For Flashback Friday this week we have a very special early 20th century postcard. This decorative card features both color tinting and high-relief embossing. And as if that alone weren’t enough, the card is embellished with gold leaf highlights.

The North Carolina State Capitol is located in the beautiful city of Raleigh. The State has an area of 52,250 square miles and was one of the original thirteen colonies. North Carolina, known as the ‘Old North State’ and the ‘Turpentine State’, received its name in 1654, and has as its floral emblem the chrysanthemum.

We have published postcards featuring Raleigh’s most recognizable landmark, the State Capitol, in previous Flashback Friday posts, but I think this one is the most unusual. The draped American flag, the United States Great Seal, and North Carolina’s Great Seal are all relief embossed, which gives these graphic elements a three dimensional effect. And the gold-leafed frame of the image itself is, well, just gilding the lily!

I spotted three odd-ball references to North Carolina in the notation on the back of the card. Any Goodnight Raleigh readers care to guess what these are?

This week’s embossed and color-tinted postcard was published by Samuel Langdorf & Co. of New York.

Samuel Langdorf & Co.   (1906-1918)
67 Crosby Street, New York, NY

Langdorf published black and white and elaborately tinted halftone postcards. They are most noted for their cards with highly decorative borders incorporating elaborate motifs. Langdorf cards were printed in Germany.

Embossing is the process of pressing a molded die form into a flat sheet of paper to create a design in relief. After a sheet of paper is printed on, it is embossed by running it through two die forms; a bas-relief die which is placed on the press bed, while the mold-like die applies pressure to the paper from above. Embossing was a common feature on novelty postcards and is often found on greeting cards.

“Flashback Friday” is a weekly feature of Goodnight, Raleigh! in which we showcase vintage postcards depicting our historic capital city. We hope you enjoy this week end treat!