When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Offered here is a beautiful antique real photo postcard featuring
“First Baptist Church, Tama Iowa No. 14”
This striking early twentieth-century RPPC captures the First Baptist Church in Tama, Iowa, framed by large mature trees and photographed with rich contrast and excellent architectural detail. The church’s brick construction, arched stained-glass windows, and bell tower reflect the traditional ecclesiastical architecture common throughout Midwestern communities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Church postcards were among the most popular community-issued postcards of the Golden Age and Real Photo eras, serving both as local pride pieces and as visual records of important civic and religious institutions. Small-town Iowa church postcards remain highly collectible today because many buildings have since been altered or demolished, making surviving photographic postcards valuable historical documents.
This card is a genuine Real Photo Postcard (RPPC), produced from an actual photographic negative rather than lithographic printing. The sepia-toned image displays the clarity and tonal depth collectors look for in authentic RPPCs. The reverse features an early divided back format and includes a 1-cent green George Washington stamp with a Tama, Iowa January 18, 1913 postmark.
The front is marked “No. 14,” suggesting this postcard was part of a local real photo series documenting important buildings or landmarks around Tama, Iowa.
Collector Details:
- First Baptist Church, Tama, Iowa
- Real Photo Postcard (RPPC)
- Card number No. 14
- Divided back postcard
- Postmarked Tama, Iowa – January 18, 1913
- 1-cent green George Washington stamp
- Genuine photographic printing process
- Early Golden Age / RPPC era
- Postally used with handwritten message
- Religious and church architecture subject
This postcard would make an excellent addition for collectors of:
- Iowa postcards and local history
- Church and religious architecture
- Baptist church memorabilia
- Real Photo Postcards (RPPCs)
- Small-town Americana
- Early 1900s postal history
- Midwest historical ephemera
- Antique architectural photography
The combination of authentic 1913 postal use, real photo production, and strong architectural imagery gives this postcard excellent collector and display appeal.
Condition:
Antique condition consistent with age and postal use. Card shows visible age wear including corner wear, edge wear, surface wear, spotting/foxing, light creasing, scratches, and album/storage wear. Postally used with writing on the reverse and cancellation marks present. There may also be bends, stains, or additional imperfections associated with postcards over 100 years old.
Please carefully review all photos using the magnifier/zoom feature to closely inspect the postcard’s condition details including corners, edges, creases, writing, stains, surface wear, foxing, and any other imperfections prior to purchase.
A wonderful and historically significant early Iowa church RPPC with excellent small-town Americana and religious architecture appeal.
