Vintage Postcard 1961 Ketchikan Alaska Pulp Mill Ward Cove Seattle Forestry

Social History: The handwritten message from "Meriam" to "Mrs. Lela Cunningham" adds a personal layer of social history, documenting a traveler’s journey from Seattle to L.A. and mentioning a local birth ("Glad Mary Lou had a girl"). 

Scene: The card describes the Ketchikan plant as a "new modern $65,000,000 Pulp Plant," a staggering sum in 1961 dollars that highlights the era's focus on industrial expansion. The postcard features a person in bright red clothing in the foreground, likely a tourist or local resident, taking a photograph of the mill. 

Postal History: A 4-cent Fifth World Forestry Congress commemorative stamp issued to honor the international forestry meeting held in Seattle from August 29 to September 10, 1960. The use of a Seattle postmark on a forestry-themed stamp used for a postcard of an Alaskan logging mill makes this a highly thematic and desirable item for collectors of "Forestry" or "Washington State" postal history.

Era: Chrome Era
Size: Standard 3.5 x 5.5"
Photographer: Color photo by Mac's Foto Shop, Anchorage
Type: Photochrome (Chrome), printed with "Natural Color" technology by Mike Roberts.
Publisher: C.P. Johnston Company of Seattle, Washington
Condition: The card has clear handwriting and a legible postmark. Minor edge wear and light yellowing on the reverse, which is standard for a 60-plus-year-old document.

This is an authentic vintage item. Use the zoom tool to inspect the photos for a detailed view of the condition.