When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
A 5.5x3.5" vintage RPPC photo postcard (NOT a modern reprint) from the estate of a vintage postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique postcards.
* We always automatically combine orders for shipping, so add as many postcards as you’d like to your order!
Photo Overview
A charming street-level look northward up Tenth Street in Worthington, Minnesota, captured in the early 1910s. The scene shows a lively small-town commercial district with multi-story brick storefronts lining the right side of the unpaved street, globe-topped ornamental street lamps, horse-drawn wagons, early automobiles, and pedestrians going about their day. A shaded park or town square occupies the left side with mature trees and benches. Signs for a cigar shop and other businesses are faintly visible along the storefronts.
This real photo postcard was made by L. L. Cook of Lake Mills, Wisconsin, and bears a Worthington, MN postmark dated July 1913. It was mailed by a traveler named Philip to his sister, Miss Anna Schmit, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Historical Notes
Worthington, Minnesota was platted in 1871 and grew steadily as a regional agricultural center in Nobles County in the southwestern corner of the state. By the early 1910s, when this photo was taken, Tenth Street was the heart of its commercial activity. The brick commercial buildings visible here reflect the prosperity that came from the surrounding grain and livestock farming economy.
Worthington went on to become one of the more economically diverse small cities in southwestern Minnesota, eventually earning a reputation as an immigrant-friendly community. Many of the historic downtown buildings visible on Tenth Street still stand today, making this postcard a valuable window into the street\'s early 20th-century appearance.
Print analysis
This is a Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) produced by L. L. Cook of Lake Mills, Wisconsin, a well-known publisher of real photo postcards in the Midwest during the early 20th century. The postmark date of July 1913 places the printing very close to when the photograph was taken, making this a Type 1 original photographic print. The image shows fine tonal detail consistent with a silver gelatin photographic emulsion applied directly to postcard stock.
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.
