Rhinoceros for Postcrossing and Collecting
My postcard-collecting readers always expect a wide ranging selection of postcards on the given topic, which today is the mighty rhinoceros. Postcards may show stunningly beautiful original art created by my fellow Zazzlers--or they may show vintage, cute, funny, clever treatments. Often postcards will show the subject alongside pets! Would you believe I found nothing showing a cat with a rhinoceros, much less a rhino with a dog. But vintage postcards of the rhinoceros, vintage we got! So today let's get started in the 1500s, when in the thick of Portuguese exploration of the seas and the coasts, a rhinoceros was brought from India to Lisbon.
Earliest Rhino Image in Europe
Our first postcard shows a magnified section from Printmaker Albrecht Dürer's The Rhinoceros. The detail incorporated is stunning, though it may not be entirely accurate. Dürer never saw the animal; he created his extremely famous woodcut from a few words of description accompanying an anonymous sketch. Durer's original woodcut includes the verbiage sent to him by another printer, which reads, in heavy stylized German script, something to the effect of In the year 1515 on 1 May was brought to our King of Portugal to Lisbon such a living animal from India called a rhinoceros...It has the color of a toad and is covered and well protected with thick scales, and in size it is as large as an elephant. The woodcut then goes on to say that this herbivore is a vicious and deadly enemy of the elephant, providing gory detail about what happens when the two animals meet. I am not at all sure any of this is true. National Geographic Wild says the Rhino is not usually aggressive, but naturally the rhino will most certainly defend against an elephant when need be. Nonetheless, the goal of the artist was to imaginatively elaborate through woodblock texture, the strength of the armor of this magnificent animal. In fact Dürer adds a completely nonexistent horn to the back of his rhinoceros. The mythical dorsal horn is shown on another version of Dürer's print down at the end of this blog post.
Rhinoceros on a postcard as depicted in the days of Queen Victoria
Cigar merchants may have been unaware of any such tensions between the elephant and the rhinoceros, when they created an attractive piece of rhino memorabilia. Known popularly as Love on the Nile, the vintage cigar box label dates from the Victorian era. Along the banks of the Nile, with the pyramids in the background, Mr. Rhino holds a beautiful bouquet of flowers and is courting Miss Elephant. Again, quite a bit of artistic license is taken. If you are curious about whether any species of rhinoceros ever inhabited the northern reaches of the Nile, you could always check a historical range map.
More realistic Depiction of Rhinoceros
A renowned Swiss naturalist known for his lovely lithographs of mammals, birds and reptiles, Karl Joseph Brodtman was highly skilled at capturing the beauty of animals and did so with a high degree of scientific accuracy. As such we find that his Indian Rhinoceros sketch made in 1827 is very true to life.
Rhinos on the Brink
Some ten thousand rhinos were lost to poaching in the past decade, meaning that rhinos are truly in danger of extinction. Quite a few conservation-minded postcards at Zazzle reflect this grim reality. Poachers kill the rhinos, cut off the horns and sell the horns as medicine. In parts of Asia, there is a huge demand for this part of the rhino's head, as people mistakenly believe that the horn is effective as part of traditional Chinese medicine. Rhinoceros horns are made of keratin, which is exactly what fingernails and hair are made of. There are no special or magical ingredients in the horn of a rhino.
Here are some eye-catching rhino conservation postcards bringing attention to the poaching problem, one of which points to a website where you can find more information and learn how you can help. Ironically most of the rhino poaching in Africa occurs inside of a national park! A rhino with a beautiful horn and some birds hitching a ride on his back is shown below on a postcard for that particular national preserve---South Africa's famous Kruger National Park.
The Rhinoceros and Biodiversity
Being one of Africa's Big Five, the rhinoceros holds a special place in the amazing array of animal life we currently enjoy in our world. This lovely purple postcard shows the rhinoceros along with just a few of the thousands of creatures making up the world of wildlife. With its aged and worn look, this attractive purple grid of animals would be warmly received by any animal-loving postcard collector, or anyone interested in conservation.
Cute Baby Rhinos and Fun Rhinoceros Puns on Postcards
On a lighter note, the rhinoceros can be adorably cute, particularly the baby of the species. Here's a young rhino with cute fingernails and a tiny white horn, trying to hold her balance. She reminds me of a four month old baby learning to sit up.
Here's a fun rhino postcard perfect to send to a grandchild who loves rainbows! You will find it comes in several colors, but my favorite is the Rhinbow Rainbow on the Hot Pink.
Rhinoceros in Art
There are a number of beautiful original art rhinoceros postcards on Zazzle. I love this touching evening scene of mother rhino and rhinoceros baby. I can just imagine a jeep full of safari riders enjoying sundowners while appreciating this rare and tender sight. This night scene postcard leaves room; you can personalize this Rhino POD Postcard with your own message.
Rhino Postcard Variety and Another Woodcut View of The Rhinoceros
As you can see, there are plenty of options for postcard collectors looking for rhinoceros postcards, and for that matter, those working to assemble a postcard collection of Africa's Big Five. It used to be that hunters would go to Africa hoping to bring home the head of an elephant, a lion, a leopard, a buffalo and a rhinoceros. Now more people go to Africa armed with cameras, and they are still looking for the Big Five. If you can't get to Africa or to India just now, get yourself some postcards of rhinos and other charismatic megafauna. And keep a few on hand. You never know. When you draw your next Postcrossing address--your Postcard collecting friend may want to receive a wonderful postcard of a rhino!
If Zazzle should send me a penny or two when someone buys something I have carefully chosen to display on this blog, the price stays the same. The card costs nothing extra. For the reader, my quest to find and post some nice cards in which you might be interested, adds no cost.
