This is a colorized photo of the Hahatonka Castle building and grounds overlooking the Lake of the Ozarks reservoir. It is now part of the larger state park in Missouri.
The description states:
Rising majestically on the crest of a rocky cliff, this edifice is suggestive of a medieval castle on the Rhine. Built in 1905 on a 5,000 acre estate as a private residence by Robert Snyder, street railway magnate of Kansas City, Hahatonka is now an inn. It is constructed of native stone, has a patio-type interior with twenty massive rooms.
–Tragically, just a year after this postcard was mailed in July of 1941, the building was completely destroyed by fire. It is now in ruins, but has been partially restored since it’s purchase by the state of Missouri for the state park.
Tag: 1940s
Davis Gun Collection, Claremore, Oklahoma
Today presents a folio of the amazing gun collection of J.M. Davis, who spent a lifetime selecting and displaying the tens of thousands of items shown below. Most notable is the fact that there are no duplicates in the collection, which covers several centuries of gun making history.
The collection is shown here in it’s late 1940’s location, the Mason Hotel in Claremore, OK, which Davis purchased both for the hotel itself and as the display venue for his growing collection. At this time, the collection was more than 15,000 items. Over time the collection outgrew even the numerous rooms and corridors of the hotel, and a new building was constructed specifically to house the collection: the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum. The hotel was later closed and has since been demolished.
The last image (from the back of the folio) is of the nearby memorial to Will Rogers, the actor, humorist, journalist and aviator of the early part of the century who was born and lived nearby.
These colorized photos date from the late 1940’s.
Hanging Rock, Royal Gorge, Colorado
This is an oddly framed photo of the famous Hanging Rock feature over the Gorge. Viewing the central portion of the picture does not reveal the rock among the landscape.
The rock is all the way at the top, not completely seen, while the photo emphasizes the Gorge instead. The description states:
HANGING ROCK IN THE ROYAL GORGE
The Royal Gorge is one hundred and twenty miles from Denver and forty-five miles from Colorado Springs, and may be reached by D. & R. G. R. R. from either place. The bed of the famous canyon is 5,494 feet above sea level. Its walls of rugged granite tower 2,700 feet above the Arkansas River, which flows at its base.
–The railroad referenced in the description above is the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, now a part of the Amtrak system. The card likely dates from the late 1940’s.
Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River, Colorado
This is a colorized postcard from an originally black and white photo of Royal Gorge, Colorado. Regrettably, it is not currently in such pristine condition as a result of the 2012 Royal Gorge Fire. It burned for seven days, damaged the bridge, destroyed the aerial tram and many buildings. The park is closed for the entire 2013 season for reconstruction and repairs.
The description on the back reads:
LOOKING DOWN INTO THE ROYAL GORGE.
The Royal Gorge, the mother of the Arkansas River, is a giant slit or canal in the Rocky Mountains, cut from the summits of the lofty peaks to the very foundation stones. A span wide in places and rising 3,000 feet perpendicular to the clouds, it presents miles of scenery equaled in few places on the globe.
— The postcard is unused and undated, but is consistent with other cards of the late 1940’s.
Mini Cards: Hotels and Mark Twain House
Among the other pictorial souvenirs available were these business card sized ones, which were not meant to be mailed (being too small). They were usually given as promotional advertising reminders or as small collectibles.
First is a business card from a boarding house in Watkins Glen, NY.
The card appears to be from the 1940’s, since the phone number is a local branch office type which were widely replaced in the 1940s and 1950s. Also, an online search shows a multi-family structure at this address built in 1940, which would fit the type of business described.
Next is a two sided color photo business card from a motel in Willamsburg, VA.
Again, this card is likely from the 1940s, as indicated from the obsolete four digit phone number. An online search (via Trulia) shows the buildings in the photograph still standing, but boarded up and blocked by a fence. More recent satellite imagery indicates the old buildings were torn down recently and replaced with a condo/apartment building on the site.
Next are three souvenir photo cards from the Mark Twain birthplace in Hannibal, MO. They have descriptions on the back transcribed after each photo.
The Dining Room in Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home, Hannibal, Missouri. On the table is Mark Twain’s own lap writing desk, and a knife-and-fork basket. In the “Adventures of Tom Sawyer” Peter the Cat jumped out the window of this room, squalling and breathing fire, after Tom gave him a dose of Pain-killer, a patent medicine.
The Kitchen in Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home, the Tom Sawyer House, in Hannibal, Missouri. A charcoal foot-warmer sits before the ancient rocker. On the table is a candle-lantern, and a fluter (device for putting ruffles in dresses and curtains) with a crank. Brass and iron kettles gleam on the “Geneva No. 7” stove
Stature of Mark Twain in Riverview Park, Hannibal, Missouri. Erected by the State of Missouri in 1913, the sculptor was Frederick Hibbard. The inscription reads: “His religion was humanity, and a whole world mourned for him when he died.” The heroic bronze figure looks out from a three-hundred foor bluff over the river that he played on as a boy and navigated as a pilot. On a clear day places twenty miles and more away may be seen from here.
These photos are also likely from the 1940’s.