Imperial_SF index

This page contains scans of an unusual b+w novelty foldout postcard Imperial San Francisco as She Was published by Art Novelty and Advertising Co., New York. The postcard is 5 5/16" x 3 5/16", slightly smaller than the usual 5.5" x 3.5". Front and back sheets are glued to a thick piece of stiff board. A tab on the front opens to reveal a foldout strip of 10 small b+w images (3 3/4" x 2 5/8"), printed only on the front and joined end-to-end. Five of the images are photographs "Copyright, 1906, Underwood & Underwood, N.Y.", so the undated card must be 1906 or later, but all the images are pre-quake. Most of the other images are drawings, not photographs.

i07.jpg: The inset vegetable peddler image is from I.W. Taber photo 5399, here uncredited. The Dupont Street drawing looks north from California, with Sing Fat at right (see Keystone stereoview 9232).

i09.jpg: The drawing captioned "New City Hall and Hall of Records—Park St. View" must predate the 1897 completion of City Hall, as the tower shown at center is very different from the actual City Hall dome (see City Hall). The Hall of Records referenced in the caption is not shown; it would be just off the right edge of the image.


Photos:

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