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A 5.5x3" vintage Litho Postcard from the estate of a vintage automobile postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique postcards.
Photo Overview
This is an antique 1909 advertising postcard published by the Chilton Printing Co. of Philadelphia to promote the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal. Titled "A pleasant trip via auto and rail," it shows a smiling young couple perched on a wooden rail fence beside a country road. The woman wears a white shirtwaist, a red skirt, and a wide green polka dot hat and scarf. The man wears a chauffeur-style motoring cap, a blue suit, and a mustard vest, and has his arm around her.
Behind them is a bright red open touring car of the 1908-1909 era. It has tufted red leather upholstery, a folded top, wooden artillery-style spoke wheels painted red, and white pneumatic tires. The card\'s pun on "rail" (the fence rail rather than the railroad) is typical of the gentle romantic humor of Edwardian era postcards. The combination of early motoring imagery and direct automobile trade advertising gives it appeal to automobilia, advertising, and Philadelphia publishing collectors.
Historical Notes
The Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal began as a bicycle trade paper in the 1890s bicycle craze. As the automobile took over, it became one of the most influential motoring trade publications in the country. Its publisher, the Chilton Company of Philadelphia, grew into one of the best-known names in automotive publishing. Chilton later produced trade magazines serving the auto industry, and its Chilton repair manuals became a fixture in American garages and repair shops for generations. Promotional cards like this one, issued as the trade journal was shifting from bicycles to automobiles, capture the moment when the motorcar was still a romantic novelty rather than an everyday machine.
Text Present
Front, top left in red script: A pleasant trip via auto and rail
Front, bottom right: Copyright 1909, by Chilton Printing Co., Philadelphia
Back, advertisement: Subscribe to the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal - Published in Philadelphia - The leading and largest motoring publication in the world
Back, center: Post Card
Back, left side: This space may be used for writing
Back, stamp box: Place Stamp Here
Back, printed along the edge: Made by Chilton Printing Co., Phila., Pa., U.S.A.
Print analysis
This is an original 1909 color printed advertising postcard produced by Chilton Printing Co. of Philadelphia. The image is an artist-rendered illustration reproduced by color lithographic printing rather than a photograph. The divided back, printed advertising, copyright date, and period typography are consistent with a card printed and issued in 1909. The card is unused.
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.
