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Chicago, Marshall Field & Company, Retail Premises
Undivided back card mailed in 1908, with stamp and clear postmark. Fine condition for this old age. Grade: 1
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Springfield, Lincoln Monument
Mailed from Illinois in the morning of 16th October, 1906, this undivided back card reached its Connecticut destination in the morning of 17th October. How did they manage … Lots of smudging and aging, otherwise undamaged. Grade: 3
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Chicago, The Blackstone, Lobby showing elevators
Very old (and heavily aged) unused card of what is now called Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel, with generally good reviews. We like it when hotels survive. As for the postcard, yes, it is a bit blurry. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Newberry Library
Wikipedia tells us: “The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is a non-circulating library, the Newberry is free and open to the public.” This old card, mailed in 1911 with stamp and partial postmark, has been heavily handled over the years but still represents the library well. Grade: 3
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Chicago, The Merchandise Mart, by night
“World’s largest building” housing “several hundred wholesale mercantile concerns” representing “Chicago, the Great Central Market.” Card mailed in 1938, with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Chicago, The Merchandise Mart
By now, the caption reads “one of the world’s largest buildings,” impressive nonetheless. Linen card mailed in 1949, with stamp and postmark. Grade: 2
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Chicago, The Sands Motel
Two of these unused Curteichcolor cards 6C-K501 are available. Had we been the designers, we might have included motel contact details in the caption, but maybe it was such a famous property at the time, that wasn’t necessary? Grades: 1
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Chicago, University of Chicago, Educational Building
Well, we hope so. Mailed in 1909, with stamp and postmark. Minor age-appropriate abrasions around the edges. Grade: 2
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Chicago, State Street
Older, aging, unused but clean card telling us that State Street’s “equal cannot be found the world over”. We have a few of these available. Grade: 1
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The Art Institute of Chicago
In 1906, when this card was mailed from Chicago at 7 PM on 13th September, it arrived at its city of destination (Hudson, Massachusetts) on 15th September at 3 PM. We know this, of course, because postmarks for both places are there, along with the stamp. Is there a lesson to be learned here? Probably. Do we know what it is? No. Undivided back card. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Water Works Tower on Michigan Boulevard
We just feel like giving you this excerpt from Wikipedia: “The tower, built in 1869 by architect William W. Boyington from yellowing Joliet limestone, is 154 feet (47 m) tall. Inside was a 138 foot (42 m) high standpipe to hold water.” As for the unused card, its caption gives different data but also promotes the 1933 “Century of Progress” Chicago World’s Fair. Nice card. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Art Institute
We know this (mailed) card’s 1906 date from the message on the front and the postmarks on the back. Maybe the cryptic message meant something for the sender or the receiver, but we’ll never know. Undivided back, with stamp. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Lincoln Park, Grant Monument
Cute message on this early 1900s card, with stamp and postmark. Grade: 2
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Chicago, New Union Station
Unused Max Rigot Selling Co. card R-50371 whose caption says “This majestic new railroad terminal will occupy the entire block …” and as we know the structure opened in 1925, it helps to date the card. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Union Station, The Fred Harvey Restaurant
Mailed in 1928, when the railroad station had been open for about three years. The card has a clear postmark and stamp. Grade: 2
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Chicago, The Seville, A furnished Apartment Hotel
Here’s something from a 1986 article in the Chicago Tribune: “One year ago a seasoned photographer said the Seville Hotel ‘looks like the bombed out buildings in Beruit–only worse’. But today, after a $2.4 million facelift, the former speakeasy and transient hotel is back in business as the Grand Seville, a 60-unit apartment project that represents one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the historic Buena Park neighborhood.” We hope it turned out as well as that; we hope you live there; and we hope you buy this card. Unused. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Morrison Hotel
We are once again indebted to Wikipedia for this: “The Morrison Hotel was a high rise hotel in the downtown Loop area of Chicago … It was designed by the architectural firm of Marshall and Fox, and completed in 1925. The hotel was demolished in 1965 to make room for the First National Bank Building (now Chase Tower). Standing 526 feet (160 m) high, the Morrison Hotel was the first building outside of New York City to have more than 40 floors. At the time of its razing, it was the tallest building to have ever been demolished anywhere in the world.” We promised to tell you the stories! Card mailed in 1931, with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Palmolive Building by Night
Mailed in 1948, with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Chicago, University of Chicago, Ryerson Physical Laboratory
Old card, addressed for mailing but not postally used. Grade: 4
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Chicago, Olson Rug Factory, waterfalls and rock garden
We would call this an old ad card in the style of a not-ad card. The long caption focuses on the park and not the factory, yet the card was issued by the company itself. We have two of these unused cards. One has faint creasing throughout (Grade: 3, $1) and the other has a name pencilled in the message area (Grade: 3, $2).
