Bidspirit auction | Circa 1905-1915 Antique Postcard Album

Circa 1905-1915 Antique Postcard Album and Collection of Greeting and View Postcards - This antique postcard album, dating to the Golden Age of Postcards (circa 1905–1915), features a black textured cloth-covered board cover. The front board is decorated with a gilt Art Nouveau-style illustration depicting two swans on a pond within a decorative cartouche, with stylized lotus flowers at the base. The words Post Cards are embossed in gold lettering at the top. The interior contains grey construction-paper pages with die-cut corner slots for card insertion. The collection includes an assortment of early 20th-century topographical views and holiday greeting cards. View cards include color lithographs of Mohonk Lake, NY; Chimney Rock and Romance Cliff in the Wisconsin Dells; the C. M. & St. Paul Depot & Public Library in Beaver Dam, WI (numbered 17197); and the Pequabuck River in Bristol, CT. Also present is a black and white vignetted view of City Hall, New York City. Holiday and greeting cards feature various chromolithographic designs for Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, and Easter. Notable examples include a Christmas card depicting an early automobile in a snowstorm, a religious scene with the Three Kings, and an Easter card with a chick and eggshell. Handwritten inscriptions and postal history are evident, including one Christmas card signed in ink The B. Scofields and a postmarked card addressed to Mrs. George E. Jewell, Long Ridge, Stamford, Conn. R.F.D. 29 Box 159, which retains a green 1-cent postage stamp. A postmark is partially legible as JAN 191. The album cover shows visible shelf wear, including surface scuffing and minor losses to the edges and corners (photo 1). The interior grey pages are brittle with significant chipping, edge tears, and several torn or missing die-cut corner slots (photos 2, 3, and 10). The postcards are generally in good condition for their age; some show minor corner wear from album placement and light edge wear. Several loose cards exhibit minor creasing and typical age-toning.