Folk Art Postcard: "I'm Thinking of Home"

Imprint: 1906

Original brown leather folk art postcard. Postmarked September 11, 1906 in Memphis, Tennessee. 5 1/4 x 3 1/2." Title printed on the front. Tipped-in red George Washington stamp on back. Postcard is used. Name and address in Arkansas on back. Postcard is very clean and intact overall. Slight age and surface wear. Front has handwriting in black ink which covers part of the etched image. Ink has been added to the man's face at center. A Very Good copy. This leather postcard shows a man between two Indigenous (Native American) men. The man to the left and man at center both look surprised. The other man to the right has a slight smile. 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: 023158.

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