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Smithsonian Museum of History and Technology, elevator
Not just any elevator, but “the first White House passenger elevator, installed in 1902.” Unused Capsco card K-12816, published by the Smithsonian Institution. Grade: 3
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U.S. Capitol
Heavily aging unused card, whose caption tells us which parts of the Capitol are “interesting.” That’s quaint. Grade: 3
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White House, President’s Office
Unused H.S. Crocker card S-206, aging. It would be interesting to have a collection of similar views over the years to see changes. Grade: 3
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New National Museum
Not new now–neither the museum nor the card. Unused Metrocraft linen card M515 (and 40824), browning with age but in good condition otherwise. Grade: 2
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Night view of the White House
Unused Plastichrome card P61913 (and W-100), significantly aging on the reverse. Grade: 3
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Smithsonian Institution
Unused Dexter Press card 64565-B, dated 1962. Grade: 1
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United States Supreme Court
Unused L.B. Prince card PE-8. Grade: 3
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National Gallery of Art, West and East Buildings
Unused card published by the Gallery itself. Grade: 1
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Washington Monument, night view
There’s nothing too special about the card (serrated edges, stamp, 1970 postmark) but the value is in the message, a real sociological slice-of-life from that era. One hopes that Sharon could convince Judi, Bobby, and Bruce to work it all out. (Buy the card, read more!) Grade: 2
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The Lincoln Memorial
Mailed in 2011, but with a postage meter label. Grade: 2
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Georgetown, Key Bridge
Not postally used, the B. S. Reynolds card 16742 nevertheless has a faded inked message from a writer who was duly impressed by this “wonderful structure.” Grade: 4
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Smithsonian Institution
Mailed in 1904, the stamp is still there but double-postmarked so nothing is really readable. Grade: 3
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Library of Congress
No collection of Library of Congress postcards would be complete without this one. Mailed in 1924, it has its stamp and full postmark. Grade: 3
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North Front of White House
The best thing about this card is that we can list it in several categories. See if you can find them all! Mailed in 1924 with stamp and full postmark. Nice to see that the jokes people make are still the same, some 90 years later. Grade: 3
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U.S. House of Representatives Office Building
Unused Garrison Toy & Novelty card 16289. Grade: 3
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Jefferson Memorial, Tidal Basin, and Washington Monument
Mailed in 1988 with two different stamps and full postmark. Grade: 2
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Washington Monument
With a nice cat poem on the back, this card was mailed in 2011 with a $1 stamp and blue Airmail sticker affixed. How many different postcard views of the Washington Monument do we think there are? (It’s a rhetorical question.) Grade: 2
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Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Three Servicemen Statue
Mailed in 2012 with five different stamps (three of them uncancelled), barcoding, and address label affixed. Grade: 3
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Fourth of July Fireworks
Mailed in 2012 with $1.05 stamp and readable postmark. Grade: 1
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Bear, National Zoological Park
Unused CAPSCO linen card 78710, dated 1948 on the front. Specifically, this is a European Brown Bear. Grade: 1
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NSDAR Library, Memorial Continental Hall
Unused, heavily aged Dexter Press card 83789-B. Grade: 3
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Greetings from the City of Washington
A bit odd the designer would allow the card to turn out this way, but so it is. Mailed in 1911 with stamp and clear D.C. postmark, this large letter card identifies each of the attractions, giving us the chance to list it in several theme categories also. Grade: 2
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Woodrow Wilson House, Kitchen
Unused card of the 1915-1924 kitchen in President Wilson’s house, which is a “museum property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation”. Grade: 1
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The Textile Museum, Tent Panel, Mali Timbuktu
Unused card of Fulani fabric. Original price sticker is still on the back of the card, which would otherwise be basically perfect. Grade: 3
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The Textile Museum, Timbuktu to Tibet
Unused card of a 2008-2009 exhibition. Original price sticker is still on the back of the card, which would otherwise be basically perfect. Grade: 3
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Washington, D.C., as seen from Arlington, Va.
Nice, unused vintage postcard. Maybe we should have listed this under “Virginia.” These are the dilemmas of an editor. Garrison card 1711-N, aging. Grade: 2
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Hall of the Americas, Pan American Union Building
Unused vintage postcard. Grade: 1
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Night time illumination
Nothing wrong, nothing special. Mailed in 2013 with three different stamps and partial postmark. Grade: 1
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Red Cross Memorial
A previous seller wrote a price of 4.00 in the upper right corner. We don’t think this otherwise unused card should cost that much. Grade: 3
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National Contract Sweepers Association
Though this doesn’t look like an ad card, it seems to be one, and is reasonably contemporary. Unused, sepia. Grade: 1
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New Museum of Natural History
Sometime soon after 1904, someone visited this new museum and filled the entire back of the postcard with impressions. So, not postally used but with much historic atmosphere. Grade: 4
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Department of Commerce Building
Unused B.S. Reynolds card 32119, whose caption quaintly states “The Department of Commerce Building, now in course of erection, will be the largest unit forming the triangular group of new public buildings.” Completed in 1932, it was renamed after Herbert Hoover in 1981. Grade: 1
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Proposed Department of Justice
The caption on this unused card pins down plans for the new building. The card itself has a roughly half-inch tear at the left edge. Grade: 5
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Library of Congress
An unused old card, whose elaborate and florid caption takes up nearly half of the message space. Grade: 1
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The Willard Hotel
When we worked in Washington, long ago, this grand old hotel was basically derelict. No longer. Unused linen Curteich-Chicago card 6B-H1383. Grade: 1
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Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Unused, very old B.S. Reynolds Co. card Z116. Age spots on the reverse. Grade: 2
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Patent Office
Old, aged, unused, unattributed card Z-119. Just as a break, we’ll give you Wikipedia’s description of the building: “Designed in the Greek Revival style by architect Robert Mills, construction started in 1836, and the massive structure took 31 years to complete. United States patent law required inventors to submit scale models of their inventions, which were retained by the Patent Office and required housing. Once home to many early government departments, today the structure houses two museums of the Smithsonian Institution, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.” Grade: 2
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Lincoln Memorial
Somewhere out there, someone is specialising in a collection of Lincoln Memorial postcards. Is it you? This is an unused L.B. Prince card PE-15. Grade: 2
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White House at Night
Unused Colorchrome card 104841. Grade: 1
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Department of Justice
Unused Colorchrome card 136302. Front is good, but reverse is substantially and severely degraded. Grade: 5