This dazzling example of early motor car manufacture was built by Stearns. This model is the 15-30, with a 30 horsepower engine. This firm was known for building luxury cars like the one pictured, and sports cars, most notably one driven by racing legend Barney Oldfield.
The company was in business from 1898 and was sold to the WillysOverland company in 1925, In 1929 the company was liquidated.
Among other marketing information on the back of this card is the phrase: Ask for Pennzoil with Z-7…the Long Quart.
—This is a reference to how long the oil lasts in your engine, a significant issue when service cycles were as short as 1000 miles.
This card was used and is from 1957.
Tag: used
1910 Metz Automobile
This week features classic automobiles from the earliest years of the 20th Century. This card highlights the 1910 model from the Metz car company featuring a 23 horsepower motor. The company had a short lifetime as a result of the inability of hand-made cars to compete with the assembly-line vehicles built by Ford in this era.
This card was not a souvenir but a reminder card sent by the Gezon Motor Sales company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to remind customers to have their current car serviced. The description on the back states:
YOU SAVE MONEY
…by letting us inspect and service your car every 1000 miles. It runs smoother, safer and lasts longer! You save on gas, oil, repairs. That 1000 mile mark is important. May we see you then? Thanks for your most recent visit. Happy motoring!
–Service intervals have gradually increased since then, up to as long as 7500 miles today. Given that many cars are driven more than 1000 miles a month, it is likely that today a monthly service visit would feel very inconvenient.
This card was mailed to the recipient in 1957.
Bingo Hall, Golden Nugget Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
From the ostentatious outside of the Golden Nugget to the more pedestrian inside, in this case the Bingo Hall. Bingo was a very popular gambling activity during this era, and it lives on as Keno, a more passive and less attention-intensive game. The wall-mounted number boards displayed below are typical of the Keno screens common in casinos today. The very formal and fixed layout of tables and stools reminds one of a set of long lunch counters from that time.
The description states:
BINGO ROOM
THE GOLDEN NUGGET
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
The new palatial Bingo Room, in Nevada’s largest and most glamorous casino. The Golden Nugget, in Downtown Las Vegas, is the most modern and luxurious in the world. Every day thousands play this favorite game of chance.
–It is likely that, with the waning popularity of Bingo, its replacement with Keno, and the incredible surge in popularity of slot machine games, that this room has been converted to other uses in the intervening decades.
This postcard was used, and has a postmark of 27 July 1953.
Night over Lake Michigan
The final card of the week is a colored photo of Lake Michigan from Mackinac Island, MI.
It’s not clear what is happening on the lake, but the safe guess is that there is a small steamship in the middle distance. The card has several bits of damage, including the folded lower right corner, and some very subtle mechanical cancellation in the upper center.
While it is impossible to date the photo from the picture itself, the card was mailed and has a postmark of July, 1929.
Beach Scene, Manitowoc, WI
This is a fairly unusual composition for American postcards. While the image is common, what stands out is the attention paid to the photographer by the people in the near foreground. Rather than a candid photo with their faces turned away, they are posed for the photographer’s benefit.
This card marked the last one before the journey proceeded to Green Bay. The beach is not otherwise identified, as there is no description on the back. The black markings across the upper half are the result of mechanical cancellation.
Both the bathing suits and the postmark identify this in time, and the date is June 1939.
Downtown Manitowoc, Wisconsin
This image shows an idealized view of a principal street in the town of Manitowoc, WI.
There is no description on the back of this card. The black marks across the sky in the image were caused by mechanical cancellation. As the cars depicted would indicate, the date on the card is June 1939.
Sabin Lock, Soo Michigan
This image is of a steamship waiting to progress through the Soo Locks between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. This particular lock is currently unused pending replacement with a much larger lock once funding is secured.
There is no additional description on the back of this card, but the steamship pictured here is named after James A. Farrell, the former president of the U.S. Steel Co.
The postcard was used and is dated June, 1939.
Michigan Logging Wheels, Traverse City, Michigan
This next card in the series is a historical relic even for the time this postcard was made. By the 1930’s horse-drawn logging was played out in the Traverse City area, but devices like this remained. This one was even demonstrated as shown in the photo.
As with the others of this series, there is no description on the card back. The Michigan logging wheel operated by looping a chain under the logs, then winching them up enough to hang free of the ground, allowing the horse team to pull the load without dragging. Some versions would drag the trailing tip of the lower log, others would suspend the entire load with chains on the axle and the drawbar.
This card was used and is dated June 1939.
Beach at Traverse City, Michigan
This card the the first of five which were purchased and mailed during a family trip from Cadillac, MI to Green Bay, WI. This is a colored photo of folks enjoying a day at the beach in Traverse City, MI.
The swimwear fashions shown give a good indication of the era, but since the postcard was mailed, it can be conclusively dated at 1939.
Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts
This folio shows some views of the historical site of the Pilgrim landing and settlement from the early 17th century. The spelling is correct as confirmed by the folio cover, since the spelling rules of that time were less well defined.
Performers re-enact several types of activity from the Pilgrim era on site for the visitor’s entertainment and education. As with many such recreations, only a best estimate of the activities and appearances are possible, and the more negative elements of these scenes are quietly overlooked.
The folio was used and is visibly postmarked 1966.