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A 5.5x3.5" vintage RPPC photo postcard from the estate of a vintage automobile postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique postcards.
Photo Overview
Two women pose proudly in a brass-era 1909 Buick touring car parked in the driveway of a shingled bungalow in this real photo postcard, hand-dated Christmas 1909. The passengers are identified on the back as Grace and Mother, seated in the tufted leather seats of the right-hand drive automobile, with the distinctive Buick script clearly visible on the radiator. The women wear period dress, with Grace in a white high-collared blouse, while lush hedges, climbing vines, and a fish-scale shingled gable frame the scene behind them.
This is a wonderful early automotive image for Buick collectors, capturing the make just a year after it helped found General Motors. The crisp radiator script, wooden artillery wheels, brass fittings, and running lamps make this a standout piece of brass-era motoring history from a large estate collection of antique automobile postcards.
Historical Notes
In 1909, Buick was at the peak of its early powers. Under the leadership of William C. Durant, Buick had become the best-selling automobile brand in America in 1908, outselling Ford and Cadillac combined, and its profits bankrolled Durant's creation of General Motors that same year. The 1909 model line included the popular Model 10 runabout and larger touring cars like the Model F and Model 17, all powered by Buick's advanced overhead-valve engines. That same year, Buick's factory racing team, featuring drivers like Louis Chevrolet and Wild Bob Burman, dominated American racing and cemented the brand's performance reputation. The family that owned this car had purchased one of the most respected automobiles in the country, and Buick would go on to become one of the longest-surviving American automobile marques, still in production today more than a century later.
Browse our complete RPPC Photo Postcard photograph collection.
Text Present
Handwritten in pencil on the back, top: "1909 BUICK"
Handwritten in ink along the left edge of the back: "Christmas 09" and "Grace & Mother"
Printed on the back: "POST CARD", "CORRESPONDENCE", "NAME AND ADDRESS", "PLACE POSTAGE STAMP HERE"
On the front of the automobile radiator: "Buick" script logo
Print analysis
This is an original real photo postcard, a Type 1 photographic print made at the time the image was taken. The divided back with correspondence and address panels dates it to after 1907, and the CYKO photographic paper stamp box was in use during this era. The period ink notation dating the image to Christmas 1909 matches the automobile and clothing styles perfectly, confirming this print was made contemporaneously with the photograph.
Condition
All postcards we sell are in fair to excellent vintage condition. Please see photos for any tears, folds, smudges, or other age damage that may be present.
