1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Forestry Building

The columns were 124 unpeeled old-growth fir timbers.  They were 4.5 feet in diameter and 37 feet high. Known as the “temple to timber,” it was the largest log cabin in the world. 2.5 million feet of lumber were used to create the building.

1933 Century of Progress

This card has a Scott # 728 stamp with a first-day cancellation. The artist was George W Linn, who is best known for publishing Linn’s Stamp News - the world's largest stamp publication. The pre-event slogan cancellation on this card lists the dates of the fair as June 1 - November 1, 1933. This is an error. The Exposition was open from May 27 to November 12, 1933. Another thing I think is great about the card is that it appeals to several different areas of collecting: postcards, stamps, expositions, postmarks, cachet artists, FDC, postal slogans, and errors, just to name a few.

 

Leather Postcards

Starting in 1903, postcards made of leather were decorated by pyrography known as “fire-writing”. Most were deer skin and in 1909, the post office banned the mailing of leather postcards because they were getting hung up in the sorting machines. One of the most popular leather artists was W.S. Heal. His leather postcards command a higher price. 

Cowboys of the Old West

This real photo postcard dates from 1904 -1918. Scratched into the negative on the left is “Stars at stampede Havre.” On the right of the boy is “Mathison”. I can’t make out the first name. On the right of the man is “Jack Mabee”. Jack Mabee and his close friend “Long George Francis” organized (and performed in) the Great Northern Montana Stampede. In 1917, Long George became an outlaw and was known as the Montana Outlaw. He was convicted of cattle rustling and horse thievery. He was one of the last cowboys of the old west who was loved and known as a genuine folk hero in Montana. I wonder if the photographer in the background is the one who took the photo. 

The Vagabonds visit President Coolidge

President Calvin Coolidge is pictured here with his father, Colonel John Calvin Coolidge, Sr., Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison. The real photo postcard was taken in 1924 during one of the most famous visits to the President’s home in Plymouth Notch, Massachusetts.

Pictured in photo: President Calvin Coolidge (second from left) his father, Colonel John Calvin Coolidge, Sr., (far left), Henry Ford (second from right), and Thomas Edison (far right)

Ford, Edison, and Henry Firestone (not pictured) were on the camping journey together. Their camping trips are widely credited with initiating recreational car travel.

After autographing the maple bucket, shown in the middle of the photo, President Coolidge gave it to Henry Ford. The bucket was owned by the President’s great-great-grandfather.

When I purchased this card, I had no idea who these men were until after I completed my research. This historical treasure was purchased at the Tropical Postcard Club Show for $1.