K. B.?
Folk Art Postcard: "Greetings from San Francisco"

Imprint: 1908

Original brown leather folk art postcard. Postmarked three time; the year 1908 is visible on two of them. 5 1/4 x 3 1/2." Title printed on the front. Tipped-in green Benjamin Franklin stamp on back. Postcard is used. Initials written in a margin on front. Postcard is very clean and intact overall. Slight age and surface wear. Back is rubbed. Handwriting on back is faded. A Very Good copy. This leather postcard shows a rose decorated with red fabric as a way to add color and texture to the flower. Leather postcards were common during the early twentieth century. Leather postcards were first made in 1903. Most were made of deer hide and featured period humor of the day. Many featured text and illustrations that were etched into the surface via pyrography. Pyrography is an etching process that involves the use of a heated instrument such as a poker. After the etching process, color ink might have been applied to the leather. Some of the leather postcards included holes along their edges so they could be stitched together to form pillows and wall hangings. Leather postcards remained popular until about 1907 or 1909 when the United States Postal Service (USPS) banned them because they could not be processed in their sorting machines. The heyday of leather postcards ended about 1915 but circulation continued. For example, people found workarounds such as sending the leather postcards in envelopes. Later, the USPS updated their sorting machines so they could handle the leather material of the postcards. Although leather postcards never achieved the same level of popularity after 1915 as they did in their heyday, they can still occasionally be found in souvenir shops and the like to this day.. Postcard. Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Binding: No Binding

Stock number: 023156.

Bookseller's details and sales conditions: Barry Cassidy Rare Books