Rows of whitewashed above-ground tombs and vaults, several topped with crosses, line a narrow sandy walk in St. Louis Cemetery, New Orleans. The cemetery, established in 1789, is the oldest surviving burial ground in the city and is famous for its wall vaults and oven-like tombs, a response to the high water table of the Mississippi delta. The card was published by the Detroit Photographic Co., whose photochrom process reproduced hand-colored photographs as lithographic prints.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pen
Nov 17 1902 [illegible]
This picture will leave
for New York tomorrow to
be [illegible] in [illegible] [illegible]
where the bodies are
[illegible] and the [illegible]
to [illegible] [illegible] bodies
are all above the ground
PostmarkedNew Orleans, LA, December 5, 1905, 10:30
White border; handwritten message in blue ink on the right side of the front; light edge wear and soiling; color print with a grainy photochrom texture.
Postmark: NEW ORLEANS LA DEC 5 10 30 AM 1905 (also a receiving mark, AMHERST MASS DEC 8, partly cut off at the lower edge). Undivided back with red "POST CARD" heading and "THIS SIDE FOR THE ADDRESS"; 1c Franklin adhesive stamp; front carries a 1901 Detroit Photographic copyright line. Light edge/corner wear, a few foxing spots.
Cite this card
Old vaults in St. Louis Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana, circa 1901, postcard, c. 1907. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/old-vaults-in-st-louis-cemetery-new-orleans-louisiana-circa. Accessed October 24, 2026.
