Fishermen of Provincetown a 19th Century Photograph with Style

Fishermen of Provincetown, Mass.

Fishermen of Provincetown, Mass.

The photograph could have been taken yesterday, but it was taken for a postcard published by the New England News Company in the late 1800’s.  Don’t you love the serious expression on these handsome men’s faces?   It’s the start of the season for visitors to start arriving for fresh seafood, long walks on the beach and over the sand dunes. There is, after all, no other place in the world like Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod.  Want to get in the mood with an appropriate book? If you haven’t yet read the mystery novel  Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook there is no time like the present. It’s available at your favorite local bookstores as well as online in trade paperback and ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going!

Provincetown Song

All I Can Give

By Harry Kemp

Cook Street in Provincetown looking towards Commercial Street.

Cook Street in Provincetown looking towards Commercial Street.

All I can give is a song
And that is best,

Which down the ages will prolong
Our names when all the rest,

The good, the bad, the glad, the brave

Become lost headstones on a grave:

    If poets are a little mad

   Their singing makes the whole world glad!

The above poem was published in Poet of the Dunes in 1952 by Provincetown Publishers

If you love Provincetown, you should enjoy the murder mystery novel published in April 2013 Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Buy it at your favorite bookstore or online in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Downtown Provincetown Freeman Street History

Glimpse of Freeman Street Provincetown, Cape Cod

Glimpse of Freeman Street
Provincetown, Cape Cod

During the busy summer months its easy to miss all the lovely side streets in Provincetown which join the main two thoroughfares–Bradford Street and Commercial Street. The above postcard, a color lithographic print from the late 19th century is entitled “Glimpse of Freeman Street”. What you don’t see is the building , donated by Nathan Freeman in 1873, which once served as the Provincetown Public Library. The Freeman Street library opened to the public in June of 1874.  In the mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, set in approximately 1990, the library is at that location on the corner of Freeman and Commercial Streets. Today the library resides in what was once the Center Methodist Episcopal Church built in 1860.  During the time period in which Remaining in Provincetown takes place, the building (once the Chrysler Art Museum) is still the Provincetown Heritage Museum. In 2005 it became the Provincetown Public LIbrary. Want to read a story that takes place in Provincetown a few decades ago? Remaining in Provincetown is available online and at your favorite bookstores. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

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

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

Truro Cape Cod Pamet River

Early 20th century Truro Postcard showing Pamet River.

Early 20th century Truro Postcard showing Pamet River.

If you live in Provincetown, you spend time in Truro–the adjacent township which is more rural in its setting.  Or maybe you work  in Provincetown and live in Truro. One of the beautiful spots in the town is the Pamet River. Over four miles in length, the river is named for the Paomet Indian tribe who lived on Cape Cod. It is probably their corn the pilgrims stole from Corn Hill after  they initially landed in Provincetown Harbor and then went further down the Bay in pursuit of food.
WIth the changes that winter storms have wrought on the coastlines during the past few years, its interesting to see this old postcard that was mailed in 1927 from Truro to Carver Road.   The writer was evidently staying in Truro but talks about going into Provincetown to enjoy parades and celebrations.  So even back in the 1920s, Provincetown was the place for parties.  Want to learn more about Provincetown read Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, available online and in local bookstores. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going. Pick up a copy of this week’s Provincetown Magazine and read a brief excerpt from the book.

Provincetown novel Cape Cod antique postcard

Cape Cod Fisherman

Cape Cod Fisherman

This beautiful color lithographed antique postcard published by H.A. Dickerman & Sons, Taunton Massachusetts, shows a Provincetown fisherman with his nets and tackle. During the 19th century, fishnets were mended by hand. Recognize the lighthouse in the background? Cape Cod and Provincetown is the setting and focal point of  Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, the mystery novel that has people talking. Buy your copy now at local bookstores and online as a trade paperback or ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

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.

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

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

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.