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Luna Pioneer Day
A little local color from the late 90s, except that it’s not in color. Card mailed in 1998, has two stamps and legible postmark. Address is on a label, and there is orange postal bar code on bottom front. Grade: 3
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Salt River Canyon
Dexter Press card 44641-C mailed in 1976, has two stamps and full postmark. Serrated edges and noticeable postal battering. Grade: 3
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Grand Canyon, Mather Point
Fred Harvey card DT-79557-C dating from 1971 but mailed in 1975 with two stamps and perfect postmark. Serrated edges, a very minor stain in message area. Also minor crease (not disfiguring) in upper left front. Grade: 2
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Monument Valley, Navajo family
Dexter Press unused card 29690-B, or 3821, depending on which number you believe. Dates from 1960s, rounded corners, as-new apart from gentle aging. Grade: 1
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Saguaro cactus
At first this looks like a comic card, but it’s not–especially if that’s your car. This Stodghill Smith-Southwestern card 494 was mailed in 1998, has two stamps and readable postmark. Address is on a sticker label. Grade: 3
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Saguaro cactus
This Dick Dietrich card was mailed in 1997, with two stamps and full postmark. Address is on an affixed sticker. Minor postal battering around corners. Grade: 3
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Greetings
This is a 1950s Curt Teich card 4B-H671 (A-3), unused but for a travel agency’s rubber stamp on reverse. Linen-finish front is basically perfect. Grade: 4
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Grand Canyon National Park (folio)
A miniature (3″ x 4-1/4″) plastic bound album of ten cards meant to be sent altogether as a souvenir. Dates from early 1960s, published for Fred Harvey, and in superb condition. Grade: 1
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Petrified Forest and Painted Desert
Nice 1950s miniature (3″ x 4-1/4″) album of ten cards, meant to be sent altogether as a souvenir. Really minor abrasions, nothing significant. Grade: 2
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Grand Canyon
One would think it was impossible to take a bad picture of the Grand Canyon, but here’s proof that it can happen. Card was mailed in 1988, has two stamps (one is abraded) and nearly full postmark. Airmail sticker affixed on reverse. It’s “sunset at Lipan Point”. Grade: 3
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State line sign
Old-style 1960s marker, back when Route 66 was still alive. Unused Petley card K404 (or S3202-3), superb condition. Grade: 1
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Canyon Lake
Mailed in 1967, this Petley card (yes, Kerry: yours) has stamp and full postmark, with almost imperceptible abrasion on front. Grade: 3
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Flagstaff
Unused Fronske RMF-4 postcard with the date “June, 1960” typed on reverse. The card’s caption describes Route 66, which went (goes) through Flagstaff, as “an all-weather East-West route.” Well, yes, it was that, and more. Grade: 3
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Red Rock Crossing
Petley card mailed internationally in 1993, showing an area near Sedona and using three commemorative stamps. Only a partial postmark, sorry. Several red airmail rubbber stamps on reverse. Serrated edges. Grade: 2
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Monument Valley
A Dick Dietrich card showing the Left and Right Mittens for people who don’t care too much about details. Mailed internationally in 1988, this one has four stamps and a fully legible postmark, as well as USPS airmail sticker affixed. Grade: 2
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Tempe, A.S.U. Stadium
Smith-Southwestern card mailed in 1994, with 40-cent soccer World Cup stamp and full postmark. Mild but unimportant abrasion on reverse, not defacing anything. Grade: 2
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Tortilla Flat
If that place along the Apache Trail is as authentic as the card says on the back, why does it look so artificial? We’ll leave that to the experts. Card mailed in 1989, two stamps and full postmark, the address ink smeared a bit somewhere along the way. Grade: 2
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Oatman
Postmark is a little indistinct but it looks like the Colorado River Series card was mailed in 1988, with two intact stamps. Grade: 2
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Crown Dancers (Apache)
Also captioned as “Devil Dancers,” the Norman Mead card shows native Americans in action. Mailed in 1979, two stamps and much of a postmark. Grade: 3
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Monument Valley
Smith-Southwestern Jerry Jacka card 945 mailed in 1988, using 60-cent stamp. Full postmark, as well as post office printed bar code on bottom reverse. The card is OK for its age, and is most notable for a very long history on the reverse, taking up much of the space for the message. Ever seen the word ndisgaii before? Neither had we. Grade: 3
