Florida Alligator Border Postcards

Perhaps nothing symbolizes Florida in the popular imagination more than the American Alligator. From the earliest Native American and European explorers to the present day, visitors have maintained a fascination with the cold-blooded, freshwater reptile. With a name derived from the Spanish word legarto (the lizard), alligators can grow to an average of 13 to 15 feet and weigh between 500 and 1,000 pounds. Once hunted and harvested to near extinction (from 1967 to 1987, it was a listed as an endangered species), the alligator has thrived in recent years, although its natural habitat has not. Nonetheless, “gators” can be found throughout Florida’s popular culture, from tourist attractions and alligator wrestlers to postcards and team mascots.  (Florida Memory)

Many people now collect old postcards, for they are abundant, pretty,
easy to store, and mostly inexpensive. Among the rarest and most sought after
postcards are those with alligator borders. Around 1908, the New York publisher
S. Langsdorf issued a series of 165 Florida postcards, decorated with three
embossed alligators and, naturally, printed in Germany. Most of the scenes are
of the biggest cities and tourist attractions of the day, especially St.
Augustine. A few are of a young, still small city–Miami.  Click on any of them below and enjoy a view of old Florida and it’s culture, industry, and charm.

 

001 (2) 001 (3) 001 (4) 002 (2) 002 (3) 002 (4) 003 (2) 003 (3) 003 (4) 004 (2) 004 (3) 004 (4) 005 (2) 005 (3) 005 (4) 006 (2) 006 (3) 006 (4) 007 (2) 007 (3) 007 (4) 008 (2) 008 (3) 008 (4) 009 (2) 009 (3) 009 (4) 010 (2) 010 (3) 010 (4) 011 (2) 011 (3) 011 (4) 012 (2) 012 (3) 012 (4) 013 (2) 013 (3) 013 (4) 014 (2) 014 (3) 014 (4) 015 (2) 015 (3) 015 (4) 016 (2) 016 (3) 016 (4) 017 (2) 017 (3) 017 (4) 018 (2) 018 (3) 018 (4) 019 (2) 019 (3) 019 (4) 020 (2) 020 (3) 020 (4) 021 (2) 021 (3) 021 (4) 022 (2) 022 (3) 022 (4) 023 (2) 023 (3) 023 (4) 024 (2)024 (3) 024 (4) 025 (2) 025 (3) 025 (4) 026 (2) 026 (3) 026 (4) 027 (2) 027 (3) 027 (4) 028 (2) 028 (3) 028 (4) 029 (2) 029 (3) 029 (4) 030 (2) 030 (3) 030 (4) 031 (2) 031 (3) 031 (4) 032 (2) 032 (3) 032 (4)033 (2) 033 (3) 033 (4) 034 (2) 034 (3) 034 (4) 035 (2) 035 (3) 035 (4) 036 (4) 037 (3) 037 (4) 038 (2) 038 (3) 038 (5) 039 (2) 039 (3) 039 (4) 040 (2) 040 (3) 040 (4) 041 (2) 041 (3) 041 (4) 042 (2) 042 (3) 042 (4) 043 (2) 043 (3) 043 (4) 044 (2) 044 (3) 044 (4) 045 (2) 045 (3) 045 (4) 046 (2) 046 (3) 046 (4) 046 (5) 047 (2) 047 (3) 047 (4) 048 (2) 048 (3) 048 (4) 049 (2) 049 (3) 049 (4) 050 (2) 050 (3) 050 (4) 051 (2) 051 (3) 051 (4) 052 (2) 052 (3) 052 (4) 053 (2) 053 (3) 053 (4) 054 (2)

«
»