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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 charming real photo postcard showing Monkey Island at the Sanford Municipal Zoo in Sanford, Florida. The image captures the moated primate enclosure, where several monkeys can be seen playing near the water\'s edge and on logs at the island\'s perimeter. A distinctive arched sign reading \'Monkey Island - Sanford Municipal Zoo\' is visible on the left, along with climbing structures made of logs and wire mesh. Visitors can be seen in the background observing the animals, all set against a backdrop of Florida palm trees. The postcard was photographed by Cline Photo, catalog number 2-F-141.
This postcard was mailed in March 1952 from Orange City, Florida, to Mr. & Mrs. Kennard Smick of 529A Quinton Road, Salem, New Jersey.
Historical Notes
The Sanford Municipal Zoo was a small but beloved community attraction in Sanford, Florida, located in Seminole County on the shores of Lake Monroe. Operating during the mid-20th century, the zoo was a modest facility typical of municipal zoos of the era, featuring a signature Monkey Island exhibit - a type of enclosure popular in American zoos from the 1920s through the 1950s, where primates were kept on a moated island, allowing visitors an unobstructed view. The Sanford Municipal Zoo eventually closed, and the city of Sanford moved toward other forms of civic development and tourism. The site no longer exists as a zoo, making this image a rare surviving record of the attraction. Sanford itself grew significantly in subsequent decades as part of the greater Orlando metropolitan area, and the quaint municipal zoo became a fondly remembered piece of local history.
Print analysis
This is a Real Photo Postcard (RPPC). The image shows continuous-tone photographic detail consistent with a genuine silver gelatin photographic print on postcard stock, with no visible halftone dot pattern. Given the 1952 postmark and the Cline Photo catalog numbering, this appears to be a Type 1 original RPPC printed at or very close to the time the photograph was taken, likely in the late 1940s to early 1950s.
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.
