From the Archives — Sept. 7, 2023

Leather postcards were popular during 1903-1910 as collectibles. These postcards were decorated with the use of pyrography. Pyrography is the free-handed art of decorating leather or wood" using burn marks from the tip of a sharp tool heated by fire, known as a poker. It is also called "pokerwork" or "wood burning." The term pyrography means "writing with fire" (Greek). As the leather was very thin and soft, designs were burned into it, and color was often applied afterward.

By 1907, the U.S. Postal Service had banned the mailing of leather postcards because they were getting jammed in the new sorting machines. They continued to be sold up until 1910, and people still mailed them within paper envelopes.

These leather postcards are from the Dr. and Mrs. Ezra Esher Fry Collection and were donated to the museum in 2007 by their granddaughter, Janet Morrison.

The Boundary County Historical Society and Museum, 7229 Main, Bonners Ferry, sponsors this column.

Visit the museum Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and you can visit the website at www.boundarycountymuseum.org or the museum’s Facebook page for historical photos and stories, and to see upcoming events. The museum can also be reached at doyouremember@meadowcrk.com or by telephone at 208-267-7720.