Prescott

By Raymond E. Miller

Prescott was founded in 1864 as the territorial capital of Arizona. In 1900, the business center burned to the ground, but the courthouse in the town square was saved, and the burned-out area s former wooden buildings were replaced by brick structures. Because the closest interstate highway is more than 30 miles away, much of Prescott s history and sense of community have been preserved, and historical districts abound. The local chamber of commerce refers to Prescott as Everybody s Hometown. It is also known as the Christmas City of Arizona and holds an annual Christmas parade, with appropriate courthouse lighting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 20, 2010
• ISBN: 9781439639726

Raymond E. Miller

Author Raymond E. Miller has been retired in Prescott for more than 20 years. He began collecting postcards with his late friend Dr. William �Bill� Bork (1906�2005), who was a retired academic, a local historian, and a collector of old postcards of Prescott. In this publication, Miller has showcased more than 200 vintage postcards from his collection.

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INTRODUCTION

I have found the collecting of postcards of Prescott to be a fascinating hobby. Postcards are an excellent pictorial documentation of the changes that take place during a town’s development. The first postcards of Prescott were published in 1904. During the period from 1904 to 1907, they were known as undivided-back cards. Only the name and address of the recipient were allowed on the back of the cards. Any message had to be written on the front of the card, either in the margin or over the view. In March 1907, a law was passed allowing the publication of postcards that could have writing on the back. This opened up a floodgate of interest in postcards.

In the early 1900s, the collection of postcards was popular across the country and in Europe. Postcard albums were published in which the cards could be mounted. The exchange of cards between relatives and friends became popular. Many were not cancelled, indicating that they were sent enclosed with accompanying letters probably containing two or more cards. The variety of subject matter was endless. Many of the early cards were hand colored and printed in Germany. In 1909, a tariff was placed on imported cards, after which time the majority of the cards were printed in the United States. After World War I began, the importation of cards from Germany came to an end.

The acquisition of old postcards of Prescott can be the excuse for trips across the country to visit antique shops, postcard shows, and flea markets. If an individual’s traveling is limited, a great source of old postcards is the Internet, especially eBay auctions. In these auctions I have acquired Prescott postcards from sellers as far away as Norway, Sweden, Latvia, France, England, and New Zealand. It always gave me a feeling of satisfaction to bring cards home again to Prescott.

In 1904, Harold Brisley, proprietor of the Brisley Drug Store in Prescott, was approached by a salesman from the Albertype Company of Brooklyn, New York, and was sold on the idea of publishing the first postcard views of Prescott and Yavapai County. According to my friend, the late William Bork, Brisley was an Englishman who came to the Arizona Territory by way of Canada. He settled in Prescott in 1893 and opened a drugstore on Whiskey Row. In 1899, he moved his business to the northwest corner of East Gurley and Cortez Streets. The business remained there until about 1905, when he moved his store to 107 South Cortez Street. He retired in 1925, at which time he sold his store to W. S. Bontag and moved to Orange County, California. This location, at the northwest corner of East Gurley and Cortez Streets, was occupied by the Eagle Drug Store for many years. A lunch counter was opened there in 1932. The Eagle Drug Store closed in 1974. It is now the site of the National Bank of Arizona.

The success of the Albertype Company in Prescott attracted competition. In 1905, the Neuman Post Card Company of Los Angeles, which was an agent for a German printing firm, was successful in getting orders from the Brisley Drug Store for the printing of hand-colored postcards. These postcards were of a much finer quality than the competing black-and-white Albertype cards. The publication of these Neuman cards extended into late 1907, as indicated by the postmark on a divided-back postcard.

The postcards printed in Germany were produced using high-quality chromolithography with six or more inks. M. Rieder of Los Angeles, another agent for a German printing firm, published a series of hand-colored postcards of Yavapai County. Although M. Rieder sold postcards with undivided backs, none have been found showing views of Yavapai County. The earliest postmark noted on these divided-back cards is 1908. The cards have publishers’ numbers extending from 5110 to 5121.

Corbin and Bork Druggists also published hand-colored postcards purchased from M. Rieder dated as early as 1908 as well as black-and-white divided-back postcards printed by the Albertype Company.

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