1952 Postal Card Jamaica NY Franklin 2ct Queens Borough Hall Kew Gardens 24 For Sale

This government-issued postal card, postmarked in Jamaica, New York, on June 17, 1952, features a pre-printed two-cent stamp bearing the portrait of Benjamin Franklin, an example of postal stationery in which postage was printed directly onto the card rather than affixed as an adhesive stamp. The card was mailed during the early Cold War era, when the two-cent rate remained standard for domestic postcards. The printed slogan \"BUILD YOU WISELY SAFELY U.S. SAVINGS BONDS,\" partially obscured by the stamp, reflects the government savings bond campaigns that had originated during the Second World War and persisted into the postwar period as instruments of both fiscal policy and civic participation. The verso carries the standard instructional text \"THIS SIDE OF CARD IS FOR ADDRESS\" within a red rectangular border.The handwritten address directs the card to the City Collector of Queens at Borough Hall in Kew Gardens 24, New York, indicating official municipal business, likely a tax payment or inquiry. The postal zone designation \"24\" predates the adoption of ZIP codes in the 1960s, situating the card within the era of local postal zone systems. The Queens Village return address, \"221-28 Edmore Ave., Queens Village 8, N. Y.,\" employs the hyphenated house-number convention characteristic of Queens street addressing, in which the number preceding the hyphen denotes the cross street. Kew Gardens, situated in central Queens County, served as the administrative center for the borough, and Borough Hall remains a notable civic landmark. The circular postmark, struck at 11:30 PM, is clear and legible, while the card exhibits uniform light toning consistent with its age, with only minimal wear to the edges and corners. Neither rare cancellation markings nor a written message appear on the card, which survives as a utilitarian artifact of mid-century municipal correspondence in New York City.