Wikipedia tells us:  “The Missouri State Penitentiary operated from 1836 to 2004.  Part of the Missouri Department of Corrections, it served as the state’s primary maximum security institution.  Before it closed, it was the oldest operating penal facility west of the Mississippi River. It was replaced by the Jefferson City Correctional Center, which opened on September 15, 2004.”  Among prison postcards, this should rank as one of the more unusual.   It was mailed in 1909; stamp and postmark are there; and from the message we have no idea whatsoever whether the writer was staying there, or being ironic, or what.  Grade: 1