Boston Boat to Provincetown 1911

Boston Boat arriving in Provincetown, Cape Cod

Boston Boat arriving in Provincetown, Cape Cod

This antique postcard was mailed from Provincetown, Massachusetts to Binghamton, New York in 1911.  Provincetown harbor is filled with handsome sailing vessels. Awaiting the arrival of the steamer ferry from Boston are a host of tourists and residents, dressed for a summer’s day with broad brimmed hats and parasols.  Visitors still travel back and forth from Boston to Provincetown on the Fast Ferry.  Some of the characters in the new murder mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown once lived in Boston but decided to relocate to Provincetown. Why? Does it have anything to do with the mystery of who killed Sonny Carreiro? You’ll have to read the book to find out. Now available in bookstores and online. Purchase your copy in paperback or as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown Cape Cod Town Crier spreads news & gossip

Town Crier 40sThis Provincetown Town Crier is dressed in traditional pilgrim attire, and I’m not certain if he is based on one of the professional Town Criers that walked the streets of Provincetown during the 20th century when this postcard was published. By the car in the background, and style of the printing, this particular Cape Cod postcard was published by the Mayflower Sales Company in approximately 1950.  Titled, “Ye Old Town Crier, Provincetown, Cape Cod, Mass” the description on the back of the card says, “In keeping with the old colonial tradition, the custom of having a town crier walk up and down the streets cryng the news and events has been carried down through the years in quaint old Provincetown.”  Spreading the news in a personal way was certainly inspirational to a number of the characters in the new murder mystery novel, Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Find out what everyone’s talking about. You can purchase a signed edition at the Provincetown Book Shop on Commercial Street or buy a copy online in trade paperback or kindle. Read all the reviews at Amazon.com. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

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Remaining in Provincetown By S.N.Cook. Truro Works. 306 pages $12.95 Trade Paperback

Remaining in Provincetown
By S.N.Cook.
Truro Works. 306 pages
$12.95 Trade Paperback

Contest to Win Antique Provincetown Postcard

WInProvincetown, Cape Cod   100 years ago in this popular town in Massachussets, this photograph was taken when sailors walked the streets and the roads were unpaved. Like the facebook page for the new murder mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook and you might be the winner. (Winner chosen at random from the likes on the page. Postcard will be mailed to you by USPS.)  Read the book , now available at bookstores  (trade paperback) and online and join the conversation when you like us on Facebook.

Provincetown Bathing Beach at Delight Cottage

Delight Cottage Bathing Beach, Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Delight Cottage Bathing Beach, Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The sign in the antique  photograph says “Delight Private Beach” and it looks like everyone is having a fun time in their bathing costumes. A boardwalk built out over the water, enables visitors to dangle their legs over the edge without actually going swimming. On one side are cabanas for changing and on the other side a gazebo for shade. Delight Cottage was located at 113 Commercial Street, on the West End of Provincetown near the bend in the road by where is currently the Coast Guard Station.  Times have changed, and usually even at high tide the bay side is not as crowded as it was in approximately 1910 when this photograph was taken. Old photographs and postcards were a passion of the murder victim Sonny Carreiro in the mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Do the antique postcards figure into the plot in some shape or form? You’ll have to read the story to find out. Now available in bookstores and online. Autographed copies are at the Provincetown Book Shop or purchase your trade paperback or ebook at Amazon.com Like us on Facebook and join the conversation.

Long Point beyond Provincetown, a hidden gem

Long Point Light at the Tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown, Masachusetts

Long Point Light at the Tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown, Massachusetts

This lovely antique postcard shows Long Point light on the tip of Cape Cod, once the location of a fishing village. The postcard was published by  H. A Dickerman and Son. . It’s a handsome color lithographic print from the late 19th century. at a time when it cost just a penny to mail a postcard and two cents if you wanted to send your card outside the United States.

Today, no  one lives on Long Point, which makes it a quiet and secluded spot for clothing optional bathing and picnics. If you don’t have a boat, you an hike across the breakwater at the far west end of town, by the Provincetown Inn. The further out you are willing to hike, once you arrive at the point, the more secluded you’ll be. But watch out for the tides, or you may get stranded. If you like Provincetown adventures, don’t miss out on reading Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Autographed copies are currently available at the Provincetown Book Shop on Commercial Street. Or you can buy a copy online. The books are available in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebookand join the conversation. Send questions to the author via comments on this website. Thank you!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Remaining in Provincetown By S.N.Cook. Truro Works. 306 pages $12.95 Trade Paperback

Remaining in Provincetown
By S.N.Cook.
Truro Works. 306 pages
$12.95 Trade Paperback

Vacationing in Provincetown Cape Cod in 1911

Old colonial house by the sea in Provincetown, Cape Cod circa 1911

Old colonial house by the sea in Provincetown, Cape Cod circa 1911

A beautiful seaside setting in Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod, is depicted in this antique postcard. Labeled “Old Colonial House” I’m not certain where this is except to guess it looks to be on the West End of town, which is the older portion of Provincetown. The postcard was mailed in 1911 from Mary to Millie and here is what is says:

The wheel on the boat broke down and we were two hours late so missed the train and had to stay in Provincetown over Sunday. Stayed at the Gifford House and had a dandy time. It is just lovely here and the daisies and roses are so pretty. We went for a long walk this morning. We’ve had plenty of showers today but hope it is pleasant tomorrow.  Love from South Wellfeet.

