This postcard story relates to the economics behind the postcard craze of the early 20th century.
We know that tens of millions of postcards were mailed each year during the “Golden Age” of postcards, and that almost every general store, print shop, drug store, and stationer, stocked postcards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_postcards_in_the_United_States
This postcard is a sample that was presented to merchants to elicit orders of Thanksgiving-themed stock.
It was offered by the Rose Company, probably during the early Fall, beginning in 1907.
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The Rose Company was based in Philadelphia and published a wide range of postcards, including many of unusual designs and materials.
Many collectors of vintage paper know the firm primarily for rare sets pf baseball player cards printed for every Major League Team in 1908.
We have seen a variety of postcards from The Rose Company.
Here are some from the same year as the Turkey:
“The Untalented Artist” (1907)
“Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness” (1907)
“Thou Shalt Not Kill”
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The face of the postcard sample is dominated by a gilded sunburst surrounding a standing tom turkey.
Beneath the brilliant fowl is a banner containing a short verse sans punctuation:
“Dull clouds may overcast the sun
The day be dark and murky
But you will find
If not too blind
Sunshine around each turkey”
The image (and the verse) is embossed.
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On the reverse, an ink stamp has been applied with the price information.
The merchant would pay 80 cents for a hundred postcards to be delivered with “Charges Paid”.
If the postcards were sold for the customary price of one cent, the storekeeper would make a return of 25% on his cost.
This may appear like a small return, but the trade in postcards was stable and extensive.
Unfortunately, we cannot know if this advertising sample resulted in the purchase of Thanksgiving postcards.
