An unusual panoramic format photographic postcard showing the Cresson Mine complex at Cripple Creek, Colorado, with extensive surface structures, ore bins, tramways, and industrial buildings arranged across a terraced hillside. Multiple buildings are visibly marked “CRESSON,” with rail lines, conveyors, and tailings piles defining the active mining landscape. The image is taken from an elevated vantage point, emphasizing the scale of the operation.

The Cresson Mine was one of the most productive gold mines in the Cripple Creek Mining District, a region that became central to Colorado’s late 19th- and early 20th-century hard-rock mining economy. Large-scale surface works such as those shown here reflect the transition from early prospecting to industrialized extraction, supported by rail infrastructure and mechanized processing.

Photograph credited to Hileman, as printed in the image. Issued as a rare real photo panoramic postcard format, with divided back reading “Postcard,” intended for mailing. The panoramic format captures the full breadth of the mine site and surrounding terrain, a format favored for documenting large industrial operations.