Antique postcard titled “Logging with Donkey Engine”, showing loggers at work in Washington State. The detailed image depicts a group of men with a team of horses hauling massive cut logs, alongside a steam donkey engine—an early steam-powered winch used to drag timber out of the forest. Printed in vivid color, this scene captures the rugged life of the Pacific Northwest logging industry in the early 1900s.

• Publisher: Edward H. Mitchell, San Francisco (noted on back)

• Card Number: 948

• Location: Olympia, Washington

• Era: Early 1900s (divided back, 1¢ domestic postage, 2¢ foreign)

• Condition: Light corner/edge wear with faint toning from age; clean, unused back. Strong colors remain vibrant.

Historical Context:

The introduction of the steam donkey engine in the 1880s revolutionized logging in the Pacific Northwest, allowing crews to move enormous logs far more efficiently than with horse or oxen teams alone. Washington’s vast forests supplied lumber that fueled westward expansion, construction, and shipbuilding. This postcard illustrates both the technology and the labor that defined one of America’s most important industries of the era.

A great collectible for:

• Washington State & Olympia history

• Logging & lumber industry memorabilia

• Edward H. Mitchell postcard collectors

• Early industrial heritage & occupational scenes