Travel Ambitions

 

This advertising postcard was used by Security Trust Company of Lexington, Kentucky in May 1910. Monthly calendar advertising postcards were fairly common from about 1909 to 1914. They were used mainly by banks and home furnishing companies. The calendar was sometimes on the front, and sometimes on the back of the card. This design was probably used by other banks as well.

The advertising message was in the form of a letter from a bank officer dated May 1st:

Dear Friend

   The greatest unsatisfied ambition of  the World is to travel. Without money travel is a locked door. Systematic saving will soon provide you with the funds to unlock the door.

   Travel is knowledge and knowledge is power. A little saved every week soon grows into a surplus large enough to enable you to visit the places so often described in song and story.

   Let us be your depository while creating this travel fund. Your money will accumulate at compound interest.

   Start the account today.

The bottom right side of the card indicates that it is "COPY'T '09 CHAMPION & PUTNAM CHI" (Chicago). The Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1910 Engravings, Prints Etc. Fine Arts has this entry:

[1431-1442
Nos. 1-12. [Advertising cards.] ©
Dec. 15, 1909 ; 2 c. each Dec. 17, 1909 ;
K 4990-5001.

The back has an engraving of the Security Trust Building, and someone has found space to write a personal note.

 

 

Here is an enlarged view of the Security Trust Company building from the back of the postcard:

The Security Trust Building at 269-275 West Short Street in downtown Lexington, Kentucky was the home of the Security Trust & Safety Vault Company. The following information about the building is from UrbanUp:

Construction on the Beaux-Arts Baroque-styled tower began in 1904 by the Hendricks Bros. Company in an unusual manner. A five story section of the building was erected at the corner of Short and Mill streets, and when the western wing was completed, the bank relocated from the Rowe-designed building into the partially finished tower. The old bank building was then demolished and replaced with the eastern wing of the building, and then an additional three stories were added to the top of both wings. The entire building was finished in 1905 and was Lexington’s tallest structure. Interior features included prismatic glass blocks in the sidewalk to partially light the basement, white enameled brick in the interior lightwell to reflect light into the center of the tower and the flexibility of office space on the upper floors.

Here is a Google view of the building from May 2012. I was unable to determine the current status of the building. UrbanUp reported that a restoration proposal was denied in 2010 due to inappropriate materials in the proposal.

View Larger Map

Visit Sepia Saturday

For More Vintage Images