A 5x3.5" vintage RPPC photo postcard (NOT a modern reprint) from the estate of a vintage postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique Mexico postcards.
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Photo Overview
A wonderful real photo postcard showing two canasteros (basket weavers) at work in Toluca, Mexico, surrounded by an impressive array of intricately woven baskets of all shapes and sizes. Both men wear traditional wide-brimmed sombreros; one crouches while finishing a flat woven piece, while the other stands against an adobe brick wall actively weaving the frame of a large basket. The variety of basketry on display - including lidded containers, large carrying baskets, and decorative pieces with geometric patterns - speaks to the rich craft tradition of the Toluca Valley region of the State of Mexico.
This image is numbered 101 in what appears to have been a commercial postcard series, and was produced on Kodak Mexicana, Ltd. photographic paper, confirming this as a genuine real photo postcard (RPPC). The caption along the bottom reads \'Canasteros Toluca, Mex.\' The back is written in pencil with the word \'Mexico.\' The postcard was never mailed.
Historical Notes
Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico, sits at over 8,700 feet elevation and has long been a center of indigenous craft production. The Toluca Valley was home to Mazahua and Otomi artisans whose basket-weaving traditions date back centuries before Spanish colonization. The markets of Toluca - especially the famous Friday market - were well known to travelers and tourists by the early 20th century for their extraordinary variety of woven goods.
Basket weaving from the Toluca region has remained a living tradition. Artisans from communities such as San Miguel Chapultepec and Santa Cruz Atizapan have continued producing woven goods into the present day, though the craft has faced pressure from industrialization and changing markets. Photos like this one, documenting the craft at street level in an earlier era, are prized by collectors of Mexican folk art, crafts history, and Latin American social history.
Browse our complete RPPC Photo Postcard photograph collection.
Text Present
Front caption (bottom center): CANASTEROS TOLUCA, MEX. 101
Front stamp impression (center-bottom area): POSTA
Back (top center, handwritten in pencil): Mexico
Back (left side, printed vertically): KODAK MEXICANA, LTD.
Back (large printed text): TARJETA POSTAL (Translation: Postal Card)
Back (stamp box): SELLO (Translation: Stamp)
Back (top left corner, handwritten): 20/1/11 (possibly a date or catalog notation)
Print analysis
This is a genuine Real Photo Postcard (RPPC) produced on Kodak Mexicana, Ltd. photographic paper, confirming it is a true photographic print rather than a halftone or lithographic reproduction. The Kodak Mexicana, Ltd. paper stock was used during the 1920s-1940s, placing the likely printing period in that era. Given the subject matter, clothing styles, and postcard format, this is most consistent with a 1920s-1930s production. This is a Type 1 original photo postcard - printed close in time to when the photograph was taken. Condition appears very good for its age.
Condition
All postcards we sell are in fair to excellent vintage condition. Please see photos for any tears, folds, smudges, or other age damage that may be present.
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