Our Flashback Friday postcard this week depicts a quiet, moonlit springtime night on Capitol Square. But wait, where have I seen that moon before?

No message written on the back this week.

Our featured postcard is an example of the ‘linen’ type, popular in the 1930s and ’40s.

A Linen is a reference to a postcard that has a linen-like fabric texture embossed into its front surface. The Curt Teich Co. of Chicago was the first to use this texture for large scale production starting in 1931. Some publishers produced postcards with a linen texture on them years earlier as novelties, but only cards manufactured after 1931, when they dominated the market, are referred to as Linens. Though printed alongside photochromes for many years, the use of linens ended by 1959 as chromes became more popular with the public.

Ok, so where have I seen that moon before? Well, it bears a remarkable resemblance to the full moon depicted on another linen postcard we brought you a while back. That card, mailed in 1947, shows Fayetteville Street at night.

The fact is, the images on these night view linen cards were often so heavily color-retouched in production with standardized elements such as brightly illuminated windows, wispy clouds, and full moons, that the ultimate result had an almost cartoonish look.

By comparison, here’s a more ‘natural’ view of the State Capitol at night. The vantage point is the same as in this week’s postcard. GNR publisher emeritus, John Morris, took this photo a few years back, and discovered something uncanny — could there be a ghost prowling the Capitol grounds at night?

Photo credit: John Morris

Our Flashback Friday ‘linen’ postcard this week was published by long-time Raleigh stationer James E. Thiem Sr., and was printed by the Curt Teich Co. of Chicago under the trade name ‘C.T. Art-Colortone.’

Curt Teich Co.   1893-1974 Chicago, IL

A major publisher and printer. Their U.S. factories turned out more cards in quantity than any other printer. They published a wide range of national view-cards of America and Canada. Many consider them one of the finest producers of White Border Cards. The Linen Type postcard came about through their innovations as they pioneered the use of offset lithography. They were purchased by Regensteiner Publishers in 1974 which continued to print cards at the Chicago plant until 1978.

“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!