Strange half-postcard with "gang"

I have no knowledge of vintage postcards except to have picked up a few here and there.

I found this one, which is half-sized. The brightness is misdone by the printer hence you cannot see the details in some of the figures. I have no idea what this means.

 

Someone trimmed the picture because they wanted to view it and keep it as a picture and not send it as a postcard. Real Photo postcards could easily be made by amateurs, so you'll see plenty that might not be well done compared to professional studio shots.

 

But why is there a printed border on all four edges?

 

It's nothing unusual.

http://www.metropostcard.com/guiderealphoto.html

Scroll down to the bottom, where it says "Borders".

 

Thanks, Kronos. The back looks cut crooked to me.

 

The border kind of looks a totally different color treatment and sheen, could it be black ink ball point or fountain pen border? The border looks hand done to me.

 

The border is the same texture as the rest of the picture. It was printed at the same time.

 

Anyone have any idea what this photo might be of? How many possibly were made?

 

Does that mean it's a one of a kind? I don't understand the pre-printed backing. Was that something that many one-off photographs were printed on?

 

The printed postcard backs were common in the early 20th century. They are called "real photo postcards." Many of them were one-off, but some were printed in multiple copies, usually for family members to have a copy.

The link that Kronos posted gives a good overview of real photo postcards. Sometimes the stamp box on the back can be used to figure out a date (scroll down about halfway in the link Kronos mentioned in order to see what stamp boxes looked like). The side with the stamp box on yours has been cut off.

 

The man seated left of centre, and the man to the left of him, look like they are in swimming costumes, and perhaps it is their clothes thrown over the top of the boards at the back. Maybe a friendly swimming race? They are all on some kind of platform which might be a dock on a small river? It's a shame that the women on the left have become pale ghosts, their costume might have given an idea of the date. I expect the photo looked much clearer when first printed, no-one would have kept it if it was as underexposed as this to begin with. Maybe the original owner kept it out on display for years. Some mysteries are unsolvable, but I hope you find some more clues.

 

For those really into this stuff, it seems the trimming still seems odd and maybe done by the studio, since there is the boarder and the picture therefore is complete. I wonder what the extant half-card postcard market is populated with.

 

It's an interesting puzzle, for sure!

 

Is it possible that it was a duplicate photo on the second side... for use in a stereoptican? I don't know much about the photos that they used for that... and I'm thinking usually they were printed on heavier card stock.... but maybe??

Leslie

 

They did do stereoview type cards on postcard stock, but the way the picture is oriented, and the fact that maybe only 1/3 of the card is cut away, means this postcard would not have been one of those.

 

Bonnie and Clyde and their respective families down at the old swimming hole ... probably not ( the Bonnie and Clyde part) ...... but I think for sure a swimming hole ...

 

I think the standard blank postcard photo paper was sometimes used to make non-postcard sized prints just because it was common available material. I have a number of family photos from the 1900-1920 period that are printed on cut pieces of photo postcard stock.

 

Interesting! That's new to me. I always enjoy learning.