Is that a Train Downtown?

The train on the front of this post card is traveling through a main street of

Syracuse, New York. The men and crates in the bottom left of the picture even make it look as if the train is about to stop to pick up passengers and freight. Below is information about both the city of Syracuse and publisher of the post card. The following information about Syracuse’s relationship with trains was taken from this website: https://kids.kiddle.co/Railroads_in_Syracuse,_New_York Railroads in Syracuse, New York, were first mentioned in October 1831, when a convention held in the city marked one of the earliest moves to stimulate the era of railroad building which ultimately brought steam railroad service to New York State. At the time of the convention, the oldest railroad in Onondaga County had been in operation for two years. Out of the convention came the impetus which gave birth to the roads which consolidated in 1853 to form the New York Central Railroad which was a conglomeration of several lines and by the late 1860s, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, another important railroad conglomerate, was also making inroads in Central New York. Railroads were big business in Syracuse and life in many ways revolved around them with the continuing ease of transportation and proliferation of jobs they brought to the local economy. The first street railway was built in Salina Street in 1859 and Syracuse was soon known "far and wide" as the city where the trains passed through the middle of downtown.

The post card was published by the Rotograph Company. It is from before March 1, 1907 because only the address is allowed to be written on the back of the card. The information about Rotograph Company was taken from this website: http://www.metropostcard.com/publishersr2.html The Rotograph Company existed from 1904 to 1911 at 684 Broadway in New York City, New York. They were a major printer and publisher of postcards. The company was founded by the Germans Ludwig Knackstedt of Knackstedt & Nather in partnership with Arthur Schwarz of Neue Photographische Gesellschaft (a major bromide photo paper manufacturer). They also took over the National Art Views Co.

in 1904 (notice how they incorporate the “Art Views” into their logo to gain quick access to American views, and republished many of these images under the Rotograph name. A wide variety of card types were also issued in 19 letter series

(this particular post card falls under the “G Series) plus many other miscellaneous cards and printed items, but they are best known for their view-cards in color rotogravure. Many postcards were printed in the Rotograph style without their logo on them. These early cards may have been private contracts made with the Rotograph Company or from orders placed directly with their printers in Germany. Rotograph produced about 60,000 postcards that were printed in Hamburg, Germany, by Stengel of Dresden, by Knackstedt & Nather of Nancy, France, and possibly by Reinike & Rubin of Magdeburg. While Rotograph produced large amounts cards in clearly defined lettered designated sets, they also produced unique small card sets.