Antique & Vintage Postcards

Mailed on a crisp March evening in 1907, this ingenious "pull-out" souvenir leporello unfolds from behind its panoramic cover to reveal a cascade of miniature views of Baltimore — including the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors monument and the Harbor — all tucked behind a brass eyelet fastener that doubles as the card's clever mechanical feature. The cover image, a sweeping black-and-white bird's-eye panorama taken from the top of Baltimore's Washington Monument, captures the dense roofscape of a city still rebuilding its confidence after the catastrophic Great Fire of 1904; the tall Belvedere Hotel rises prominently on the skyline, completed just months before the blaze. The sender — who notes being "called unexpectedly" and mentions weaving that night at 8 — mailed the card from Baltimore on March 22, 1907 to a Geo. at the Hotel Hellman in Los Angeles, California, a 1 cent Franklin stamp carrying it across the continent. The card was patented December 5, 1905 (US Pat. No. 806631) and printed in Germany by The Rotograph Co., N.Y., a hallmark of Edwardian-era novelty publishing.