Two steamships glide along the broad, café-au-lait waters of the Río Pánuco as it passes Tampico's Muelle Fiscal — the official customs wharf — in this richly colorized Edwardian-era view that captures the port city at its oil-boom threshold. The long, arcaded customs house stretches across the left, its terracotta roof and arched upper gallery elegant against an azure horizon; a small yellow-hulled tender chugs toward the dock while a larger ocean-going steamer idles in the background. Tampico in this era was one of Mexico's most strategically vital ports, about to explode into one of the world's top oil-exporting hubs after the great Potosí oilfield strikes of 1910. The card was sent — bearing a green Mexican stamp — to "Mrs. A.C. Elder" c/o the Los Angeles Investment Co. in Los Angeles, California, with a touching personal message from "Georgia": "Dear Mrs. Elder — Mama got a letter from Mrs. Robinson telling of your accident. We're awfully sorry & hope you are alright by now. How are you all & when are you coming to Mexico to see us? Love from Georgia." Published by J.K. (registered), one of the leading early Mexican postcard series publishers.