Greetings from Kansas City, U.S.A. is the title of the post card, one of a set of eight of the first post cards made picturing Kansas City scenes. The card, lithographed in soft shades of reds, greens, blues and tans was copyrighted in 1899 by G. H. Otto. That was only one year after an act of Congress had legalized sending post cards through the mails. Before that only one-cent government postal cards had been legal. On the back of the post card, designated for address exclusively is this information: Private Mailing Card. Authorized by Act of Congress, May 4th, 1898. The act became effective on July 1, 1898. It stipulated that private mailing cards would have to approximate one-cent government cards in size, quality and weight. The post office had issued a scenic post card commemorating the Columbian Exposition of 1893, held in Chicago. These cards, with the signatures of the exposition's officials, were the forerunners of private mailing cards later issued by hundreds of publishers. The old card pictured is titled Junction. The scene was the junction of Main and Delaware at 9th Street, with the old brick Diamond building in the center. Here, too, the cable cars met and transfers were made to points all over the city. The early river town on the levee had moved south and was on its way to becoming a big city. The junction was the hub of downtown. Research has given us little information on the copyrighter, G. H. Otto. Was he artist, publisher or merchandiser? His name does not appear in these categories in the old city directories. The 1898 directory does list a Gustav H. Otto as a clerk at the First National Bank, with a residence of 408 Aldine Place. The First National Bank's location at this time was north of the junction at 726 Main, with E. F. Swinney president, F. F. Richards, vice president and H. T. Abernathy cashier. The 1899 directory lists Otto as Gus H. Otto, bookkeeper at the First National Bank. From then on he changed jobs several times. In 1900 he was listed as a bookkeeper for Ladd-Penny-Swazey Live Stock Commission Co. and in 1901 as bookkeeper for the Charles Knapp Hardware Company. Kansas City Times, April 10, 1981.
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