Lot #803: Vintage 1900s USA Minnesota Postcard - "Lagoon and Conservatory, Como Park, St. Paul" - V.O. Hammon Co. - "UNICO" - ca. 1915-1920 - Unused

One Vintage 1900s USA Minnesota Postcard, unused, showing a large glass greenhouse and lake, with title caption "Lagoon and Conservatory, Como Park, St. Paul". This postcard indicates the publisher as "V. O. Hammon Publishing Co., Chicago. Trade Mark" and has a logo of a sailing ship. The stamp box has a different "Unico" logo ("trade mark, registered")/ No Stamp. Never Postally Used. No Message. This V.O. Hammon postcard captures one of the crown jewels of the "City Beautiful" movement in the American Midwest. The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory (then simply the Como Conservatory) had just opened in 1915, making this card a record of "Cutting-Edge" municipal heritage at the time of its publication. Designed by German architect Frederick Nussbaumer, the conservatory was an engineering marvel of glass and iron. The foreground "Lagoon" was a vital part of the park's drainage and aesthetic design. The V.O. Hammon Publishing Co. was a powerhouse in the Chicago and Minneapolis markets. This card likely utilized German lithographic techniques to achieve the "full colour" glow of the glass greenhouse reflecting in the lagoon. The "Sailing Ship" was Hammon's primary trademark, symbolizing the flow of trade and information. The "Unico" mark in the stamp box refers to the United Art Publishing Co. (New York), a major distributor that often collaborated with Hammon to get these cards into gift shops and stationery stores across the country. The presence of the Unico trademark in the stamp box, along with the "Post Card" typography, suggest a production date between 1915 and 1920. Dimensions: 9 mm x 14 mm Pickup category timeslot {A}