. Thanks for the link, Meike - I read it with interest :) From home, I don't hear the church bells from the two churches in the city center that have them, but I do sometimes hear the bells from a funeral chapel in our largest cemetery (in the opposite direction). But they only ring when there is a funeral, so that's kind of a sad (or solemn) sound - not telling the time as such, but still reminding one of "time passing", though!

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  2. I have not heard from Ginny, she was supposed to have surgery yesterday. she sends you the cutest cards

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    1. I've not heard anything either, Sandra, but she's been in my thoughts.

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