Almost Twins

These two post cards look exactly alike. The picture is the same; the wording at the bottom is the same. They are both pictures of the top of Pike’s Peak. The wording says it is the “Summit of Pike’s Peak, Altitude 14,147 Feet” on both cards. They both indicate that they are copyrighted. The space to the right is the same and for the same purpose – for the sender to write a message.

What is the difference? Let’s play “I Spy”! The words on the card to the left are smaller. The picture and words are just a bit lower on the card. Now let’s play “I Feel”. The card on the right is actually embossed. If you run your fingers over the card, you can feel the indentations.

Turning the post cards over, they look very similar, too. They both say “POST-CARD.” at the top and remind everyone that “THIS SIDE IS EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE ADDRESS.” in accord with the government standards.

There is no indicator as to who the printer or publisher is. I published the one on the right in my blog on October 13th last month. I received an e-mail from someone who had read the blog that the publisher was Williamson-Haffner. Unfortunately, when I responded to the e-mail I also erased the original message so I cannot give you the credit you deserve for pointing this out. The sender also told me the name of the artist – which is now unretrieveably lost.

We can tell that the post cards were printed from between 1901 and 1906. I say 1901 because it was in 1901 that the government allowed printers to change the wording from Private Mailing Card to Post Card. And I say 1906 because the post mark on the back of the card on the right was mailed in 1906. If it was printed by the Williamson-Haffner Company, then the post cards were printed in 1905. The company started that year and the postmark on the second card is from July 26, 1906.