Long rows of cotton bales fill an open yard, stacked several high before the long shed and smokestacks of the Cotton Compress Co. in Oklahoma City, with low hills on the horizon. The scene reflects the scale of the cotton trade in early twentieth-century Oklahoma, where cotton was a leading cash crop and compresses pressed it into dense bales for rail shipment. The sender's message makes the yard a sales report: each bale was selling for $50 to $55, and "Our 2000 bales in sight" were on hand.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pen
Each one of these
bales of cotton sells
from $50.00 to $55.00
each. Our 2000
bales in sight
Visible halftone screen; thin white border; faint circular stamped impression (appears to read "Oklahoma City") in the sky; light edge and corner wear.
Postmark: OKLAHOMA APR 30 1-PM 1909 OKLA. Divided-back card with green printed "POST CARD" heading and flag design; pencil message; light soiling and edge wear.
Cite this card
Cotton compress yard with stacked bales, Oklahoma City, OK, 1909, postcard, c. 1909. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/cotton-compress-yard-with-stacked-bales-oklahoma-city-ok-190. Accessed November 2, 2026.
