POSTCARDS FROM THE PAST

1918 Early Divided Back Era Postcard

In TINTED HALFTONE

(from black-and-white original)

TOPIC

David Whitney Building and

Statler Hotel

Detroit, Michigan

“Grand Circus Park is one of Detroit’s smallest parks. It extends in a circle on both sides of Woodward Avenue. It contains two fountains and statues and is surrounded by many of Detroit’s latest skyscrapers.”

Building on left.

Constructed in 1915, The David Whitney Building is a historic class-A skyscraper located in downtown Detroit, Michigan.

Building on right.

The Statler Hotel was constructed in 1915. The Hotel was abandoned in 1975 and demolished in 2005. In 2014, an apartment building was built on the site.

Print Year

Curteich # R-79109 = 1918

Postmarked 1920

Era

Early Divided Back Era (1907-1914)

The Golden Age of Postcards

Postcards with a divided back were permitted in the U.S. beginning on March 1, 1907.  (Britain had already pioneered this in 1902.)  The address was to be written on the right side; the left side was for writing messages.  Many millions of cards were published in this era -- it was the golden age of postcards.  Up to this point, most postcards were printed in Germany, which was far ahead of the United States in the use of lithographic processes.  With the advent of World War I, the supply of postcards for American consumption switched from Germany to England and the United States itself.

Printer

C.T. PHOTOCHROM by

Curt Teich Company (1898-1978)

Chicago, Illinois

Curt Teich was already working as a lithographer in Lobenstein, Germany when he emigrated to Chicago in 1895. He would start his own firm in 1898 concentrating on newspaper and magazine printing. While he was an early publisher of postcards, he did not begin printing them in number himself until 1908.

By the 1920’s he was producing so many postcards with borders that they became recognized as a type dubbed White Border Cards. Curt Teich was an early pioneer of the offset printing process having started using offset presses in 1907.

His innovations in this printing technique directly led to the production of what we now call Linens by the early 1930’s. While they produced many cards during World War Two, they also aided the war effort by printing many military maps.

Although Curt Teich eventually turned management of the firm over to his son, he remained active in company operations throughout its history. After his death in 1974 the family business was sold to Regensteiner Publishers who continued to print cards at the Chicago plant until 1978. Afterwards the rights to the company name and processes were sold to the Irish firm John Hinde Ltd. Their California subsidiary now prints cards under the name John Hinde Curteich, Inc.

Publisher

Curt Teich Company
Chicago, Illinois

Distributor

Curt Teich Company
Chicago, Illinois

Size

Standard Size: 5 ½ X 3 ½ / 14cm X 8.9cm

Printing Technique

TINTED HALFTONE

In the tinted halftone printing process, a black-&-white (B&W) photograph would have a color pallet with several color plates drawn in hand with different colors. Since these color plates were created by hand, there were many variations to how these postcards look.

CONDITION

Used /Posted

Corners and edges in poor condition.

Crease left side.

Smudges, smears, and stains on back side.

NO pinholes, tears, or mold.