Our hobby boasts numerous tales about caches of postcards being discovered after they lay in storage for decades or as they were just about to be tipped into a sanitary landfill. Perhaps the most publicized account with the happiest ending is the saga of the Curt Teich industrial archives&emdash;the thousands of cards that were pulled out of dumpsters and became the foundation and raison d'être of a postcard museum near Chicago. The cartons of Dexter photos, fabulous master images for quite ordinary postcards, are at the heart of another story. They were scavenged by a junk picker who sold them to an antique dealer who put them away for several years. When they were rediscovered they generated a great to-do among roadside America fanciers. Recently a "huge find" of a former publisher's stock was revealed and discussed over the Internet. A cyberspacenik was inviting e-mail offers for them in bulk lots.

Here is a narrative of deltiological discovery, told by the person who was there.

"Seen anything like this before?" Jim Morrison asked holding out a block of wood with a copper sheet attached to it. In the metal the graven image of a postcard was eerily glowing. "It's a printing plate from the World Post Card Company.

"The business was located in Philadelphia. J. Murray Jordan was the earliest publisher, in 1903. Later it became World Post Cards. Their first address was on Pennsylvania Square and then 1008 Walnut Street. The printing was done on North 11th Street. They stopped publishing about the time of the First World War, and when they were found, the plates were wrapped in 1916 newspapers.

"They printed cards of Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Southern New Jersey, Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania small towns, and at least one view from Minnesota. Most of them are pre-1907, undivided backs. They even did some color work prior to 1906. That's unusual, to see color printed so early in Philadelphia, not in Germany. On some of the plates the text was applied separately in the space left blank for messages, and many of the backs are immediately recognizable by their image of a large Victorian lady.

"In the early 1970s buildings were demolished to build a commuter railway tunnel in the heart of Philadelphia. Someone answered an ad to buy used shelving on the second floor of a print shop that was going to be razed. Behind the shelves was a sealed door. When the doorway was broken through there lay the archives of the World Post Card Company&emdash;each card and its plate wrapped together and packed in dovetail-joined wooded boxes. This is something else unusual, because most printing houses would sell their used plates as scrap metal.

"The man who bought the boxes paid for the plates based on their value as scrap. He inventoried them and then offered them to postcard collectors to use for reprinting. There were no sales. No one was interested. They didn't move in gift shops either. At last some were sold at the Bicentennial celebrations in Philadelphia for twenty-five cents each.

"About five years ago the plates turned up again in small town, country auctions in New Jersey. They are still printable, though that's really not more than novelty value. But if you collect the towns that World published and if you've got the card, well…. 'Do you have this card?' I ask a customer. 'Yes? Here's the plate that printed it.' Instant sale!

"This was a close call just like the Dexter photos that were actually found in a dump."

© 2005 Lewis Baer

DEL'S PAPER TREASURY

Real photo postcards, photography, printed postcards, posters, covers, broadsides.

All types of collectible paper goods. DEL's Paper Treasury will soon be offering an online auction of real photo postcards and photography. These auctions will be held online at their website delspapertreasury.com. Lyn Knight's 40 + years experience in building collections of U.S. currency and coins as well as 20 years in the auction business, helps make this a great opportunity to build your collection. Sales will be online, and catalogues will be available to subscribers. DON'T Miss This Opportunity.

Just Click here to Visit DEL'S PAPER TREASURY,, complete form to get on his list.

We get lots of inquiries for the latest in reference material for both postcards and postal history collectors. Here are some of the new releases, as well as links to other references. These are available now HERE

The newest postal history reference book complete with a scarcity index is HERE!

- "United States Post Office Volume 7: The Lower Mississippi Valley." (Richard W. Helbock.) The NEWEST book in this useful and popular series contains an alphabetical listing of all independent post offices that ever operated in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. In addition to post office names, the list includes location by county and state, years of operation and a scarcity index for every entry, relative to the most common postmark for each town. This is the first such scarcity information EVER published for these five states. 320-pages. Softbound. Price: $27.50 plus $5 priority p/h, use paypal here

1. Ebay, Ralph Bowman, thousands of listings, click on thepapergallery2 05.06
2. Playle, Ebay, Skurfan Postcards, state views by the thousands, click on /SKURFAN/ or seach seller id "skurfan" on ebay 05.06
3. Ebay, Hal Ottaway, Ebay , great postcards and other fabulous collectibles, click on taos 05.06
4. Ebay Ron from Holland, click on GLOBALHISTORY Views and Topicals Worldwide, every month 1000 plus cards in auction. Email EURODELTIOLOGY@wanadoo.nl 05.06
5. Ebay, sebagopaper great real photo postcards and other paper 05.06

Our friend Jim Mehrer conducts bimonthly Postal History Mail Bid Sales containing thousands of individually described covers and postcards. Jim also offers a wide selection of reference literature titles and storage supplies for collectors and dealers. To visit Jim Mehrer's Postal History, click HERE.

