Fresh boiled lobster, New England, circa 1945

About this postcard

A cooked lobster, turned bright red in the boil, is photographed from above on a pale wooden surface. The claws, legs, and segmented tail are laid out plainly, the way the shellfish would look on a serving platter or picnic table. The printed caption calls it "A Fresh Boiled Lobster from the cool waters of New England." Lobstering was a long-standing coastal New England trade, worked from small boats with baited traps, and boiled lobster was a familiar summer dish along the shore. Tichnor Bros. of Boston, a prolific printer of view and novelty cards, issued the image in the glossy color style that replaced tinted halftones in the mid-twentieth century.