MOUNTAIN WEST.
Postcard Deck, Souvenir, c. 1940s.
These 20 still sparkling scenes printed on tough miniature linen-card paper are in vibrant condition. We say “still,” because a little bit of sleuthing puts this deck of tourist cards as c. early 1940s, most likely mailed during the war. As is the case with our finds, there is a story to tell here. Sent from a Private Harris stationed at Camp Stoneman, CA, to who we guess is his mother back home in Wurtland, Kentucky, the young private was almost certainly serving as part of the World War II war effort and must have been able to steal away for some western sightseeing while on duty. We can stitch this together by the 3¢ Jefferson stamp he used, a stamp that only went into use in the late 1930s as a part of the “President’s Series” (known to collectors as the “Prexies”). Given this, and that it was mailed through an unforgiving postal system, we were thrilled to find this wonderful set of “colored view” Wyoming scenes @ 80+ years old “still” in amazing shape. Each of the 20 card edges are crisp and in “Like New” condition. There is not a single scratch or nick on any of them, front or back. The deck leans heavily, and understandably, on scenes from Yellowstone National Park, including the Great Falls, Great Pool and Old Faithful geysers, and the majestic Tetons in the northwest. But this deck, originally printed for and sold by the Sanborn Souvenir Company of Denver, CO, ranges far with its sharp photo-real illustrations, what was the “in style” of these decks and the very popular accordion postcard sets of the era. There are scenes from the Medicine Bow National Forest in the south of the state, The Idols or “Hell’s Half Acre” west of Casper (a chasm used by Indians to drive buffalo during the hunt), scenes from the hot springs area of Thermopolis, the Bighorn Mountains and Wind River Region (including a beautiful view of Half Moon Lake), the buttes of the Green River’s Palisades, and Devil’s Tower—the very first U.S. National Monument, dedicated in 1906, and linked forever to alien visitation by way of 1977’s blockbuster film: “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Condition: Used Very Good.
Local / Regional Attractions.
Dimensions: 3.5” wide x 2.5” high, 20 cards total