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Greetings from Rock Island
It’s surprising how many of our categories this unused Mike Roberts card C16526 falls into. The caption is short but pithy with nothing but proper nouns. One of them: this is Tugboat Ann Brent. Usually we only search aircraft records, but in this case we looked into Google for the tugboat, and found this: “… on June 11, 1984, the U.S. towboat ANN BRENT, which was downbound in the Mississippi River pushing a 4-barge tow, collided with the upbound Greek tankship MANTINIA. As a result of this accident, the lead barge in the tow sank and discharged its entire cargo of No.6 oil into the river. The other barges in the tow were damaged to a lesser degree, but none of their cargoes were spilled. The MANTINIA sustained serious damage to its bow. No deaths or serious injuries resulted from this accident. The total damage to all vessels involved in this accident was estimated to exceed $500,000. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the ambiguity of the meeting agreement reached by the ANN BRENT’s operator and the MANTINIA’s pilot over the bridge-to-bridge radiotelephone.” Thought you’d like to know. Grade: 1
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I-80 Mississippi River Bridge
Not postally used, with a 1975 date written above the stamp area. Grade: 4
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Chicago, Scene on Lake Michigan by Moonlight
Very old, unused, undivided back Suhling & Koehn Co. “Delft” card 121 (68772). Nothing like printing a black caption on a black background, is there? Grade: 1
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Chicago, Cook County Graduate School of Medicine
There’s a 4-cent stamp; the left part of the postmark says the card was sent in 1950 (that’s probably not right) and the right side of the postmark promotes a 1960 event. So somewhere there’s a minor error here, if you’re looking for that sort of thing. Grade: 2
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Peoria, Pavilion, Bradley Park
Not postally used, but with a long-ago message covering the reverse. Grade: 4
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Springfield, Pavilion at Washington Park
Mailed in 1908. The stamp is there; the sending postmark is there; and about half of the receiving postmark is there too–one day and two states away. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Lincoln Park, Boat House
For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can have this 108-year-old (as of today) card, mailed with stamp and postmark. Grade: 3
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Chicago, Lincoln Park, Block House
Another card from Lincoln Park. This time, instead of a black caption on a black background, we have a white caption on a snowy background. Mailed in 1909, with stamp and postmark. Looks like something took a tiny bite out of the left front edge. Grade: 3
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Chicago, Lincoln Park Conservatory
Old, aging, unused card. Grade: 1
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Chicago, The Lawson Y.M.C.A.
Unused Curteichcolor card 0DK-995. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Hotel La Salle, Main Lobby
Unused V.O. Hammon Pub. Co. card 1885, old and noticeably so. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain
Once again we are indebted to Wikipedia for this information: “a Chicago landmark in the center of Grant Park. Dedicated in 1927, it is one of the largest fountains in the world. Built in a rococo wedding cake style and inspired by the Latona Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, it is meant to allegorically represent Lake Michigan. It operates from April to October, with regular water shows and evening color-light shows. During the winter, the fountain is decorated with festival lights.” And who was Clarence Buckingham? Either Google or the caption on the reverse of this unused postcard will tell you. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Normandy House Restaurant, Black Sheep Cocktail Lounge
Appropriate name for this old B&W Curteich-Chicago card D-8724, unused and aging. The lounge? Long gone. Grade: 2
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Chicago, The Blackstone, English Room
Unused old postcard. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Masonic Temple
Very old, highly aged, unattributed postcard. Grade: 2
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Belleville, Angelus Bells
Unused, aging. Grade: 2
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Cairo, Mississippi Bridge between Missouri and Illinois
Unused Curteich-Chicago card 5371-29-N. When we saw the odd caption “No Flood Waters Ever Entered Cairo” on the reverse, we Googled. Prescient indeed. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Church of “Our Lady of Sorrows”
Mailed in 1917, with stamp and clear postmark. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Aragon Ballroom, Lawrence near Broadway
According to Wikipedia, “Today, under the name Aragon Entertainment Center, the hall hosts a variety of Spanish language and Vietnamese language shows as well as English language rock concerts. The occasional boxing events are also still held there.” As for the postcard, it was mailed in 1939 with stamp and postmark. Some postmark transfer on the front. Grade: 2
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Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, Swift’s “Food for Life” Exhibit
Mailed in 1958, with a 3-cent stamp and New York postmark. Grade: 1