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Dear Postcard Dealers and Collectors,I invite you to advertise in Postcard Collector, the best monthly publication, for 23 years, dedicated to your postcard business and collecting. I have all kinds of advertising options to fit your budget. Call or Email me at 1-800-482-7151 or Lenore.Howard@fwpubs.com , Postcard Collector

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 Are you looking for a postcard show or stamp show near you? Visit Jim Mehrer's Show Calendar for Collectors of Stamps, Postal History and Postcards by clicking HERE.

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Looking for a series of Santa Fe, New Mexico postcards made with woodcut printing technique and identified by Gustave Baumann on the reverse side of the postcard. Hal Ottaway, PO Box 780282, Wichita KS 67278. hottaway@cox.net ... 06.06

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I'm always buying better U.S. Postal History material. What do you have for sale? Email Jim Mehrer at mehrer@postal-history.com ... 06.06

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WANTED TO BUY: PRE-1950 VINITA OKLAHOMA POSTCARDS AND OTHER ITEMS. Jim, jmtaylor@ipa.net....05.06

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WANTED TO BUY: TEXANA, OLD EARLY TEXAS HISTORICAL ITEMS PHOTOS AND POSTCARDS. Wallace, rebltexn@comcast.net 05.06

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FOR SALE: Newsletter Classifieds, see below, or email for details Classifieds@CourthouseSquare.net, Newsletter is Free, Classifieds are inexpensive. 05.06

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WANTED TO BUY -  Veterinary Related Postcards & Trade Cards including the topics of animal freaks, animal welfare,  antivivisectionists, pet cemeteries, rendering, lice, insecticides, pesticides and parasitology.   Trenton Boyd:    BoydT@missouri.edu 07.06

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BUYER: We are always buying collections and accumulations, all state views and topical postcards, also travel, photos, brochures, movie, Hollywood, props, costumes, stills, call Ralph, Paper Gallery, 1-760-749-9737, ralph@papergallery.com 05.06

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WANTED "HALL PHOTO CO." CARDS

I am working on a book about the postcard photographer George E. Hall. He was in business from 1906-1918 and worked exclusively in Stone and Taney Counties, Missouri. He made approximately 900 real photo view cards of the Shepherd of the Hills area which includes the towns of Branson, Hollister, Galena and Reeds Spring. I am seeking examples of his work and would like to purchase what you have. If you have something and do not wish to sell then I would appreciate having a scan or a photocopy of the image. This would help document our checklist of his output. Contact: C. Trenton Boyd 09.06

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Classifed Ad Introductory Offer:

$15 for 12 issues,. Maximum: 30 words. Ads and announcements should be related to postcards and other collectibles. Text is subject to our approval. Paypal payment is preferred. Want ads, For sale ads, announcements, etc. We reserve the right to refund and/or refuse ads. Email your ad to Classifieds@courthousesquare.net. To pay by Paypal use "Pay Now" button, or mail to Classifieds@CourthouseSquare, PO Box 399, Neosho MO 64850. We will confirm your ad before placing it (via email.) It will then appear in next 12 issues of the free newsletter "Postcard News from Courthouse Square," both in the email text and on the web page.

 Show Listings, Introductory Offer

$15 for 12 issues or until show dates, which ever is first. Text is subject to our approval. Paypal payment preferred. We reserve right to refund and/r refuse ads. Email your ad to ShowListing@Courthousesquare.net. To pay by paypal use "Pay Now" button on website or mail payment to showlisting@CourthouseSquare, PO Box 399, Neosho MO 64850. We will confirm your listing before placement. It will then appear in next 12 issues of the free newsletter "Postcard News from Courthouse Square," both in the email text and on the web page.

Before reproducing or quoting from Postcard News from Courthouse Square, credit and permissions will be required. Email us at PostcardNews@courthouseSquare.net with request. Thanks, Jim

 

 

 

Jim Taylor

Courthouse Square Antique Cards

PO Box 399

Neosho MO 64850

Member APS IFPD

Specializing in Mail Approvals, Sales, and Shows, of Antique Postcards,

Historical Photographs Paper Americana and Archival Supplies

Visit the front page of our Web site at:

http://www.CourthouseSquare.net

email: Postcards@CourthouseSquare.net

 

Welcome to Courthouse Square.......

Helping build great postcard collections is our speciality...

• Postcard/Paper Show Schedule
• Postcard News from Courthouse Square, the Newsletter
• Rick Geary Check List/Order Form
• Mail Approval Order Form
• Credit Card Charge Authorization
• Postcard Net Price Sale
• What We Want To Buy
• Reference Materials, Books, Price Guides
• Archival Postcard/Paper Supplies for Sale
• Some Helpful Postcard Collector Information 
• Click here to go to our ORDER PAGE, and type in or copy/paste your order or inquiry

Email: jmtaylor@ipa.net.

Jim Taylor

PO Box 399

Neosho MO 64850

Visit our pages at Jim Mehrer's 'deltiology.com' site just click here

 ©2001-2005 JMT Enterprises. REPRODUCTION OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE, IN PART OR WHOLE, IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED.

This site was created and launched by Jim Taylor. For information email me at jmtaylor@ipa.net