DescriptionAeolus at head of Denver Zephyr Otto Perry 1938.jpg
Photo of the streamlined locomotive Aeolus (#4000) at the head of the Denver Zephyr. The photo was taken by noted railroad photographer en:Otto Perry. Perry earned his living as a mailman in Denver; photographing trains was a hobby he pursued for many years. Perry was also known to travel outside of the Denver area to photograph trains.
Like many other railfans who take photos, Perry had prints made up as postcards and used a ink stamp to identify their work as these photos were shared with others who also had a hobby of photographing trains.
Date
February 26, 1938 Denver Public Library uses the same date. Dating the card according to the AZO stamp box on the back, this style of stamp box was used by AZO from1925 to the 1940s.
I have archived the eBay auction and both views of the card-front and back-so it can be seen that this was not obtained from the Denver Public Library. DPL has only been able to sell prints of Perry's work since his death in 1970.
The card has no copyright markings on it as can be seen in the links above.
United States Copyright Office page 2 "Visually Perceptible Copies The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all three elements described below. They should appear together or in close proximity on the copies.
2 The year of first publication. If the work is a derivative work or a compilation incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the derivative work or compilation is sufficient. Examples of derivative works are translations or dramatizations; an example of a compilation is an anthology. The year may be omitted when a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or useful articles.
Note that it may still be copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works (depending on the date of the author's death), such as Canada (50 p.m.a.), Mainland China (50 p.m.a., not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 p.m.a.), Mexico (100 p.m.a.), Switzerland (70 p.m.a.), and other countries with individual treaties.
{{Information |Description=Photo of the streamlined locomotive Aeolus (#4000) at the head of the Denver Zephyr. The photo was taken by noted railroad photographer en:Otto Perry. Perry earned his living as a mailman in Denver; photographing trains...