A century old postcard is a visual treat on the eve of our Glorious Fourth

Welcome Pyne Poynt, Camden, NJ 1910When my friend sent me a scan of his latest eBay auction win I had to agree with him.

It doesn’t hardly get any better than this! This vintage real photo post card shows an early 20th century Camden neighborhood putting on an enthusiastic patriotic display.

You have to click on this, fill your screen, and take a virtual walk down Fifth Street, circa 1910.

A large banner flanked by huge American flags spans the street proclaiming, “Welcome To Pyne Poynt.” Numerous festive paper lanterns and more 48-star American Flags frame the entire street.

Is that a Sullivan’s storefront or a political campaign office?

The boys with their knee-length knickers, white shirts and ties, the girls with their lovely short-sleeve summer dresses and bows in their hair, and of course, the young men with their bow ties, hats, and skimmers all elicit an involuntary smile from the appreciative viewer.

Catch the brave character in the jeff cap at the roof line. Has he just completed attaching flags above that first second-floor window and tying off the line suspending the banner?

Perhaps the occasion recorded here was July 4, 1910. This mailed divided-back post card bears a Camden, N.J. postmark, stamped SEP 9, 1910. The message addressed to a recipient living on River Avenue in Camden reads, “Best Wishes from Edith.”

Photographer Wm. B. Cooper of Medford, N.J. captured this amazing moment a neighborhood’s history over a century ago.

Capture some amazing moments of your own this Glorious Fourth 2013, wherever you are. – John McCormick