SKU: A1-(0030)                                                                            Have A Question? Please Message Us! We are more than happy to help.

The Cliff House Ogunquit, Maine (Bald Head-House Shore) 1950s Postcard Un-posted Highlights: The Cliff House story begins in 1866. The Civil War had just ended, and the nation turned its attention to reconstruction. One of the North’s military necessities during that war was to standardize railway gauges. This laid the foundation for a coordinated railway system. The Boston and Maine Railroad was about to add a spur to York, Maine and this news was not lost on Elsie Jane, wife of Captain Theodore Weare. She invested their money to purchase land on Bald Head Cliff and began planning a resort. Her brother, Captain Charles Perkins, built Cliff House with wood from family lots, milled in their own sawmill on Beach Street in Ogunquit. The Weare Family paid their carpenters one dollar a day in gold. Around 1910, Elsie Jane, then in her late 70s, turned over control of The Cliff House to her son, Charles, to manage the Inn and his his older brother, Edward T. Weare was the proprietor. Edward Weare and his wife Bertha gave birth to their daughter, Elinor, at Cliff House. Elinor was born at the resort in 1916. The Cliff House thrived through the roaring 20’s, as well as the precarious 30’s. Then during World War II the resort was drafted to aid the country’s war efforts. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took over the property, built a radar station, and kept a 24-hour-a-day vigil for Nazi submarines in the coastal waters. German U-Boats sank 152 Allied ships in the North Atlantic in January and February of 1942. All coastal cities and towns observed nightly blackouts to prevent ships from being silhouetted against the night sky. So important was this installation on Bald Head Cliff that the Weare Family was barred from their own land. When peace was reestablished, The Cliff House faced an uncertain future. Substantial damage and severe neglect destroyed the once extravagant grounds. Rumors had it that The Cliff House would never reopen. Charles, discouraged by the condition of the land and nearly penniless, having been deprived of income during the seizure of the family business, decided to sell. He placed this ad in a 1946 edition of the Wall Street Journal: "For Sale. 144 rooms, 90 acres, over 2500’ of ocean frontage for just $50,000." Without any offers, Charles turned the property over to his son Maurice, an army veteran, who accepted the challenge with single-minded determination. Money was so scarce he hand-rolled the mile-long blacktop driveway himself. In 1948, he married Charlotte Williams, The Cliff House secretary, and together they labored to restore the resort’s prestige, overcoming countless obstacles along the way. Like earlier generations, Maurice and Charlotte made major improvements to the Maine oceanfront resort demanded by the times. In 1960, they built the area’s first swimming pool, and three years later, they erected the first motor hotel in a resort setting. In 1974, the fourth generation of Weare Family Maine innkeepers succeeded to The Cliff House directorship. Kathryn M. Weare filed a master plan for the Maine resort’s future and launched a bold program of upgrading and expansion. The 1990 Maine summer vacation season opened with a new entrance, welcoming the guests into a lobby area. Gradually, in a series of phases that began in fall of 2000, older buildings gave way to new structures. In May of 2002, the Cliff Spa opened on the site of the original hotel. It featured 32 oversized guest rooms with gas-fired stoves. The long-awaited grand connector project between the main building and the spa building was completed in September 2004. This coastal Maine resort recently completed a landmark transformation across 70-oceanfront acres. Cliff House Maine reopened in August 2016. In 2018, the Cliff House Maine proudly announced completion of the second and final phase of the hotel’s latest landmark transformation. The resort debuted 39 specialty suites and a quintessential New England cottage, fondly named the Pine Cone Cottage by the Weare family, now referred to as the Weare Cottage today. Product Description: Standard, Chrome, Printed (Lithograph), Real Photo Postcard Size: 3.5 x 5.5 Condition: Card has very minimal age related wear. View photos for details. Publisher: Bill Bard AssociatesCategory: Un-posted Postmark: N/A  Copyright: Photo by Bill Bard Associates For sell is an original vintage postcard as shown above. Please view images of the item to determine it's condition. Cards from all eras are popular as they often contain images of cars, stores, and places that people may recognize. All cards and photos are shipped within a protective folded card which is all contained inside a first class envelope. There are popular postcard collecting topics. Don't limit yourself to those topics, just collect anything that interests you. There are postcards for any taste or budget. Many people collect topics related to their profession and/or other hobbies. We are a U.S. seller. This product is in stock and ready to ship.

