Real photo postcard showing the Cherry Mine disaster site identified as the fan house and escape shaft, with a clear front caption dated Sunday P.M. Nov. 14. Real photo process on postcard stock. The reverse contains a lengthy handwritten message in ink.



The November 13, 1909, Cherry Mine disaster at Cherry, Illinois, one of the worst coal‑mine fires in U.S. history. The fire in the St. Paul Coal Company’s Mine No. 2 in the town of Cherry started when a coal car loaded with hay for the underground mules caught fire from an open kerosene torch; burning hay ignited wooden timbers and spread through the shafts. 259 men and boys (and about three dozen mules) died making it the third‑deadliest coal‑mining disaster in U.S. history. This image is by an unidentified photographer.



The front bears the printed text: “No 15 Cherry Mine Disaster / Fan House + Escape Shaft Sunday P.M. Nov. 14th.”. The reverse reads: “POST CARD” with “AZO” stamp box. Handwritten inscriptions read: long message present; full transcription is not fully legible in the scan. Pencil notations include “6/03/12” and code-like letters.