To the group:
I am trying to track down information on postcard advertising produced by the
Soo Line and CPR during the early part of the 20th century. I have a large
collection of Soo Line postcards from around 1905 to the late teens, and I'm
trying to pull together some background information for a possible article in
the Soo Line Historical Society magazine.
Although the cards are promoting the Soo, I have strong reason to believe that
the advertising effort was directed by the Canadian Pacific. CPR had a network
of trains and steamships at the time, and the Soo Line could potentially bring
a lot of passenger traffic from south of the border. A good majority of the
postcards depict scenes from western Canada, and many of the advertised trains,
services, vacation packages and one-way settlers' fares are promoting those
areas. The "Train DeLuxe" to Spokane, "By Way of the Canyons," is a popular
advertising subject.
One of my favorite sets is a pair of postcards from the 1905-1906 time frame.
One card shows a wagon train with the caption "Twin Cities to Winnipeg 15
days", and the other shows a steam-powered passenger train with "Twin Cities to
Winnipeg 15 hours."
Along with the postcards, I have two sheets of stamps with similar scenic
advertising. Some of them promote trips to Panama-Pacific in San Francisco,
which was an exposition held in 1915.
I was given a contact to someone in the CPR Archives a few months ago, but he
told me they had nothing related to the advertising. Any information, links or
contacts about this advertising would be very much appreciated.
Regards,
Joe Fishbein, West St. Paul, MN
