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A 5.5x3.5" vintage RPPC photo postcard (NOT a modern reprint) from the estate of a vintage postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique postcards.
* We always automatically combine orders for shipping, so add as many postcards as you’d like to your order!
Photo Overview
A real photo postcard showing a large, six-story brick apartment or residential hotel building located in Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois, dated 1906 on the front of the card. The substantial Edwardian-era structure features ornate cornice detailing, large bay windows, and a prominent corner entrance with stone steps, all framed by mature street trees and iron fencing along the sidewalk. An early automobile is barely visible at the left edge of the street, adding to the period atmosphere. The card was mailed on October 3, 1908, from Chicago to Miss Annie Murphy of L\'Anse, Michigan.
The photograph was produced by the studio of Charles R. Childs, , Chicago, Illinois, a well-known publisher of real photo postcards of Chicago scenes in the early 1900s.
Historical Notes
Hyde Park was one of Chicago\'s most prestigious neighborhoods in the early twentieth century, developed rapidly after the 1893 World\'s Columbian Exposition. The neighborhood attracted professional-class residents seeking substantial apartment buildings close to the University of Chicago, which had opened in 1892. Buildings like the one shown here were hallmarks of Hyde Park\'s Edwardian building boom, which peaked between 1900 and 1915. L\'Anse, Michigan - the destination of this card - is a small Upper Peninsula community, and the card\'s recipient, Miss Annie Murphy, likely had connections to Chicago through family or work. Hyde Park would later become internationally recognized as the home neighborhood of President Barack Obama, keeping its historical character in the spotlight to this day.
Print analysis
This is a Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) produced by Charles R. Childs, , Chicago, Illinois. The card was postmarked October 3, 1908, and the date "1906" on the front likely refers to when the photograph was taken or the building was constructed. Given the postmark date and studio attribution, this is a Type 1 original photographic postcard printed contemporaneously with the photo being taken, approximately 1906-1908.
Condition
All postcards we sell are in fair to excellent vintage condition. Please see photos for any tears, folds, smudges, or other age damage that may be present.
