Postcard photo of one of the Southern Pacific's class AC-9 steam locomotives.
Date
Not mailed. en:Southern Pacific class AC-9 locomotives were built in 1939 and were retired from active duty in 1956. The card copy says they were still on SP's active roster, so prior to 1956. None of the 12 locomotives of this type survived--all went for scrap, so there are no present day examples to photograph.
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.
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