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Florida's "Big Bill" pelican, Florida, circa 1940

Subjects
BirdsComics & HumorWildlife
Card type
Linen
Date
c. 1930 (White Border)
Front of Florida's "Big Bill" pelican, Florida, circa 1940, c. 1930 linen postcard
Front
Back of Florida's "Big Bill" pelican, Florida, circa 1940, c. 1930 linen postcard
Back

About this postcard

The card pictures a brown pelican standing on a plank walk beside the water at sunset, titled “Florida’s ‘Big Bill’” and accompanied by a comic verse about its bill. The brown pelican is a familiar coastal bird of Florida and the Gulf Coast, known for its large throat pouch and plunge-diving method of feeding. The verse plays humorously on invented rhymes such as “Bellican” and “Hellican.”

Postcard Details

Message

No message detected

PublisherCurteich
Florida’s “Big Bill” FLORIDA’S “BIG BILL” A Gorgeous Bird is the Pelican, Whose Bill can Hold more than his Bellican, He can put in his Beak Food enough for a week, But I’m Blest if I can see how in Hellican. --- 23-F—TROPICAL FLORIDA SERIES GENUINE CURTEICH-CHICAGO "C.T. ART-COLORTONE" POST CARD (REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.) POST CARD PLACE STAMP HERE 6B-H966
Addressed to

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Postcard record

PublisherCurteich
ConditionVery good
Place mentionedFlorida, FL
PublisherCurteich, Chicago, IL
NotesLinen texture; narrow white border at bottom and right. Unused linen-era postcard back; no postmark, address, or message. Divided back with vertical divider, blue imprint, light aging/soiling.

Cite this card

Florida's "Big Bill" pelican, Florida, circa 1940, postcard, c. 1930. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/floridas-big-bill-pelican-florida-circa-1940. Accessed October 24, 2026.