Antique & Vintage Postcards

Sent from Portland, Oregon, in the spring of 1901, this extraordinary fold-out "leporello" postcard conceals a miniature accordion-book of Oregon views behind its rustic wood-grain printed cover — a format that delighted Edwardian recipients and still charms collectors today. The outer cover, printed to mimic weathered barn-wood with a label reading Views of Oregon, slides open to reveal a continuous accordion strip of black-and-white images: Mount Hood brooding above a dense fir forest, the Portland Public Library, the Chamber of Commerce building, and other civic landmarks. Published by Woodard, Clarke & Co. of Portland and made in Germany — standard practice for quality American novelty postcards of the era — the piece was mailed with a 1-cent green Franklin stamp to Eva at the dormitory in Ellensburg, Washington. The sender, writing from Portland on April 2, 1901, mentions receiving Eva's letter and hints at a planned visit that circumstances may have altered — a fleeting, tender glimpse of two young women's correspondence at the turn of the twentieth century.