Antique & Vintage Postcards

Step through the latticed wooden arch of Watkins Glen's entrance gate — "W.C. Robinson, Glen Mountain House" advertised on the left post, "This Hotel Correctly Connected with the Glen" on the right — and you're invited into one of New York's most dramatic natural gorges, here presented as a brass-fastened pull-out souvenir card bearing Patent No. 806631 (December 5, 1905). The black-and-white cover photograph captures the picturesque gated entry on the main road into the village of Watkins Glen, Schuyler County, NY, in crisp halftone. Pull the tab and a stepped accordion of interior gorge views cascades down: the first and largest panel shows "Entrance to Cascade & Sentry Bridge" with Minnehaha Falls and Cavern Gorge in breathtaking detail, followed by successively smaller panels of Rainbow Falls, Central Cascade, and additional glen scenes. The reverse, printed by The Rotograph Co. of New York City, is addressed in ink to Lydia H. Ford and carries no postage — this example appears unused or at most personally inscribed. The card is in fair-good condition: the cover is intact with light wear, the accordion strip is mostly intact though the fold junctions show stress, and the brass fastener eyelet is present and functional.