Cotton wagon loaded with bales hauled by a mule team, Memphis, Tennessee, circa 1907
- Card type
- Printed photo
- Date
- c. 1902 (Early)
About this postcard
A horse- or mule-drawn wagon piled high with cotton bales stands on a road at the edge of Memphis, with a driver perched atop the load and a four-animal team hitched in front; houses and trees fill the background. The card's own caption calls it "Cotton Transportation by Road, Memphis, Tenn." Memphis, on the Mississippi River, was one of the great cotton markets of the American South, and such wagon teams brought bales in from surrounding plantations and farms to the city's compresses, warehouses and cotton exchange before rail and truck hauling took over.
Postcard Details
Amesbury, MA
Postcard record
| Postmarked | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | I. Samelson & Co. |
| Series | 2141 |
| Condition | Good |
| Place addressed | Charlotte Harnett, Amesbury, MA |
| Place depicted | Memphis, TN |
| Stamp | 1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1902, perforated on all sides |
| Notes | Black-and-white halftone print with a narrow white margin at top and left; undivided-back era stock; handwritten inscription in ink on the lower front; light edge wear and faint staining at the bottom. Postmark: MEMPHIS TENN SEP 12 7:30 PM 1907. Undivided back ("THIS SIDE FOR THE ADDRESS ONLY"); publisher imprint I. Samelson & Co., Memphis, Tenn.; 1¢ Franklin stamp; light edge wear and toning. |
Cite this card
Cotton wagon loaded with bales hauled by a mule team, Memphis, Tennessee, circa 1907, postcard, c. 1902. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/cotton-wagon-loaded-with-bales-hauled-by-a-mule-team-memphis. Accessed October 25, 2026.