Back into the Royal Gorge

The previous card belongs to a group called “The Divided Back”. The pictures went right to the edge of the cards and the backs were the first backs to be divided into two parts: the right for the address and the left for a message. Sometimes there is a message on the back to remind folks that they can write on the left side of the card. This group was printed from about 1907 to 1915.

The card featured in today’s post belongs to the “White Border” group. These cards were printed from about 1915 to 1930. They were still divided on the back, but there was a noticeable change on the front. A white border appeared.
We are going back to the Royal Gorge today. This card is younger than the card in the last post. I can tell right away because it has a white border around the picture. The picture on the front of the card is of the Railroad’s East entrance – surrounded by a white border. By looking on the back of the card, I can narrow the date of printing even more.

The printer is the H. H. Tammen Curio Company. It began business in 1896 and finally wrapped up in 1953. It operated out of 1516 Arapahoe Street, in Denver, Colorado. (So it is fitting that they would promote the Royal Gorge!) You can see the little mascot in the top middle of the card and the arrow pointing up to it with H H T CO imprinted on it. These are definitive signs that point to the H.H. Tammen Curio Co.
The publisher, on the left side of the card printed sideways, is The Interstate Co., also of Denver, Colorado. The Van Noy Railway Hotel & News, which came into being in 1914, became the Van Noy News Co., after some mergers with other companies, On October 1, 1914.
In 1915, they began consolidating operations with the Interstate News Company out of New York City. The company name was changed to the Van Noy Interstate News Company in 1917, under the direction of Ira C. Van Noy. The Van Noy Interstate Company began to focus on the hotel aspect of their business, including selling souvenir postcards to their guests. In 1922, the Company acquired the Gem Fountain Company, and in 1926 the company re-named one more time; now they were to be known as the Interstate Company.
All this tells me that because the name “The Interstate Co.” appears on the card, it was printed after 1926. The next phase of postcard printing began around the year 1930. So I am deducing that this card was printed sometime very close to the years 1926 and 1930.
As I hold the card in the light and close to my magnifying glass, I can see that there is a road that runs on the other side of the canyon.