Glossary of Postcard Collecting Terms

1. Advertising postcard. - A postcard that advertises a product, service, or event.
2. Advertising trade card. - A card that advertises something, but is not a postcard.
3. Antique postcard. - Usually refers to a postcard published before 1920.
4. Artist-signed. - The artist's signature appears on the postcard illustration.
5. Chrome. - A printed glossy-surface postcard that was based on a color photo.
6. Comic. - A humorous postcard.
7. Continental size. - Size is approximately 4 X 6 inches.
8. Deltiology. - The hobby of postcard collecting.
9. Divided back. - Card back is divided into a message space on the left and an address space on the right, allowed in the U.S. since 1907.
10. Embossed. - The card design is printed so it is raised above the surface.
11. Exaggeration. - Part of the image is exaggerated by scaling it much larger than the rest of the image.
12. Exposition. - Usually an official World's Fair, but there are also smaller regional fairs called expositions.
13. Folder. - Reproductions of postcard views (about 12 to 18) printed on both sides of a long strip of paper that folds up into an attached wrapper.
14. Golden Age. - Period during early 1900s before World War I when postcard collecting was very popular.
15. Greetings. - Greeting cards printed as postcards for birthdays, holidays, friendship, etc.
16. Heavily embossed. - Degree of embossing is greater than average and colors appear to be airbrushed rather than printed realistically. Sometimes they will have a flat paper backing.
17. Hold-to light. - Usually means multi-layered postcards with parts of the top layer cut out. When the card is held to the light, the cut-out areas (such as a windows, lights, sun, or moon) appear illuminated. Another type has oiled sections that transmit the light.
18. Installment set. - A set of individual postcards that form a larger picture when placed side by side.
19. Large letter. - Outlines of large-lettered place names are filled with images.
20. Linen. - Postcards printed on paper with a linen-textured surface.
21. Linen era. - Early 1930s to early 1950s.
22. Lot. - Multiple postcards offered for sale as a group.
23. Mail art. - Art exchanged through the mail - includes postcards, faux postage, etc.
24. Maximum card. - A postage stamp with an appropriate cancellation placed on the picture side of a postcard having a similar image (maximum concurrence of postcard, stamp, and postmark).
25. Modern era. - Mid 1970s or later, usually continental size.
26. Multi-view. - A card with multiple pictures.
27. Name band. - Card with multiple picture areas separated by a solid color band printed with a location name.
28. Novelty. - Postcard made of unusual materials or having an unusual shape.
29. Old postcard. - Can mean any card that is not new, but more often means cards from the 1920s or earlier.
30. Oversized. - Length of the card is greater than 6 inches.
31. Pioneer. - Card produced before the Private Mailing Card Act of 1898.
32. Postal card. - A card with preprinted postage supplied by the U.S. Postal Service. 
33. Private Mailing Card. - The term "Private Mailing Card" was printed on the address side of privately produced postal cards between 1898 and 1901.
34. Rack cards. - Modern advertising postcards distributed free on racks.
35. Real photo. - A photographic image printed on photographic paper with a postcard back. Images printed on cardstock by a printing press are not real photos.
36. Series. - A group of cards published on a particular subject and having a similar design. Often, but not always, has the word series on the back.
37. Stamp box. - A printed rectangular box in the upper right corner of the postcard back that indicates where the postage stamp should be placed.
38. Standard size. - Postcard measuring 3½ X 5½ inches.
39. Tinsel. - Substance similar to glitter that was used to decorate postcards.
40. Topical. - A card that fits into a specific subject category.
41. Topographical. - Same as a view card.
42. Undivided back. - Postcard published before 1907 when only the address was allowed on the back of the card.
43. View cards. - Cards based on realistic images of specific locations.
44. Vintage. - Usually refers to cards from the 1930s through the 1960s, but could mean any card at least twenty-five years old.

Postcard types and eras - Postcards are frequently classified by the era in which they were produced. The following descriptions of five eras refer to cards made in, or especially for, the United States market. There are also some earlier and less common "pioneer" era postcards.

Early Twentieth Century - The Golden Age of postcards lasted from the beginning of the century until about 1914. Before World War I, most of the better quality cards were printed in Europe. Postcards were very popular as collectibles, and many were saved. Printing was usually high quality, though many of the comics are cheap looking. Greeting cards are colorful and usually embossed. View cards usually have good detail, deep colors, and no border. Most view cards are based on black-and-white photos with color added. Real photo cards printed on photo paper were made in limited quantities on a wide variety of local subjects. Studio portraits and family snapshots were also often printed as postcards.

White Border - White border postcards were produced mainly from about 1914 to 1932. View cards usually have white borders and paler colors than earlier postcards. The printing is usually not as good as that on earlier cards. Paper stock is usually coated and has a flat non-glossy surface. Most of the cards from this era are views. Greeting postcards were less common and usually were not embossed.

Note: Some newer postcards have white borders, but they are not considered "white border" postcards.

Linen - From 1933 until the early 1950s most U.S. views and comics were printed on card stock with a linen texture. Advertising, large-letter, expositions, and comics from this era are usually colorful and attractive. In my opinion, the view cards from this era are less attractive than earlier or later cards. Real photos of tourist areas were also fairly common in this era. The real photos cards from this era are generally glossier and more contrasty than earlier ones and have titles in white letters near the bottom of the picture.

Standard/Chrome - Chrome cards have a glossy surface and are based on color photos. This type of postcard was produced as early as 1939, but was not common until the mid-1950s. Until the mid-1970s most U.S. cards were the "standard" size, approximately 3-1/2 X 5-1/2 inches.

Continental/Modern - "Continental" size is approximately 4 X 6 inches. This size was common in Europe earlier than in the U.S. Most of the cards sold in the U.S. since the mid-1970s are this size. View cards are relatively fewer and more generic than in earlier eras. A large variety of subjects have been produced on modern cards aimed at collectors. These include both individual cards and many books of removable postcards. Holiday greeting postcards are available but not very common. They were more common in the 1980s than they are now.

Super-sized postcards approximately 5" X 7" have been appearing more recently. These are smaller than most of the over-sized cards of the past, but are too large to mail at the regular postcard rate (maximum size: 6 inches long by 4-1/4 inches high).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Condition: Used
• Condition: See description for details.
• Number of Items in Set: 1
• Unit of Sale: Single Unit
• Occasion: Vacation
• Size: 3.5 x 5.5
• Custom Bundle: No
• Year Manufactured: 1950
• Features: Historic Culture
• Postage Condition: Unposted
• Signed: No
• Material: Cardboard, Paper
• City: Ogunquit
• Original/Licensed Reprint: Licensed Reprint
• Franchise: Bill Bard Associates
• Brand/Publisher: Bill Bard Associates
• Subject: The Cliff House
• Modified Item: No
• Continent: North America
• Type: Printed (Lithograph)
• Era: Chrome (c. 1939-present)
• Theme: Post
• Region: Maine
• Country: USA
• Time Period Manufactured: 1950-1959
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Circulated: No

See More