Birch Drive near Waterford, Vermont is not especially unusual for its picturesque subject matter, considering white birch trees have long been a popular subject photographed in Vermont and New England. Rather it is because it is a rare surviving example of a proof photograph depicting the trees used in the production of a commercially issued post card.

Although faded greatly, this proof still retains remnants of colored dyes painted on it transforming a black and white photograph into an idyllic colored scene of birch trees seen in the summer months. On the image verso, production information by the G.W. Morris company of Portland, Maine-a publisher of postcards principally from the Northeastern United States can be seen, (1.) with the following written notations:

in graphite and black ink:

11.18  Birch Drive near Waterford Vt.
Make 2 sets of this Photo as marked and named
4000 (heavily underlined)

circled: 2000 (number of cards to be printed) 3465
Birch Drive Near Waterford Vt (underlined in blue publishers crayon)

3466 Birch Trees on Road to Bridgton (underlined in blue publishers crayon)

possibly Eickemeyer proof

the following crossed out:
(2000) Birch Trees on Road  Naples to Bridgton Me

These publisher notes seem to indicate the G.W. Morris firm had no qualms in re-purposing the original location of the card-appealing to both potential tourist trades in the greater Waterford, Vermont and Bridgton, Maine geographical areas, a modern distance today of over two hours by automobile.

1. G.W. Morris: publishers: from: Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City online resource accessed March, 2014. A surviving postcard of this image is held in the Special Collections division of the Bailey/Howe Library at the University of Vermont. The card was printed in collotype by Morris in Germany. (it is not known if the Bridgton card was ever published)