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Hopi Indian Pueblo with wooden ladders, AZ, 1941

Subjects
Native American LifeResidences
Card type
Linen
Date
c. 1941 (Linen)
Front of Hopi Indian Pueblo with wooden ladders, AZ, 1941, Mr. and Mrs. L. P. Heiss, CA, USA, c. 1941 linen postcard
Front
Back of Hopi Indian Pueblo with wooden ladders, AZ, 1941, Mr. and Mrs. L. P. Heiss, CA, USA, c. 1941 linen postcard
Back

About this postcard

A cluster of flat-roofed Hopi pueblo houses rises in tiers against a low rocky mesa. Tall wooden ladders lean against the walls, and a few small figures and a dog stand in the sandy foreground. The printed caption calls the village a "city of the sky" and places it 512 feet above the valley of Tusuyan (likely Tusayan), where Hopis were living much as they had when Spaniards arrived in 1540. Hopi villages in northern Arizona are among the oldest continuously occupied settlements in what is now the United States, and ladders gave access to rooftops, upper terraces, and kivas.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pencil

Dear Chas May 9 We are at Winslow. They told us at Williams it was only a few feet higher at Grand Canyon was level most all the way so we went. Oh! how I wish you Lafe and the children could see. The Grandest Thing I ever expect to see. We are fine. Love Mother

PublisherJ. R. Willis
118—HOPI INDIAN PUEBLO In this village—situated high upon a mesa 512 feet above the valley of Tusuyan—the Indians are living in practically the same primitive state as when the Spaniards first discovered them in 1540. A visit to this city of the sky and the Hopis (peaceful people) is one long to be remembered.
PostmarkedALBUQUERQUE
Stamp
Addressed to
Mr. and Mrs. L. P. Heiss

150. E. 12th Street Claremont, CA

Postcard record

PostmarkedALBUQUERQUE
PublisherJ. R. Willis
Series118—
ConditionVery good
Place addressedMr. and Mrs. L. P. Heiss, 150. E. 12th Street, Claremont, CA
Stamp3c Liberty Torch, purple
NotesLinen-textured stock with visible horizontal ribbing; no white border; no printed caption on the front. Postmark: ALBUQUERQUE N. MEX. 1941 (partly illegible). Curt Teich linen "C.T. Art-Colortone" back, divided, 3¢ "For Defense" stamp; light edge wear and slight toning.

Cite this card

Hopi Indian Pueblo with wooden ladders, AZ, 1941, postcard, c. 1941. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/hopi-indian-pueblo-with-wooden-ladders-az-1941. Accessed November 2, 2026.