So evidently Mary took the Boston Ferry Boat to Provincetown as the quickest way to get to South Wellfleet. At the time she was traveling, the train still carried passengers up and down Cape Cod. Her firiend, who she was writing to lived in Wollaston, Massachusetts.  People sometimes arrive  to places quite by accident and end up staying there, like some of the characters in the new murder mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Want to learn more?  Read the book now available online in trade paperback and  on kindle. Like us on Facebook and continue the conversation.

Provincetown Cape Cod 60 years ago

Provincetown, Massachusetts Town Hall and Cafe Poyant circa 1970

Provincetown, Massachusetts Town Hall and Cafe Poyant circa 1970

Right beside the town hall in Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod, was a favorite outdoor sidewalk cafe called Cafe Poyant. Next to the cafe was a bakery with French pastries and donuts. Who remembers the place? It was a great place to “people watch”. The red and white awnings were classic. The large white building in back, once a church as shown on some of the earlier postcards on this website, was the Art Cinema movie theater. They showed wonderful foreign films. The bakery and cafe were owned by Gene Poyant, who in his later years volunteered as the Provincetown Town Crier. Today there is no outdoor sidewalk cafe at this location. As the town has continued to grow and expand. stores and restaurants change, although some favorites remain.  What did it feel like to live in Provincetown year-round 25 years ago? If you’ve read Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook,  you might have gained a different perspective.  If you haven’t read the book yet, read what everyone’s saying about it. Now available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble and other online sites in trade paperback and on kindle. Signed copies are at the Provincetown Book Shop while they last. Like us on Facebook. Keep the conversation going.

Provincetown Race Point beach shipwrecks

Fishing Schooner "Buema" wrecked near Race Point Light in Provincetown, Cape Cod

Fishing Schooner “Buema” wrecked near Race Point Light in Provincetown, Cape Cod

Race Point Beach in Provincetown, now a part of the National Seashore is a favorite spot for swimming, fishing, and nature watching where one might catch a glimpse of a seal or whale, depending on the season. But Race Point is also the site of many shipwrecks and between 1873 and 1902 had a Lifesaving station known as Race Point Station. Unfortunately the station was no longer in operation when the fishing schooner Buema crashed into the surf and was wrecked on January 7, 1908.  The above postcard, purchased in 1924 tells the story.  During the time the Race Point Station was in operation they had three surfboats which aided hundreds of seafarers. Among the names of men who served at the lifesaving station and lost their lives aiding others were Captain Dave Atkins and Frank Mayo. Is that where the name for the road Atkins Mayo, the dirt road where two characters in the mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown  live, comes from?  Curious to read the new murder mystery set in Provincetown, the book everyone’s talking about.  You can pick up a signed copy at the Provincetown Book Shop while they last or buy a book online at Amazon.com in trade paperback or ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Remaining in Provincetown By S.N.Cook. Truro Works. 306 pages $12.95 Trade Paperback

Remaining in Provincetown
By S.N.Cook.
Truro Works. 306 pages
$12.95 Trade Paperback

The Provincetown approach to wooing shoppers

purchased in 1940 This antique postcard shows the Town Crier Gift Shop.

purchased in 1940
This antique postcard shows the Town Crier Gift Shop.

Provincetown, Massachusetts has always been a mecca for shopping. It’s one of the busiest towns on the Outer Cape.  This postcard shows 265 Commercial Street, when it was the Town Crier Gift Shop. Prior to that time, this location was the home of the Advocate Gift and Souvenir Shop according to John Wright Hardy the author of Provincetown Vol. I. The gentleman in the pilgrim outfit standing outside the shop, which boasts itself as being the largest gift shop on Cape Cod, was not the official Town Crier for the town of Provincetown but was hired by the store to attract business. His name was Charles Walton. To learn more about Town Criers in Provincetown read some of our previous postings. To be entertained by a Provincetown mystery story read Remaining in Provincetown , available at bookstores and online in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown to Boston ferry come back soon!

Boston Boat from Provincetown Departing

Boston Boat  Departing from Provincetown, Massachusetts

This antique postcard, circa 1900, was not as popular a card as the one tourists arriving from Boston to visit Provincetown. That’s when the excitement begins. These folks, although they are so nicely dressed with those handsome hats, long dresses, vests, and waist coats, look a little downcast. Their friends are on their way to Boston after a fun time in Provincetown.  They’re leaving.  Hope they get to come back soon. Times have changed, but a boat– the Fast Ferry– still travels the same route.  And some of us still send postcards, although often we do so by email. The Fast Ferry is having a postcard contest, so check it out on their website.  Meanwhile, if you haven’t visited the Remaining in Provincetown facebook page, we are also having a contest. We want you to like our page, if you haven’t already, and tell us your favorite month to visit Provincetown and why. We’ll be sending the winner a signed copy of Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook specially inscribed to the winner. So play the game and enjoy the town.