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Posted By: Ryan Christoff

Zach,

That postcard was definitely issued in 1906 or 1907. It has an "undivided back" which was only produced until March 1st, 1907. After that date, all postcards were divided on the back, which meant you could write your message on one half and the address on the other half. Undivided back postcards ususally have the message written on the front of the card, in the margin as it is on yours, with only the address written on the back.

The only reason it has a 1911 postmark is that someone didn't mail it until then. If you found a mint, unsent postcard from 1906 and mailed it today, it would be the same thing. The postmark would have a 2006 date even though the card itself would be 100 years old.

Remember that date (March 1st, 1907) because it's any easy way to tell if a postcard was produced before then or after. Undivided back = pre-3/1/1907. Also, if it says "post card" or "postcard" instead of "private mailing card" it was issued after December 24th, 1901. Using those guidelines, we can tell that yours was issued between Dec. 24th, 1901 and March 1st, 1907. However, it's clear that it was issued either at the end of 1906, after the season ended (1906 champs) or in the first 2 months of 1907. If the American Association season ended in October, we can pinpoint it to within about a 5 month window of when it was produced.

There are other postcards in that series, by the way. I think they show scenes from games featuring the Columbus team. I believe they were all issued together by the Columbus Dispatch and probably came in an envelope with 10 cards or so.

Hope that helps,

-Ryan