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Scarce early photographic portrait postcard depicting John Lawson Stoddard, the internationally known American traveler, lecturer, author and photographer.
The formal studio portrait shows Stoddard in a dark suit, white shirt and tie. Printed along the lower border are:
J. L. STODDARD
PHOTO FALK, N.Y.
The reverse is marked “The Rotograph Co., N.Y. City” and has an early undivided-back postal layout reading:
“POST CARD — Write Name and Address Only on This Side”
The undivided back, together with the operating history of the Rotograph Company, places this postcard most plausibly around 1904–1907.
John Lawson Stoddard was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1850. After studying at Williams College and Yale Divinity School, he traveled extensively through Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Beginning in 1879, he transformed his experiences into highly successful public lectures accompanied by stereopticon or magic-lantern photographs.
Stoddard became one of the most prominent American lecturers of the late nineteenth century. His illustrated presentations drew enormous audiences, and his name became closely associated with travel, geography, photography and public education. His lectures were subsequently issued in the multivolume “John L. Stoddard’s Lectures,” and his photographs appeared in numerous travel books and portfolios. He is often credited as an important figure in the development of the modern illustrated travelogue.
The original portrait photograph is credited on the card simply as “Falk, N.Y.” This was almost certainly connected with the prominent New York portrait studio of photographer Benjamin J. Falk, which was known for portraits of actors, authors, lecturers and other public personalities.
The postcard was issued by the Rotograph Company of New York City as card A 156 in its “Photograph” series. Rotograph operated from approximately 1904 until 1911 as the American branch of the German Neue Photographische Gesellschaft. The company was especially known for high-quality photographic and collotype postcards. Although this portrait has the appearance of a real photograph, it is more accurately described as a photographic collotype or photomechanical postcard rather than a conventional darkroom-produced RPPC.
The card is unused and was never mailed. The reverse contains light pencil collector or dealer notations but no correspondence, address, stamp or postmark.
An appealing piece for collectors of John L. Stoddard material, historic authors and lecturers, early travel literature, photographic portraits, Rotograph postcards, New York photographers and undivided-back postcards.
The reverse is toned and has light pencil collector or dealer notations. It is unused, with no stamp or postmark. The portrait and printed identification remain clear and readily displayable despite the wear. Please examine both scans carefully for the complete condition.
ITEM SPECIFICS
- Subject: John Lawson Stoddard
- Full name: John Lawson Stoddard
- Life dates: 1850–1931
- Occupations: Author, lecturer, traveler and photographer
- Card type: Photographic portrait postcard
- Printing process: Photomechanical collotype
- Era: Undivided Back Era
- Approximate date: Circa 1904–1907
- Publisher: The Rotograph Company
- Publisher location: New York City
- Series: “Photograph” Series
- Series number: A 156
- Photography credit: Falk, New York
- Printed name: J. L. Stoddard
- Postal condition: Unposted
- Writing: Pencil collector or dealer notations
- Stamp: None
- Postmark: None
- Color: Sepia / black and white
- Country of origin: United States
- Theme: Authors, lecturers, travel, photography and literary history
- Original/Reproduction: Original antique postcard
- Unit of sale: Single postcard
KEYWORDS
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