GREETINGS from Cedar Ridge Trading Post

If you've never been to the Navajo Nation you've missed some of the most interesting and beautiful places in this country. Much of the land is desert, which for many would seem boring and ugly. I guess I'm different, because I find a beauty in the mile after mile of nothingness.

But it's in places like Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly where you will find your breath taken away. If you haven't seen Monument Valley at dawn you've missed an incredible experience. No man made church can compete with the spiritual beauty of this place. Canyon de Chelly will make your heart beat a little faster. To see the wing shadow of a raven flying across a canyon wall is stunning. To hear the sound of a native flute echoing across the walls of Anasazi ruins as the leaves of a poplar tree quietly rustle...incredible.

I believe this post card photo was taken in Monument Valley. This particular Navajo/Diné woman appeared on many post cards and in many books. Her name was Happy Cly. It is believed that she was the most photographed Native American. If you have seen the movie The Return of Navajo Boy you will know about the Cly family and what happened to them at the hands of unregulated uranium mining in Monument Valley. It's a powerful movie. Click here and here to see more photos of Happy Cly. The photo below the card is from the book Kayenta and Monument Valley authored by Carolyn O'Bagy Davis, Harvey Leakes, and Richard Paul Mike.




Click on images to see them larger.

Click on image to see it larger.

You might not be able to read it, but on the front of the card it says "Greetings from Cedar Ridge Trading Post." You can see an old photo of the trading post here. It was located on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona. I don't believe it still exists. But there is a wonderful historical trading post that you can visit called the Hubbell Trading Post. Well worth the stop and make sure you take the tour. So many beautiful hand woven rugs available to buy. It had my head spinning and wishing I had a ton of money.

This card was published by Bob Petley. You can see more about him by clicking on his name in the labels below.

Fred Harvey, the Grand Canyon, and NATIVE AMERICANS

Here's one of those postcard booklets with the flip-down-two-sided cards. This one was part of the collection Fred Harvey sold. As usual, the illustrator is not given any credit. I love the front cover of the Hopi Pueblo and the back of the Navajo sheepherder in Monument Valley. Both really lovely illustrations in Southwestern colors. Each would make a really nice framed print. I wonder if these paintings even exist anymore? As you'll notice on the Navajo one there is the slit where the flap is to slip in to enclose the card booklet.

Click on image to see it larger.

The shot of the Grand Canyon is also quite interesting. A black and white shot that had color tinting applied, most likely as overlays on the mechanical, it gives the Canyon a sort of candy colored rainbow look.

This dates most likely to the mid-to-late 1940s.