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Tombstone, OK Corral
Nice Smith-Southwestern card #1982 by Pat Koester-Smith of the O.K. Corral, mailed in 1996 with 60-cent stamp and full postmark from Tombstone. Grade: 1
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Saguaro sunset
This Smith-Southwestern 555 Bill Gobus card was mailed internationally in 1996, has stamp and basically full postmark. Address is on a sticker. Grade: 3
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Phoenix
Card mailed in 1995 and has two intact stamps, with address on an affixed label. However front is abraded and has postmark smudging. Grade: 5
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Tempe, Municipal Building
Two of these Ken Raveill cards are available, mailed a year apart (1993-1994). One has a single slightly torn World Cup (soccer) stamp and full postmark; the other has two stamps and mostly legible postmark. Grades: 3
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Congress Junction
It’s all about the depot, which apparently comes and goes from time to time. Card was mailed in 1995, has two stamps and partly readable postmark. There are pink and purple postal markings on the front. Grade: 3
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Tempe, aerial view
Mailed card, three stamps and 1995 postmark. Grade: 5
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Phoenix, Papago Park
Petley card PH-43-5 mailed in 1966, has a stamp but no legible postmark. One just guesses Papago Park may have developed beyond this–but we’ve never been there. Grade: 2
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Courthouse Rock
Wintertime, with Mingus Mountain in the background. This Bob Bradshaw S-31513-1 card was mailed in 1996, has a 4-cent stamp and nearly full postmark. A bit of postmark smudging on the front. Grade: 3
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Phoenix, aerial view
Excellent Petley postcard “of record” for anyone tracking development in Phoenix. Two cards are available. One was mailed in 1966, stamp and nearly full postmark (Grade: 1, $3) and the other was mailed in 1973 with stamp and full postmark (Grade: 1, $3).
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Phoenix, hot air balloon
This Smith-Southwestern 1530 card was mailed in 1995, with one 50-cent stamp and address label affixed. Grade: 2
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Colossal Cave
Petley card K-495 (or 15186) from 1950s, unmailed but with large rubber stamp from travel agency on reverse. Undamaged front. Grade: 4
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Jerome, distant view
Card was mailed internationally in 1984, has 40-cent stamp and full postmark. Crease on lower left front corner. Grade: 3
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Jerome, desert view
Card was written but never intended for mailing–that would have been in the late 1970s. Petley card 12714-C. Serrated edges, some smudging on front, so can only justify Grade: 4
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Phoenix, aerial view
Petley card mailed in early 1980s, has stamp and partly legible postmark. It’s another chance to observe the growth of Phoenix over time. Grade: 3
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Williams, TraveLodge
Card from the 1960s, phone numbers had three digits, and it may just have been possible to drive right up and get a room. Two unmailed cards are available, Petley S11387-2, as-new. Grades: 1
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Yuma, sand dunes
Unmailed card from 1958 (there’s a pencilled date on reverse), and it has a large black rubber stamp from travel agency on the reverse also. Front is as-new. Grade: 4
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Monument Valley
Is anyone out there who specializes in postcards only of this iconic location? This card is unmailed, Arizona Color Card Corp. PH-42-5, with the date “June, 1960” typed in a corner on the reverse. Grade: 3
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Canyon de Chelly
Unmailed Jim Sexton card from late 1950s, though one imagines the scenery in Navajo territory doesn’t change very much. It’s called “White House Ruin.” Hm. This card has a large rubber stamp from a travel agency on the reverse but otherwise is in good shape. Grade: 4
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Tucson, St. Mary’s Hospital
Unmailed Petley card K198 from late 1950s, probably of interest only to folks who collect postcards of hospitals or of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. It has the black rubber stamp of the travel agency on reverse, but front is perfectly OK. Grade: 4
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Flagstaff, New Skyline Motel
Where to start? Well, it’s an unmailed TichnorGloss Dale Slocum card ATG-380, from 1958 according to pencilled notation on reverse, alongside the travel agency’s rubber stamp. Apparently the motel had recently changed management as the names of the previous managers are markered-out. This card could appeal to collectors of Route 66 memorabilia. Grade: 4