Lot #724: Two Ontario Postcards - "Callander, Ontario" (Photogelatine Engraving Co.) - "Gananoque, Ontario" (Gananoque Reporter "Plastichrome" Colourpicture)

Two Ontario Postcards, both unused. (1) The first card is a "Callander, Ontario, Canada" Postcard, unused, published by the Photogelatine Engraving Co., Toronto. This is a classic example of a mid-20th-century Canadian landscape card. The Photogelatine Engraving Co. (PECO) of Toronto was a dominant force in the Canadian postcard market from the 1920s through the 1950s, specializing in the collotype (or photogelatine) process a process that sat somewhere between a high-end print and a real photograph. . This was a sophisticated, ink-based printing method that did not use the standard "dots" (halftones) found in newspapers. Callander, located on the shores of Lake Nipissing, was a major tourism draw during the 1920s and 30s. While many cards from this area eventually focused on the Dionne Quintuplets (after 1934), earlier cards focused on the "unspoiled" beauty of the North. A card showing just "trees and a lake" was often sold to vacationers at local lodges or the railway station to represent the serene, rugged experience of the Nipissing district. (2) The second card is a "Gananoque, Ontario, Canada" Postcard, unused, showing the Town Gate with the sign "Gananoque: Canadian Gateway to the Thousand Islands" published by the Gananoque Reporter, Gananoque, Ontario in "Plastichrome" by Colourpicture Publishers, Boston, Mass., USA. The "Plastichrome" brand was a trademark of Colourpicture Publishers (based in Boston). These cards became the industry standard in the 1950s. Plastichrome cards are characterized by a high-gloss, plastic-like coating and very saturated, vibrant colors. They used a modern "chrome" color process (photo-chrom) which was cheaper to mass-produce than the older lithographic or real-photo methods but offered a bright, "postcard-perfect" aesthetic that appealed to the booming post-war tourism market. This specific card is a great local artifact because it was published for the Gananoque Reporter, the town's long-standing local newspaper. The "Canadian Gateway to the Thousand Islands" sign and the Town Gate were iconic landmarks designed to greet motorists. This imagery reflects the 1950s era when car travel and family road trips became the primary way people visited the St. Lawrence region. Having the local newspaper as the publisher suggests these were likely sold at newsstands, pharmacies, or the newspaper office itself, serving as both a souvenir and an advertisement for the town’s status. Dimensions: 9 mm x 14 mm Pickup category timeslot {A}