Lot #723: Two Vintage 1920s North Bay Ontario Postcards - "C.P.R Station" - "Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Station" - Rare "Heliotype Co." (Ottawa)

Two Vintage 1920s North Bay Ontario Postcards, both unused, both produced by the "Heliotype Co" right here in Ottawa. The first card shows a real photograph of "C.P.R Station, North Bay, Ontario". The North Bay C.P.R. Station (Canadian Pacific Railway) was the main line connecting Montreal to Vancouver. The station depicted in this card (a brick structure built around 1903) was the heart of the city’s passenger travel. It remains a landmark today, though it has transitioned to other uses. The second card shows a real photograph of "T. and N.O. Ry. Station, North Bay, Ontario". The Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway ("T. & N.O. Ry." Station was the provincial railway (now Ontario Northland). It was built to tap into the mineral and timber wealth of the North (Cobalt, Timmins). This station was located at the foot of Regina Street, which saw massive traffic during the silver and gold rushes. These card are exceptional finds, particularly because they were produced by the Heliotype Co. Ltd. based in Ottawa. The Heliotype Company was renowned for its high-quality reproduction. While many Canadian postcards of that era were printed in Great Britain or Germany, Heliotype allowed for domestic production with a level of detail that rivaled European printers. Their "real photograph" style—or high-quality lithographic reproductions of photographs—was a staple for documenting Canadian infrastructure. These two Vintage 1920s North Bay Ontario Postcards represent a significant era in Northern Ontario’s development, where North Bay served as the "Gateway to the North" as a rare "two-station" town, for two competing rail giants, reflecting its strategic importance to the province's economy. Dimensions: 9 mm x 14 mm Pickup category timeslot {A}