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Chicago, Public Library
A disjointed and hard-to-read message that probably made perfect sense to both sender and recipient, but not to us. Moreover, the card (mailed in 1915, one stamp) was forwarded and has two postmarks, one of which is not from the sending or the receiving location. A mystery for the ages. Grade: 4
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Chicago, Coliseum
Unused B. Sebastian card No. 108. Grade: 3
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Busy Person’s Correspondence Card
Within deltiology, there must be a term for this kind of card, but we haven’t run across it yet. (To be honest, we haven’t looked very hard.) It’s a linen card, mailed in 1940 with stamp and postmark. The writer was so happy that his hotel had a radio … Grade: 4
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Chicago, Looking north over North Michigan Avenue
“Real photograph” card from “G.M.G. Publishing Co. (Not Inc.)” of Chicago, unused. Real photograph, and the Real Chicago. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Adler Planetarium and Astronomical Museum
Unused card but it has a number inked above the postage area. Grade: 3
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Chicago, Driveway in Union Park
Unused, but the reverse in particular is in terrible condition. Grade: 5
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Chicago, Marshall Field & Company, exterior
Unused Plastichrome card P38533 of Chicago, “The City Beautiful”. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Marshall Field & Company, Oriental Rug Section
Somehow this B&W card just seems unusual, describing as it does “One of the most comprehensive collections of fine Oriental rugs in America.” Mailed in 1940, with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Congress Hotel, Annex and Auditorium
Unused V.O. Hammon card, heavily aged. Grade: 3
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Chicago, Y.M.C.A. Hotel, main lobby
Unfortunately for the Y.M.C.A., a highly reputable organisation, all we think about when we hear the name are the Village People. They do not appear anywhere in this card, mailed in what looks like 1962 (postmark not quite clear). Grade: 1
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Welcome to Galesburg, Railroad Days
“Local” card mailed in 2012 with three different stamps but no legible postmark. Grade: 3
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Chicago Detours
Promo card issued by this tour company, mailed in 2012 with three stamps and partial postmark. Had been folded vertically through the middle. Grade: 4
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Evanston, Grosse Pointe Lighthouse
Construction was completed in 1873, lenses installed in 1874, and with some interruptions it’s still operating. Unused Curteichcolor card 8C-K1562 (and GP-I). Grade: 1
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(Rock Island), Home of Col. Davenport
We put Rock Island in parentheses because the unused card itself does not give the location, really only telling us that Col. Davenport “was murdered in this house July 4, 1845” and that “Picket fence marks the site of his original grave.” The Colonel in question is George Davenport, a settler, fur trader, and mediator between American Indians and the U.S. Government. And don’t feel badly if you don’t see the picket fence. We don’t, either. Grade: 1
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First Berry-Lincoln Store and U.S. Post Office, New Salem State Park, Lincoln’s New Salem
Unused Curteich-Chicago linen card 7B-H1256. Grade: 1
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Chicago, 1934 World’s Fair, Ford Exposition Building
Mailed from Chicago in 1934 with stamp and full postmark. Nice addition to your collection of World’s Fair postcards. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Greyhound Depot
1960’s-vintage unused postcard of “One of the world’s largest terminals.” Plastichrome card P54372. Grade: 1
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Springfield, Abraham Lincoln’s Home
Unused old C.T. American Art card 88492, showing a bit of handling over the years. Grade: 2
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Springfield, Abraham Lincoln statue, State Capitol Grounds
Unused E.C. Kropp card 8008 N, with that stain on the upper left corner. Grade: 4
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Chicago, Illinois Central Depot
Mailed in 1928: the postmark is (mostly) there, and the stamp is torn off. Grade: 4
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Starved Rock State Park, St. Louis Canyon
Unused Curteichcolor card 0DK-611, significantly aging. Grade: 2
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Springfield, State Fair Grounds, Race Track
Unused, aged V.O. Hammon Pub. Co. (Chicago) card No. 916. Grade: 2
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Rockford, Wesley Willows Retirement Home
The facility opened in 1966, and we suppose this unused Dexter Press card 15190-C came out shortly afterward. Meaning no disrespect whatsoever to Wesley Willows, which is still there and also a nursing home, the card itself is … umm … lifeless. Grade: 2
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Shawnee Hills, cantilever bridge
Not just A bridge, but “This world’s longest span cantilever bridge” crossing the Ohio River at Old Shawneetown, Illinois. Unused card. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, Waller’s Gazelle
Unused old card from the Museum. We just feel like telling you, via Wikipedia, that the gerenuk, Litocranius walleri, also known as the Waller’s gazelle, is a long-necked species of antelope found in dry thorn shrubland and desert in the Horn of Africa and the African Great Lakes region. So there. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Grant’s Monument by Searchlight
A structure by L.T. Rebisso; an unused card from long ago. Creased through lower right corner. Grade: 3
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Springfield, Abraham Lincoln Tomb
Unused Curteichcolor card 7C-K2800. Aging. Grade: 2
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Springfield, The Lincoln Tomb
Unused Curteichcolor card 3C-K1068. The fine-print caption takes up more than half of the message space. Aging. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Wrigley Field
Unused. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Eitel Old Heidelberg
The restaurant is very long gone. What’s there now? It’s hard to tell from Google’s street view. But this unused postcard lives on. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Masonic Temple
Unused Max Rigot card R-50202. Grade: 2
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Chicago, International Flags at O’Hare
Mailed in 1970 with 6-cent commemorative stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Springfield, Abraham Lincoln’s Home, The Maids Room
Whoever wrote the laconic caption was not a big fan of Lincoln, that’s for sure. The card was mailed in 1969, with 5-cent stamp and postmark. Grade: 2
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The University of Chicago, College Residence Halls for Men
This card was written by a student to his friends in 1947. The stamp and postmark are there, and he said that he put an arrow on the front to point to his room. We’ve looked but we can’t find the arrow. So if it is even there, it’s very well hidden. Grade: 3
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Chicago, County Hospital
Very early 20th-century B&W postcard, stamp and postmark are there but the year is hard to read. Grade: 2
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Chicago, O’Hare Airport, United’s Underground Walkway
Though it completely blends into the photo, there is a sizable abrasion on the lower left front photo. Unused card. Grade: 5
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Chicago O’Hare Airport, multiple views
Unused card with a patch of glue on the lower right front where a price sticker had been. Grade: 5
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Quincy, 1935 Bentley – Sedanca
The automobile is in the Quincippi Island Antique Car Museum, and the card was mailed in 1976 with 9-cent stamp and postmark. Grade: 2
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University of Chicago, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
Unused, aging card. But still, Grade: 1
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Chicago, La Salle Hotel
We promised to tell the stories. First, this card was mailed in 1909, with stamp and postmark. 1909 happens to be the year the La Salle, one of Chicago’s premier hotels, opened. But in 1946, as the Chicago Tribune wrote, “a devastating blaze swept through the supposedly fireproof building, reducing its magnificent lobby to a charred cavern, taking the lives of 61 people and leaving more than 200 injured.” The hotel was rebuilt and lived on until 1976, when it finally closed. Grade: 1