This vintage postcard depicts the historic site of the largest, accidental oil spill in United States history. The scene captures the Lakeview No. 1 Gusher in Maricopa, California, spouting oil for a whopping 544 days, with workers rushing to contain the spill with sandbags and creating a sand berm. The photographic postcard is signed, was manufactured during the peak of the spill in 1910. It is posted with a note by a gentleman who lived 43 miles away from the site, noting it was still gushing 45,000 barrels of oil a day, down from 90,000, when he sent the postcard, making it a unique addition and super rare addition to any collector’s postcard collection.

The remnants of the sand berm that were used to contain the spill are still visible today with stratified oil residue. In total 9.4 million barrels of oil were spilled into the neighboring desert. It is a Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) and depicts the historic significance of the Lakeview No. 1 Gusher and the oil rig.

I’ve had this postcard for a couple of months now, but I did not realize that this was a representation, in real time, of the oil well disaster that is still the largest oil spill in United States history with 378 million gallons of oil spilled, larger than the Deepwater Horizon in 2010 that spilled 210 million gallons. The well was dug in the Sonoran desert in Maricopa County California, creating a lake of oil that people could raft across. The author of the note on the back lived 43 miles away from the spill. I am not sure who the photographer was: Barry and something I cannot read. It is far less romantic in modern times, as we realize the extent of the ecological damage and waste of natural resources. But in 1910, people did romanticize this. It was seen as a sign of economic prosperity. The name “gusher” sums it up: Named because of the "gusher" Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

The postcard was posted in1910 in California. The cancellation mark is faint and doubled-canceled. I found this postcard in an antique postcard book at an Estate Sale here in Dayton.  The postcards were all all addressed to the same people, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fay. Mrs. Fay was originally from California, and through pictures, I discovered she married Mr. Fay and relocated to Ohio. All of the posted cards are from her family. Most of the cancellations are bold and from Bakersville, California Kern County. This specific card was sent from her brother-in-law, and it was addressed and written to "Bob", Mr. Fay. 

I used a LOT of sources to make sure that I had all of my facts correct. I consulted National Public Radio’s article in 2011, the year after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which recounted the history of Lakeview No 1. I read Wikipedia, and I consulted all of its cited sources. I read “The End of the Oil Gusher” written by Justin Gillis for "The New York Times" on June 21, 2010. And I went to the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS site, which had been updated in 2022. 

I will ship this postcard with signature required, and I will pay for the shipping, and the insurance. This should go without saying, but I am going to say it anyway: I will protect this postcard to the nth degree.  I think, given all its factors, this postcard is, if not singular certainly nearly so, a piece of American history, and it should be preserved.  Of course, I realize there are other real photos of this disaster, though very few. But this one is memorialized by the photographer, at the time of the peak spillage and closer to the oil rig than any other photo or lithograph that I've seen, and the author/historian Mr. McCreary gives a first-hand account, boots on the ground, so to speak, of how the "gusher" progressed.

Notes:

This postcard is used and may have some bent corners, surface dust, yellowing, or residue from being stored in a postcard book. The photos you see are the photos of the exact item you will receive. Please use the zoom function to insure the card is in a condition that is acceptable to you.

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