Real photo postcard showing a line of uniformed men posed in front of railroad passenger cars, with a dated front inscription identifying Cherry, Illinois in 1909. Real photo process on postcard stock. The front carries the clearest identification and date, and the reverse includes an AZO stamp box with a handwritten message.



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. These images are from a series of real photo postcards produced by Dunham Photo of Princeton, Ill. to document the aftermath of the disaster.



The front bears the printed text: “Militia at Cherry Ill Nov. 14, 1909.”. The reverse reads: “POST CARD” with “CORRESPONDENCE HERE / NAME AND ADDRESS HERE” and “AZO” stamp box. Handwritten inscriptions read: message present; portions are not fully legible in the scan. Pencil notations include “6/03/12” and code-like letters.