V. O. Hammon Publishing Company Posts

Postcard from Isle Royale, Lake Superior, Near Duluth

This undated postcard shows a scene from Isle Royale National Park, the fourth-largest lake island in the world, located about 150 miles northeast of Duluth.

Postcard from a Typical Lumber Camp in Northern Minnesota

This postcard was mailed 110 years ago today — Jan. 18, 1912. It depicts a “typical lumber camp in northern Minnesota.”

Postcard from the Lyceum Building

This undated postcard of Duluth’s Lyceum Theatre does not appear to have been mailed, though it does have a message on the back.

Postcard from the Steamer David Z. Norton

This undated postcard shows the 500-foot Steamer David Z. Norton loading 3,000 bushels of wheat in the Duluth Harbor. Note the postcard has “J” as the middle initial of David Norton. That is presumably a misprint. David Zadock Norton was a director of the American Ship Building Company and the namesake of the ship.

Postcard from Marshall Wells Slip and Building

This postcard was mailed July 31, 1911 — 110 years ago today — to Miss Emma Perkins of Cleveland, Ohio. It shows what is today known as Minnesota Slip, where the William A. Irvin is docked. At right is the headquarters of Marshall-Wells Hardware Company, one of the world’s largest hardware wholesalers a century ago.

Postcards from the Wreck of the Steamer Crescent City

The steamer Crescent City was driven into rocks on the shore of Lake Superior northeast of Duluth 115 years ago today — Nov. 28, 1905. It was one of numerous wrecks during a storm that was most famous for sinking the Mataafa near the Duluth Ship Canal. Nine of 24 Mataafa crew members perished; everyone on Crescent City survived.

Postcard from Lester Park Falls in 1905

The message penned on the front of this postcard is dated 115 years ago today — Nov. 24, 1905. Someone named Ernest is apparently writing from Michigan and has been to Montana, where the falls might have impressed him more than the ones in Duluth.

Better mail your letter for Thursday on Monday, to make sure. Some day I want you to see Red Rock Falls, when the water is high.

Postcards from the St. Louis Hotel in Downtown Duluth

Postcard images of the St. Louis Hotel probably don’t do justice to its original splendor. The first of its two buildings went up in 1882 and was considered Duluth’s finest hotel. It was destroyed by fire on the morning of Jan. 13, 1893 and was replaced in 1895 by the Providence Building, which still stands at 332 W. Superior St.

The building shown in the postcard above was originally the Brighton Hotel, built next to the St. Louis in 1887. After the original St. Louis went up in smoke, the Brighton became the new St. Louis Hotel. The building was demolished in the early 1930s and replaced by the Medical Arts Building, which remains today at 324 W. Superior St.

Postcard from the Aerial Bridge in 1905

This postcard from the V.O. Hammon Publishing Company features an image copyrighted in 1904 by Crandall & Maher (presumably Robert S. Crandall and James Maher). The card was mailed out of Duluth on Sept. 29, 1905 and arrived in Ohio on Oct. 2. It was sent to Miss Emily Booher of Mt. Gilead. The sender’s name is not on the card but the message scrawled on the front reads:

“It was midnight on the ocean and a storm was on the lake.” Remember.

Postcard from Duluth’s “Business Section”

This undated postcard was never mailed, but at some point a message was scrawled on the back:

This is the main street in the business section of Duluth. It runs in the low part of the city and follows more or less regularly the shore of the lake.

Postcard from Franklin School in 1910

This postcard was mailed 110 years ago today — June 27, 1910. It shows Franklin Elementary School at 411 E. Seventh St., and the surrounding neighborhood. Franklin School was demolished in 1979 and is today the site of Hillside Sport Court Park. More on the history of Franklin School can be found on zenithcity.com.

Postcard from the Steamer Easton

This undated postcard from the V. O. Hammon Publishing Company shows the Steamer Easton in the Duluth Harbor. The image can be roughly dated between 1905 and 1917.

Postcard from Divers at Work Through the Ice in Duluth

There’s no explanation here as to what these “divers at work” were up to. The year of the postmark on this V.O. Hammon Publishing Company postcard is not legible and there is no caption on the back. All we know is M. B. Edwards sent the card from Duluth to William Begg of St. Paul.

Postcard from the Rustic Bridge at Lester Park in 1910

The message on this postcard of the Rustic Bridge and Pavilion in Lester Park is dated Jan. 21, 1910, and postmarked Jan. 22. The sender’s name isn’t easy to read, but the recipient is Henry Seeam of Rice Lake, Wis.

Postcard from old Duluth Post Office and Incline Pavilion

This postcard was mailed Jan. 15, 1910. The image is referred to on the back of the card as depicting “Duluth about 18 years ago,” which would be 1892, the year the Beacon Hill Pavilion opened at the top of the Duluth Incline.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!