Yellowstone National Park Bear Begging Vintage Car 1930s - Photo Postcard

USD 14.00

Condition: Not specified

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View Yellowstone National Park Bear Begging Vintage Car 1930s - Photo Postcard with current marketplace pricing, condition, product images and item details. The 'Hold-Up Bear' was a famous Yellowstone institution during the 1920s through the 1960s. This is considered a Type 1 item for its era of production. Print analysis. A 3.5x5.5" vintage collotype photo postcard (NOT a modern reprint) from the estate of a vintage postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique postcards. * We always automatically combine orders for shipping, so add as many postcards as you’d like to your order! Photo Overview A charming and whimsical linen-era postcard captures one of Yellowstone National Park's most beloved roadside spectacles - a large brown bear standing upright on its hind legs, pressing its paws and nose against the window of a parked automobile, begging for treats from the occupants inside. A second vintage automobile, appearing to be a late 1920s or early 1930s touring car, is visible in the background, along with a backdrop of tall conifers typical of Yellowstone's forests. This image perfectly encapsulates the era when roadside bear feeding was considered a charming tourist attraction rather than a dangerous wildlife hazard. The postcard is number 932 in a series published by Sanborn Souvenir Co. of Denver, Colorado, printed using the 'C.T. Art-Colortone' linen process. The vivid hand-colored imagery and vintage cars place this squarely in the 1930s-1940s golden age of linen postcards. Historical Notes The 'Hold-Up Bear' was a famous Yellowstone institution during the 1920s through the 1960s. Bears regularly stopped cars along park roads, and tourists eagerly fed them from their windows - a practice that park rangers initially tolerated and that became a defining part of the Yellowstone tourist experience. The park even operated open-air garbage feeding grounds where visitors could watch bears at close range. This all changed dramatically in the late 1960s and early 1970s when biologist John Craighead and others demonstrated the serious dangers of bear habituation to humans and human food. Park Superintendent Jack Anderson and biologist Glen Cole implemented a controversial but necessary policy shift, closing the feeding grounds and enforcing strict no-feeding rules beginning around 1970. The transition was difficult - bear-human conflicts surged temporarily, and many habituated bears had to be euthanized or relocated. Today, Yellowstone's bear management is considered a model of wildlife conservation, and the grizzly and black bear populations have recovered significantly. The carefree 'Hold-Up Bear' era depicted on this postcard is now a distant memory, making images like this a poignant historical document of a very different relationship between tourists and wildlife. Print analysis This is a C.T. Art-Colortone linen postcard produced by Sanborn Souvenir Co. of Denver, Colorado. Linen postcards of this type were produced from approximately the late 1920s through the early 1950s. The one-cent stamp denomination requirement and the style of the automobiles depicted place this most likely in the 1930s-early 1940s. This is a standard collotype/linen-process color postcard - not a real photo postcard (RPPC). This is considered a Type 1 item for its era of production. Condition All postcards we sell are in fair to excellent vintage condition. Category: Collectibles › Postcards & Supplies › Postcards › Topographical Postcards.