Giant grape vine, San Gabriel, CA, circa 1907
- Card type
- Lithograph
About this postcard
A massive, gnarled grape vine rises from the ground and spreads across a heavy wooden arbor of posts and beams, with a bench at the right. The vine was a celebrated sight at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, one of the Spanish missions founded in the late 18th century. Known as the Mission Grape, it was brought to California by the Franciscan missionaries, and its small blue grapes were used for wine. Its trunk measured 8 ft. 3 in. in circumference, and its branches covered half an acre, held up by sixty posts. The plant was promoted as the largest grape vine in the world and treated as a mission-era relic about a century old.
Postcard Details
No address detected
Postcard record
| Publisher | Benham Company |
|---|---|
| Series | 1106 |
| Condition | Good |
| Place depicted | San Gabriel, CA |
| Publisher | Benham Company, Los Angeles, CA |
| Notes | Tinted halftone print, no white border; printed series number 1106; light edge and corner wear. No postmark. Divided-back "POST CARD" stock with printed "This Space for Message" / "This Space for Address" panels; published by Benham Company, Los Angeles, Cal., "Made in California"; "Neuwero Calitype Process" printer's bug emblem; paper loss/tear at left edge over the message; pencil "250" at lower right. Message includes "at the founding of Cal., the Franciscan Missions," with "Cal." struck through by the writer. |
Cite this card
Giant grape vine, San Gabriel, CA, circa 1907, postcard, c. 1907. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/giant-grape-vine-san-gabriel-ca-circa-1907. Accessed November 3, 2026.