PostalPast
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Crowded excursion steamer leaving the dock for a river trip, circa 1901

Subjects
Crowds & GatheringsSteamboats & RiverboatsWaterfronts & Harbors
Card type
Lithograph
Date
c. 1902 (Early)
Front of Crowded excursion steamer leaving the dock for a river trip, circa 1901, c. 1902 lithograph postcard
Front
Back of Crowded excursion steamer leaving the dock for a river trip, circa 1901, c. 1902 lithograph postcard
Back

About this postcard

A large multi-deck excursion steamer, funnels smoking and flags flying, lies at a timber pier packed with a crowd while her own decks are jammed with passengers; a red brick riverside building marked "MACHIN..." stands behind the wharf. The card's own caption calls the scene "Off for a River Trip," a typical turn-of-the-century excursion outing when steamers carried thousands of city dwellers on day cruises. The imprint of the Detroit Photographic Co., issued in 1901, places the image in the era of photochrom-based color printing of American scenic views.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Dear Charlotte Here is no Beach, no Ocean, for the Beaches Detroit to Visit, so they have River trips instead. Okey

PublisherDetroit Photographic Co.
6135. OFF FOR A RIVER TRIP. COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY DETROIT PHOTOGRAPHIC CO. --- POST CARD THIS SIDE FOR THE ADDRESS
PostmarkedDecember 8, 1903, 11:30
Stamp
Addressed to
Charlotte S. Hassett

Amesbury, Mass

Postcard record

Postmarked
PublisherDetroit Photographic Co.
Series6135
ConditionGood
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1902, perforated on all sides
NotesWhite border; undivided-back era card with a handwritten message in the right margin; rounded, worn corners and light soiling. Postmark: POSTMASTER DETROIT MICH. DEC 8 11:30 AM 1903. Undivided back ('THIS SIDE FOR THE ADDRESS'); white border; glossy; front copyright 1901.

Cite this card

Crowded excursion steamer leaving the dock for a river trip, circa 1901, postcard, c. 1902. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/crowded-excursion-steamer-leaving-the-dock-for-a-river-trip. Accessed October 25, 2026.