A broad view of the Charles River at Waltham, Mass., crowded with canoes and small boats. Several paddlers are in the foreground, and a wooden railing and landing at right are lined with onlookers in hats and umbrellas watching the boats. Wooded banks close the far shore. The scene captures a summer outing on the Charles in the early 1900s, when canoeing and small-boat excursions were common recreation along the river. Waltham was an industrial city, and the river offered residents a nearby place for boating and riverside gatherings.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pen
Hope you didn't wait for me Sat. Didn't get thru' until too late, wouldn't have gotten to M. until 4.45 & knew that would be too late.
Was awfully disappointed, it didn't have a thing to do with myself. Hastily,
Undivided-back era card; handwritten message written on the front (top edge upside down and along the bottom). Sepia-toned photographic print, printed in Germany. Dark ink spotting/stains in the sky area; light edge and corner wear.
Postmark: WALTHAM MASS. SEP 7 12-M 1906. Undivided back ("THE ADDRESS TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE."); Raphael Tuck & Sons' Post Card Series No. 2196; light edge/corner wear; stamp intact.
Cite this card
Canoes on Charles River, Waltham, MA, 1906, postcard, c. 1906. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/canoes-on-charles-river-waltham-ma-1906. Accessed November 2, 2026.
