HISTORIC OPERA
THE METROPOLITAN OPERA

1. Between 1896 and 1898 the American Souvenir Card Company printed 15 different sets, usually of 12 cards each. Their "New York" set was printed in 1897. Number 8 from that set, which features the Metropolitan Opera, is the first postcard displayed on this page. It is the earliest mass-produced postcard of the Metropolitan Opera I've been able to find.

2. This is the second oldest postcard of the Metropolitan Opera that I know of. The earliest postcards are easy to identify. Just look for the absence of the fire escapes on the left side of this view. They are also missing in the previous postcard. In the lower left front, with its canopied windows, was the Bank of New Amsterdam. Postmarked in mid 1900.

3. One of the less common postcards of the Metropolitan Opera is this vertical card showing the main entrance. One can barely read the billboard on the front which advertises one of the Met's then popular Sunday matinee concerts. On the street is a horse and buggy. In the doorway of the entrance stand three firefighters or policemen with helmets and full-length coats. There are two postcards like this that I've found. The earlier one (shown above) has a white area on front for writing a message.

4. At a time when competition was fierce, publishers created many interesting gimmicks in order to attract customers to their cards. This postcard, from a series of views displayed within a painter's palette, was published by I. Stern in Brooklyn. Postcards can be found with views displayed inside of seashells, butterflies, and a wide assortment of other decorative borders. This card was postmarked in 1907 but the image, with the Rockwood storefront visible at the left, is much earlier.

5. Exciting views of the first Metropolitan Opera House cannot be found due largely to its awkward location on Broadway between 39th and 40th Streets in New York. Photographic angles were limited. However, this postcard sent in 1904 as a birthday greeting, is an unusual vertical view, giving us the unexpected perspective of wide open space on the city streets. Trolley tracks are visible down Broadway and street lights have been erected on the corners. This postcard is from the 3rd Series of Erny's "New York Views." This is the earliest vertical postcard of the Metropolitan Opera I've seen to date.

6. This is one of the rarer Metropolitan Opera postcards you can find. Why? It shows the Met from the opposite side from the standard views you might usually find. We can see that fire escapes flank both sides of the old house. Circa 1900.

7. This interior postcard of the early Met is also a rare one to collect. It was published by Raphael Tuck and Sons, Series 2652, "New York." Those people who collect postcards may scoop this one up to fill their Tuck series postcards thus making them more difficult to find. It took me over 15 years to locate one for my collection.

8. By 1903 the words "Post Card" were a fixture on the address side. The Illustrated Post Card Company of 118 Chambers Street in New York was printing millions of cards at a time when picture postcards were at the peak of their popularity. Also by 1903, The Bank of New Amsterdam (postcard 2), which was a tenant in the front of the Metropolitan in earlier postcards, had moved out. Posters advertising the coming attractions at the Metropolitan Opera can be seen to the left of the front canopied entrance. Several variations of this common black and white image were printed, some with the number 105 on front, some without the number. Postmarked from Madison Square Station on 7 Oct 1903.

9. Raphael Tuck & Sons, a British publishing company and a giant among postcard publishers, opened an office on Fifth Avenue to distribute American view cards. This postcard is number 7418 of the Silverette "New York" series, and as the name implies, has a glossy, silvery finish. On the back is a brief description of the house. This is an undivided postcard and predates the Tuck's interior view at postcard 7.

10. The nickname for the early Metropolitan Opera house was "The Yellow Brick Brewery." Although this is a common postcard, the publisher tried to capture the color of the facade. This is a post-1907 postcard, with a divided back (for address and greetings).

11. This is an example of a framed-border postcard. It is also a divided-back postcard in that the address and message, divided by a vertical line, appear on one side of the card. Therefore, it was published in or after 1907. Notice that the fire escapes, which were not present on the circa 1900 postcards, have been added.

12. This is one of the most common Metropolitan Opera cards you can find. It has an undivided back which means it was published prior to 1907. I call it "the bicycle postcard" because of the little guy on the bicycle in the center bottom. It's an early lithographed postcard with the number, "C.V.112" on front.  Because it is so common, it is one postcard you should purchase in excellent condition.

13. The new Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center opened its doors on 16 Sep 1966 with the world premiere of Barber's Antony and Cleopatra. Postcards from the 1960s, not having the elegance and popularity of its earlier ancestors, were often thrown out. So don't ignore early postcards of the new Met. This one can be dated by the 1960s automobile out front.

14. One of the more collectible (and hard to find) "new" Metropolitan Opera postcards is the folder variation. This one was published exclusively for the Metropolitan Opera Association. It contains six interior views and eight exterior views, including one aerial shot which shows the Alice Tully Hall site being cleared for construction.