Monarch Pass Continental Divide Sign Postcard #CMO-W-3364
Brief Description
This photo shows the Continental Divide sign, a distance sign, and registration book on top of Monarch Pass sometime around the early 1950s.
Info
- Date: Circa 1949-'53
- Photographer: Unknown
- Medium: Real Photo Postcard
- Size: 5 3/8" x 3 1/2"
- ID: CMO-W-3364
- Acquisition Date: March 2024
- Repository: Coloradotopia Archives
Scanned with basic cropping, no enhancements.
Image use restricted.
Image Dating Comments
This sign’s date has been approximated based on comparisons to other photos in this archive. This setup of signs with the registration book in the middle was seen here sometime between 1949 and 1953. It is possible that the sign was added sooner.
A similar sign was seen on Berthoud Pass in 1948, but the arrows were a slightly different size.
Backside
Full Scan
Comments & Discussion
A melting spring snowpack is seen here on top of the pass. Harold Sanborn was a veteran photographer of Colorado’s mountain passes by the time this image was captured.
While the registration book can be seen in other photos from the era, this one shows an additional sign that was added just above the registration book. Previously, this area read “Please do not write on sign registration book inside box”. A lot of people probably wondered why the registration book was there if they were not supposed to write in it. The new sign clears this up…
Condition, Aging & Authenticity: There is no spidering or cracking in the image’s surface, but the areas near the edges are starting to show some degradation. There are signs of wear on all 4 corners, and a small amount of brown aging showing on the backside edges.
About the Coloradotopia Archives. The Coloradotopia archives hold a large collection of historical images that document Colorado’s auto history in the mountains. You can read more about the Coloradotopia archive project here.
