Antique & Vintage Postcards

Mailed directly from the U.S. Quarantine Station at Rosebank, Staten Island — the very site depicted — this early postcard offers a rare piece of on-site postal provenance from the gatekeeper of New York Harbor's public health system. The observation tower and administrative buildings sit at the water's edge, with a Gothic Revival residence for medical officers rising on the hill behind; ships entering the harbor stopped here for inspection before continuing on to the city.