PostalPast
← Back to browse

Crowded excursion steamer off for a river trip, Detroit, MI, 1903

Subjects
Crowds & GatheringsSteamboats & RiverboatsWaterfronts & Harbors
Card type
Lithograph
Date
c. 1903 (Early)
Front of Crowded excursion steamer off for a river trip, Detroit, MI, 1903, Miss Charlotte. L. Barnest, MA, USA, c. 1903 lithograph postcard
Front
Back of Crowded excursion steamer off for a river trip, Detroit, MI, 1903, Miss Charlotte. L. Barnest, MA, USA, c. 1903 lithograph postcard
Back

About this postcard

A multi-deck excursion steamer with smoking funnels and flags lies at a timber pier crowded with passengers, its own decks packed for a river outing. Behind the wharf, a red brick riverside building carries part of a sign reading 'MACHIN...' The sender's note explains the local appeal: 'Here is no Beach, no Ocean, for the sake of Detroit to Visit, so they have River trips instead.' Excursion steamers were a common way for Detroit residents to spend a day on the water, and the busy riverfront mixed passenger traffic with the city's working docks.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Dear Charlotte Here is no Beach, no Ocean, for the sake of 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
PostmarkedDetroit, MI, December 3, 1903, 11:30
Stamp
Addressed to
Miss Charlotte. L. Barnest

Amesbury, MA

Postcard record

Postmarked, Detroit, MI
PublisherDetroit Photographic Co.
Series6135
ConditionGood
Place addressedMiss Charlotte. L. Barnest, Amesbury, MA
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1902, perforated vertical sides only
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, green, 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: DETROIT, MICH. DEC 3 11:30 AM 1903. Undivided back ('THIS SIDE FOR THE ADDRESS'); white border; glossy; front copyright 1901 by the Detroit Photographic Co.

Cite this card

Crowded excursion steamer off for a river trip, Detroit, MI, 1903, postcard, c. 1903. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/crowded-excursion-steamer-off-for-a-river-trip-detroit-mi-19. Accessed November 2, 2026.