Hamburg Postcards
N. Main Street Hamburg, Mich., postmarked 1909. A group of people are gathered outside a building on the west side of North Main Street. A small sign under the overhang identifies the building as the Post Office. The first post office opened in 1837 as Hamburgh. It changed to North Hamburg, then Livingston, and finally in 1894 to Hamburg. The village was platted in 1837.
Main St Looking North, Hamburg, M. A slightly later view of North Main Street. The second building looking north is signed Deering Machinery.
Both postcards are examples of “Real Photo” postcards. Most deltiologists, or postcard collectors, prefer This type of vintage town scene. They are called Real Photo because they were published from a “real” photo taken by a photographer. A limited number of copies were made and distributed. The details of the scene are more vivid, and there usually was no added detail. For these reasons, the card has a bit more historic value.