8.00 USD
American RPPC of railroad laborers laying track. Love this image. So evocative of the rapid growth of the era. The card has seen better days, with visible wear to edges and corners. Visible wear to the back side too, with a ring that suggests it was once used as a coaster!
It was printed on a Kodak AZO photo printing paper RPPC blank. In 1903, Kodak introduced a camera that actually used RPPC sized film. AZO RPPC blanks were used to produce contact prints directly from those negatives, with no need to crop or enlarge. This made the process of creating photo image postcards like this one a relative snap for amateur and professional photographers alike.
RPPCs in the USA really took off in popularity after 1907, when postal regulations finally allowed the divided back postcard, enabling senders to write messages to recipients on the backs of postcards. Prior to that point, only the address was allowed on the backs of cards.
The divided back card was first introduced in England in 1903. France followed suit in 1904.
The AZO stamp box on the card's obverse helps us date the photo. Note the four upward pointing triangles in the box's corners. Their presence dates the AZO paper to between 1904 and 1918, while the card's vertical dividing line dates it to post 1907. So our card was probably made sometime between 1907 and 1918. Not an exact result, but the best we can do with this one :)
Please examine our high res scans for detail.
The item you are considering for purchase is, unless otherwise noted, a vintage postcard of approximately 5 and 1/2, by 3 and 1/2 inches. Postage is for fully-insured, first class shipping in a secure photo mailer (to avoid any damage to your purchase in the mails), and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, we will not charge for postage on the second card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, because of increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more. We do not charge for insurance or shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.
And please come visit our blog at:
redpoulaine.blogspot.com
where we post biographical and historical tidbits, images of cards and photographs for sale, some already sold but remembered fondly, related images of historical interest and sometimes even images of items that have not yet arrived in the shop, but that are expected to arrive soon, as well as coupon codes, links to other related sites, and more!