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California Natural Wonders, map
Unused Colorscope card S-2027. Grade: 1
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California the Golden State (California Symbols)
Unused Colorscope card S-2076. Grade: 1
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Yosemite National Park, waterfalls
All of these waterfalls and locations are identified in the caption on the reverse of this unused Colorscope card S-944. Grade: 1
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Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve
Unused Colorscope card S-397. Minor aging. Grade: 1
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Bodie State Historic Park
Ghost towns are like lighthouses: they are all “the best” or “the oldest” or the most of something. This one is no exception: “The best all-around ghost town in the West,” according to the unused Colorscope card S-308 caption. Grade: 1
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Donner Summit, Rainbow Bridge
Unused Colorscope card S-23. The bridge was completed in 1925, and the three-line caption gives a surprising amount of information. Grade: 1
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Sierra Nevada Wildlife
Unused Colorscope card S-635, showing a black bear, a raccoon, a pair of coyotes, and a mountain lion. Grade: 1
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Giant Sequoia, Sierra Nevada Mountains
Unused Colorscope card S-4042, a giant among sequoia postcards (!). Grade: 1
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Native American Dancer, Chief Lemee
The Chief, whose real name prosaically was Chris Brown, was a Yosemite Miwok Indian who worked for the National Park Service. Unused Colorscope card S-887. Grade: 1
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San Francisco, Historic Streetcar No. 1057
Beginning a series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows No. 1057, ca. 1948 (the card is contemporary, however), honoring Cincinnati, Ohio, on San Francisco’s F Market Line. Grade: 1
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San Francisco, Historic Streetcar No. 1050
Continuing a series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows No. 1050, ca. 1948 (the card is contemporary, however), on San Francisco’s F Market Line. Slight smudging on the reverse. Grade: 2
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San Francisco, Historic Cable Car No. 23
Continuing a series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows the cable car on the Powell & Hyde Line, with Alcatraz in the background. Grade: 1
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San Francisco, Historic Streetcars No. 162 and 130
Continuing a series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows two streetcars of ~1914 vintage on San Francisco’s F Market Line. Grade: 1
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San Francisco, Historic Streetcar No. 162 at Fishermans Wharf
Continuing a series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows #162, a streetcar of ~1914 vintage on San Francisco’s F Market Line. Grade: 1
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San Francisco, Historic Streetcar No. 162 with Muni
Continuing a series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows #162, a streetcar of ~1914 vintage of San Francisco’s F Market Line fleet, with Muni Light Rail vehicles. Grade: 1
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San Francisco, Historic Streetcar No. 1052
Continuing a series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows #1052, a streetcar of ~1948 vintage of San Francisco’s F Market Line fleet, honoring Los Angeles. Grade: 1
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San Francisco, Historic Streetcar No. 1059
Continuing a series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows #1059, a streetcar of ~1948 vintage of San Francisco’s F Market Line fleet, honoring Boston. Grade: 1
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San Francisco, Historic Streetcar No. 1888
The last in our series of unused cards issued by Market Street Railway. This one shows #1888, a streetcar from Milan of ~1928 vintage, shown at the Ferry Building. Grade: 1
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Hometowns of California
Unused Colorscope card S-2075. Knowing California just a little, we might have tried harder to realign some of the towns’ names on the map, but it is what it is. Grade: 1
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California Generic Post Card
Not only generic, but of the genre of “lazy” cards where the sender can tick off a choice of answers from a selection on the back. Unused. Grade: 1
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Placerville, Gold Bug Mine, Joshua Hendy Stamp Mill
Unused Colorscope card S-458 with one of the more turgid captions we’ve seen. The card is aging a bit more than others in the series. Grade: 2
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California Home Bargain
We’re not listing this unused Colorscope card S-2088 in our “Comic” category because, to be sure, it’s not funny. And it’s true. Grade: 1
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Leggett-Garberville, ‘One-Log’ House
Google tells us the house was moved from one town to another. Well, it is on wheels after all. Unused Mike Roberts card C3082, not mentioning either town. Small stain on the reverse. Grade: 3
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Fiddletown, Chew Kee Store, Chinese Cue
Unused, aging Dexter Press card 38627-C. Dr. Yee’s office. Grade: 2
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Fiddletown, Chew Kee Store, shrine
Unused, aging Dexter Press card 38629-C. Dr. Yee’s altar. Grade: 3
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Coronado, Hotel Del Coronado, Crown Room
Unused, aging, unattributed card possibly from the hotel. Grade: 2
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Solvang, Living Room
On this card mailed in 1960, with three-cent stamp and postmark, the following caption in its entirety: “Living Room Patterned after Danish Provincial Interior. By Ferdinand Sorensen Solvang.” Grade: 1
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Santa Cruz, Natural Bridges State Park
Unused H.S. Crocker card SC-140, minor mottling on the back. Grade: 2
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San Francisco, Golden Gate Park, Japanese Tea Garden
Unused Mike Roberts card C2802. Grade: 2
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San Gabriel, Mission Play Theatre Garden
Unused and very old, but with a major crease vertically. Grade: 4
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Muir Woods National Monument
Unused, “local” card with a nifty little poem in the caption. Grade: 1
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Santa Cruz, West Cliff Drive
Did you know that many varieties of Mesembryanthemums line the cliffs? When we see photos like this, we recall similar places where houses slide down those cliffs during storms, and hope that has not happened here. Unused H.S. Crocker card #SC-133. Grade: 2
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San Jose, St. Joseph’s Church
Unused Mike Roberts card C7849. Mildly aged. Grade: 1
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San Fernando Mission, Wine Cellar Storage Area
Unused Dexter Press card 41240-C, starting to age. Grade: 2
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Sacramento Garden Center at McKinley Park
Unused Mike Roberts card C1218. Point to note: the city of Sacramento established this facility for cooperative use of the city’s garden clubs. Grade: 1
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Glendale, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Wee Kirk o’ the Heather
Unused linen C.T. Art-Colortone card 4A-H447, with a lot of information in a short caption on the back. Grade: 1
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Bougainvillea and Cactus in a California garden
Not postally used, but with a long pencilled notation on the back. Grade: 5
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Yucca Valley, Desert Christ Park
Like many such places, this has a history. See Wikipedia … or buy the unused card, heavily smudged on the reverse. Grade: 4
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Donner Summit area in the High Sierras
Unused Plastichrome card P50616 (V1037). We drove through there once. It was beautiful. Make sure you have tire chains available no matter what month it is. Grade: 1
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San Jose, Egyptian Rock Tomb, Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Unused Mike Roberts card SC2596. Aging. Grade: 1