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.

EGG-O-SEE

This postcard advertised the cereal at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. Dr. John Kellogg, best known for inventing Kellogg’s “corn flakes”, also created the EGG-O-SEE cereal in 1884. In 1906, the company produced more EGG-O-SEE than any other cereal in the world.