Some of the Less-Usual Rotograph Postcards

The Rotograph Co., N. Y. City is best known for scenic postcards (mostly with photos from the eastern half of the United States), published in their millions from 1904 to 1911. But, in an effort to sell to every (reasonable) taste and for every occasion, the company had a variety of less common types of cards.

THE ALPHABET

Composite images using women, children and tree trunks to form letters of the alphabet.

 

Simple company name in red ink

NAMES

Men's names, with images of women filling the letters.

Two different size card stocks, two different logos - the upper one touts a 1906 copyright (on front) and Bromide paper; the lower one has a 1905 copyright and the more conventional simple company name. The postmarks are 1908 (maybe 09) and 1906.

GREETINGS FROM

This card used Bromide paper, was printed in England, and was published by the F. M. Downs Co., Lincoln, Nebr. It is postmarked 1910.

PICTURE FRAME

Uses a tromp l'oeil wooden picture frame around a standard black and white collotype image.

Orange ink on the undivided back, printed in Germany, with a Sol Art Prints sun logo.

Early Sailor-Photographers: A. L. Bauer

 I'm not even certain which naval ship A. L. Bauer was on, but whichever it was appears to have been part of the U. S. Atlantic Fleet during its winter cruise, 1920-21.

FRUIT MARKET PANAMA (c) A. L. BAUER

Sometimes he used his full name.

STREET SCENE, PANAMA

No initials and nothing on the back to identify the photographer, but the handwriting is the same, as is the card stock. It came from a photo album with others marked as Bauer's, so I'm tentatively calling it one of his.

BULL FIGHT, LIMA, PERU

IN HONOR OF U. S. ATLANTIC FLEET

Signed with his initials in a circle, his more common mark.

BULL FIGHTER, LIMA, PERU

LEWIS MACHINE GUN

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

Generally, when Navy ships went to Guantanamo, they did so for extended periods, allowing sailors to mingle with crews from other ships, participate in sports, and practice on long and short target ranges. In the Winter Cruise of 1920/21, the Fleet stopped at Guantanamo on January 9, 1921, for a short visit.

The Lewis machine gun was developed in 1914 but not officially adopted by the U.S. military -- though it appears the British liked this weapon and the U.S. continued to review and test it for years. [Lewis gun - Wikipedia accessed 12/9/21]

CAIMANERA, CUBA

MAIN STREET
CAIMANERA, CUBA

Not signed, but again, the handwriting appears to be the same.

LOS CAÑOS, CUBA

This card doesn't have a title and young seaman Glasenapp doesn't mention where he is.

The postmark suggests that A. L. Bauer was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania during this cruise, as he would find it easiest to sell his photos to his own shipmates as souvenirs.

USS Pennsylvania was the flagship of the US Atlantic Fleet and US Battle Fleet (created by combining Atlantic and Pacific Fleets sometime in 1921) and, according to Wikipedia [accessed 12/2/2021], would have been in Balboa, Panama at the time this card was postmarked.

ARTILLERY DRILL

BY A. L. BAUER INFANTRY DRILL

Why have I concluded that Bauer was in the Navy around 1920? First, the places he photographed. Though not shown here, he took photos in locations that this Fleet Winter Cruise went to, that others (including the Great White Fleet of 1908/1909) did not. Also, all the photo postcards I've seen with his work are of this style:

The AZO "2-up/2-down" triangle style is believed by postcard collectors to have been used from 1910 to 1930.

I'm open to finding out more, though!

Last revised: 12/11/21