Santa Barbara, California - 1920's

These views of Santa Barbara are published by W.W. Osborne of Santa Barbara. The cards were manufactured by the Albertype Co. of Brooklyn, New York. When the divided back postcard were authorized, the Albertype company created a line down the back of their cards with the words "Post Cards of Quality"...and I couldn't agree more! These cards also label "Hand-Colored" on them. The coloring on these cards (and the other cards of theirs that I have) is done with subtlety. Unlike many colored cards that tend to be bold and garish.

Santa Barbara 's first and only eight-story building was designed by A.B. Rosenthal and constructed by Charles Urton and opened April 9, 1924. Urton had never attempted a steel high-rise before, so he sent away for a series of "how-to" books to assist him in completing the project. After the earthquake of 1925 did almost no damage to the new structure, Urton proudly hung a banner from the top floor of the building proclaiming: "Built by Charles M. Urton, Builder." The Granada has been completely restored and is home to the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts.

Edison Mazda Lighting

Not particularly "pretty" cards, but I do like the vintage GE logo on the back. The Hotel Potter card shows that it was made by the Detroit Publishing Co. The bottom card looks like it is from the same, but bears no markings.

The Hotel Potter was completed in 1903 and immediately became a landmark on the Santa Barbara coastline. Sadly it burned to the ground only 18 years later. The Hotel Del Monte was opened in 1880 by Charles Crocker (one of the Big Four that developed the Southern Pacific Railroad). The Del Monte was a favorite of the rich and famous. A young William Randolph Hearst practically lived at the Del Monte.

Mazda was a trademarked name registered by General Electric in 1909 (Thomas Edison formed GE in 1892) for incandescent light bulbs.

Anyone know if the light bulbs in the "Lovelight" series were Edison Mazda bulbs??