This image shows John Cobb, the man who set the land speed record in the Railton Mobil Special.
The description states:
WENDOVER, UTAH
“Home of the Worlds Fastest Speedway”
John Cobb and race car, Railton Special set a worlds record Sept. 16th 1947. Two way overage 393.8 mi. per hr. on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Western Service, Motel and Cafe, Racing Headquarters, Wendover, Utah.
–The last line above indicates this card was produced for sale by the motel and cafe business. The car is correctly known as the Railton Mobil Special, as shown on the side of the car behind the driver. The Railton Special was an earlier version that set a previous speed record.
John Cobb died a few years later attempting to set the water speed record on Loch Ness.
This image likely dates from the 1940s.
Tag: postcard
Bonneville Speedway Garages, Utah
This image shows some temporary garages and shelters for groups hoping to race on the Bonneville Speedway.
The description states:
BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS
WORLD’S FASTEST SPEEDWAY
Wendover, Utah-Nevada
View of a race car location, on the world famous Bonneville Salt Flats. To the northeast of Wendover the salt lies flat and hard and dry — the best surface for automobile racing ever discovered. The crystalline salt body that makes the famous Bonneville Lats Race Track covers an area of 200 square miles.
–This location is the site of recent land speed records set by wheel-driven and jet propelled vehicles. This card likely dates from the 1960s.
Bonneville Salt Flats Highway, Utah
This image shows U. S. Highway 40 as it passes through the Bonneville Salt Flats from Salt Lake City to Wendover, Utah.
The description states:
BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS
U. S. Highway 40 and 50 crosses this famous Bonneville Salt Flats “World’s Fastest Speedway” in the Western edge of Utah. Salt for commercial purposes is harvested annually.
–Because of concerns that the flats may be affected by salt mining, the flats are now flooded annually with water from the southern salt beds to provide additional smooth surfacing.
This card likely dates from the 1950s.
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
This image shows the boundary fence, and in the distance, a series of telephone poles, outlining the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah.
The description states:
BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS
A view from U. S. Highway 40 of the famous Salt Flats, “Worlds Fastest Speedway.” in the Western edge of Utah. The crystalline salt body that makes the famous Bonneville Flats Race Track covers and area of 200 square miles.
–This salt flats is the largest of several such areas located in the lake bed of the extinct Lake Bonneville.
This card likely dates from the 1950s.
Salt Mining, Great Salt Lake, Utah
This image shows the process of collecting salt from the salt beds of the Great Salt Lake and delivering it to rail cars for transport. The main effort appears closest to the car on the right, where the small trestle has been built. There is a deep cut in the salt bed next to a much higher ridge indicating ongoing excavation.
The description states:
This Great Dead Sea, the largest in the world, is located 18 miles west of Salt Lake City; area, approximately 2140 square miles; length, 75 miles; width, 50 miles, average depth 13 feet; water 27% salt; thousands of tone of salt shipped annually. Here each season thousands enjoy bathing and floating, sinking being impossible in the heavy salt water. Like the Dead Sea in Palestine, it is fed by the Jordan River, has no outlet, and no marine life, except the Salt Shrimp.
–The description of the location of the Dead Sea as being in Palestine indicates this card pre-dates the 1948 establishment of the state of Israel in the British Mandate.
Saltair Resort, Great Salt Lake, Utah
This image shows the tourist resort called the Saltair along the shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
The description states:
SALTAIR
GREAT SALT LAKE, UTAH
Located on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, one of the world’s wonders, Saltair is 15 miles west of Salt Lake City. Built on thousands of piles and extending out into the lake, it offers a fine amusement park and picnicking facilities, lunch and refreshments stands, one of the largest unobstructed dance floors in the world and bathing in the briny waters of the Great Salk Lake where you “float like a cork.”
–The building has been destroyed and reconstructed a few times since the first version was built in 1893, and today it is little used, as it is more remote than other desirable venues. Concerts are still held, but the resort is no longer on the lake shore.
This card likely dates from the 1950s.
Old Man of the Falls, Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky
This image is another of the images typically found in parks and mountains where, at a certain angle of view, the rocky formations can be interpreted as a human profile. This one is in the Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky.
There is no description on the back of this card. Some searching did not turn up any additional images or references to this formation.
This card was used and is dated 9 August 1951.
Juicing Sorghum Grass, Georgia
This image shows a now antique form of sugar extraction, where a horse is harnessed to a post, then led in circles to turn the grinder while a person feeds the sorghum grass stalks into the grinder to extract the juice.
The description states:
SQUEEZING JUICE FROM SORGHUM GRASS
This juice is boiled in an evaporator until it becomes Heavy SORGUM SYRUP.
–This sorghum syrup is distinct from molasses, which is made from cane or beet sugar. More recently, sorghum is being used for the production of ethanol biofuel.
This card likely dates from the 1950s.
Farmworkers Picking Cotton, Georgia
This image shows a group of African-Americans in a large cotton field during the harvest.
The description states simply:
COTTON PICKIN’ TIME IN THE DEEP SOUTH
–The Cotton Belt stretched across the southeastern United States, and thus cotton one of the dominant crops of the early nation. For a time it was the main cash crop for nearly every state south of the Mason-Dixon line, with production declining only in the 20th Century.
This card likely dates from the 1950s.
Native American Dancers, Cherokee, North Carolina
This image shows a troupe of Native American dancers dressed and posed in dance posture. The dance is called the Eagle Dance. Cherokee, North Carolina is the headquarters of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.
The description states:
“UNTO THESE HILLS”
Cherokee, North Carolina
The centuries-old colorful Cherokee Indian Eagle Dance is recreated on the outdoor drama. “Unto These Hills” will be presented nightly except Mondays, from late June through early September, at Mountainside Theatre, Cherokee, North Carolina.
–The performance of “Unto These Hills” continues to the present day and describes their history up to the deportation and Trail of Tears in 1838. The current version was first performed in 1950.
This card was used and is dated 30 June 1961.