While conducting research for An Ostrich-Plumed Hat, and, Yes, She Shot Him Dead, a novel about Hedda Burgemeister and Otto Koehler, Gayle Brennan Spencer became fascinated and distracted by the stories old postcards have to tell – resulting in a series of collages, Postcards from San Antonio. Gayle maintains the original, intimate scale of the postcards and period stamps to force viewers to come closer to read these messages from earlier times – to ponder how they relate to life today.
Her first “kitschen-aide” series revolved around tortillas, salsa and pralines. Through the years her themes have ranged from cowgirls to Frida y Diego, and her collages evolved to include other ephemera calling out for attention – including sheet music, holy cards and San Antonio’s infamous Blue Book.
Frida y Diego Series
“Kitschen-aide” art resurfaced in this series of food-related prints focusing on a fascination with the lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Perhaps no artist’s image or artwork has been “refried” and sold in as many over-commercialized formats as Frida’s. The oft-photographed Frida Kahlo has had her image reproduced on almost everything. Yet their art and stories remain so compelling….
“Frida y Diego ~ No. 1 ~ Re-Fridas” 
“Frida y Diego ~ No. 2 ~ Dieggos” 
“Frida y Diego ~ No. 3 ~ The Original Fridas” 
“Frida y Diego ~ No. 4 ~ Let Go Mi Dieggo”
The Blue Book Series
The 1911-1912 Edition of “The Blue Book,” a visitors’ guide to San Antonio’s “sporting district.” The book of advertisements was billed as a “straight steer to the visitor within the gates of the Alamo City, when the lights are turned on” and included a list on available women classified from A to C.
The Real “Blue Book” 
“The Blue Book ~ No. 1 ~ See Sallie after the Alamo” 
“The Blue Book ~ No. 4 ~ Go West Young Men” 
“The Blue Book ~ No. 3 ~ “Patent Plugs for Pifflicated People” 
“The Blue Book ~ No. 2 ~ Mayor Callaghan Crowed at City Hall, but Spirited Cockfights Could Be Found Just around the Corner on Weekends”
Tex-Mex
To anyone who knows her, it is not surprising that images pertaining to food on vintage postcards catch the eye of Gayle Brennan Spencer. So it was only natural for the first of her digital collages to revolve around pralines, tortillas and hot sauce.
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 1 ~ Ahora, Vamanos a Mi Tierra” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 2 ~ Praying for Pralines” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 3 ~ Dulce Detour” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 4 ~ Suckers for Sugar” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 5 ~ Without Them the City Would Be Pan Blanco” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 6 ~ Suppertime in the Land of Opportunity” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 7 ~ Alamo Plaza–The Cradle of Tex-Mex” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 8 ~ Salsa and the City” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 9 ~ Los Hombres y Los Sombreros” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 10 ~ Tiene el Mas Grande” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 11 ~ Luna de Miel” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 13 ~ They Remember San Jacinto”
Holy Cards
Gayle’s godmother/aunt always lamented the role saints should play in daily life was not one taught by the nuns of Star of the Sea. It took trips to the Old World and Central and South America to strip the veneer off the more sanitized version of American Catholicism.
“Holy Cards ~ No. 1, El Niño Always had the Best Toys” 
“Holy Cards ~ No. 2 ~ Santa Cecilia at the Crossroads” 
“Holy Cards ~ No. 3 ~ Katherine of San Antonio” 
“¡Qué milagro! Four bullets in the back and alive to give thanks 25 years later.” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 18 ~ Peace be with You” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 19 ~ Strong Roots Nourish the Church into the Next Century”
Texas Centennial Series
There are so many great stories arising from the massive celebration of the Texas Centennial in 1936, and one of Gayle’s blog posts touches on some of them and how she ended up stalking centennial-related items on eBay. Because she was not the only person touched by nostalgia, prices were too high for her to pursue. But a local collector, Sarah Reveley, lent her many of the items incorporated in this series of digital collages that debuted in her solo show at King William Art in 2011.
“1936 Texas Centennial ~ No. 2 ~ Blue Bonnet Girl” 
“1936 Texas Centennial ~ No. 4 ~ Wonderful World of Wild Women” 
“1936 Texas Centennial ~ No. 1 ~ Yellow Rose of Texas” 
“1936 Texas Centennial ~ No. 3 ~ WHOO-pee! The Night is Young”
Cows + Girls y Mas
A series of cowgirl postcards based on the 1907 hit “San Antonio Song” by Harry Williams and Egbert VanAlystyne were among the first to get Gayle’s attention and gave her favorite cowgirl image. “San An-to ni An-to-ni-o. She hopped up on a pony and ran away with Tony….” To hear an original 1907 recording of the song by Billy Martin, click here, and to learn more about the song visit this post on Gayle’s blog.
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 12 ~ They Rode off into the Sunset” 
“Cowboy Blues: She Broke my heart…and I miss her rabbit stew.” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 17 ~ She Rolled his feed up in a flour tortilla.” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 16 ~ Stuffed and Still Standing a Century Later” 
“Postcards from San Antonio ~ No. 15 ~ The Original Hilton Sisters 
“Texas History Stories – Page 179 ~ The Besmirching of the Black Bean’s Reputation”
See you farther down the trail….
Postcards from Barton Springs 
Hi Gayle. A friend from my hometown, Oak Park, IL has sent me three S.A. postcards from the 1940’s. I would be happy to share them with you or send you images. Let me know. I enjoy your blog. Nora
LikeLike