Here is a terrific example of the photography of Byron Harmon, a nature photographer who worked out of Banff, Alberta in the early part of the 20th century. If we assume that the photo was taken late in the day, then the shadows indicate that these Three Wise Goats are heading towards the East, possibly in search of a Star.

Toni McLaughlin has a copy of this card as well (look for #807) and there are some interesting differences. For starters, the color is different, which could either indicate that my card has faded more over the years, or that the developing process or chemicals were not identical. Additionally, there are some marks on my card that are not present on hers. Since the marks are on the photo but not on the border, that implies to me that the photographic plate may have been marred in some way between the time each of these photo postcards was developed.

This card is described as “a view of the beautiful gardens surrounding the Mormon Temple in Cardston, Alberta.” But wait, there’s more!

This card is described simply as “a scene of the famed Mormon Temple….” — well, you get the idea.

Byron Harmon left Tacoma, Washington in 1903 to photograph mountains and, realizing that there were no photography studios in the Canadian Rockies, settled in Banff, Alberta. The surviving collection of photos numbers over 6,000.

On this card, barely visible near the bottom center, is the legend “Lake Louise. 118.”, scratched into the negative by the photographer. An identical real photo postcard with a more visible legend can be seen in Toni McLaughlin’s collection of Harmon RPPCs (look for #118). Toni also has images of a dozen white border postcards of Harmon’s published in the early 1920′s, the first of which is Lake Louise taken from an ever so slightly different angle.

The back of the card reads “Along the Line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Photographed and Copyrighted by Byron Harmon, Banff, Canada.”