Blaney Park Resort MI Appetizer Table Buffet Postcard c1950s Freeman Studios For Sale

This mid-20th century linen-era postcard, published by Freeman Studios of Berrien Springs, Michigan, offers a vibrant promotional view of the Blaney Park Resort in Blaney Park, Michigan. The front of the card captures the resort’s celebrated “Appetizer Table,” a lavish buffet spread designed to begin a truly memorable meal. The scene is a study in mid-century hospitality and culinary abundance, featuring a uniformed woman in a pink dress with white lace accents and a matching headband standing beside a male chef in a tall white toque. The table itself is laden with a cornucopia of fare: salads, cold cuts, fresh vegetables, and a striking carved watermelon centerpiece, all presented on crisp white tablecloths. The chromolithographic printing process used here yields saturated, well-preserved colors that evoke the optimistic prosperity of the era.The verso confirms the card’s pedigree and purpose. The printed text notes that the resort was “Located 67 miles west of the Straits of Mackinac at the junction of US #2 and M77,” situating it within Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a roadside destination for automobile travelers. The “Color Photo by Freeman Studios” credit indicates that the image was likely captured by a staff photographer and then mass-produced as a promotional postcard, a common practice for resorts and hotels from the 1940s through the 1960s. The divided back format, with “POST CARD” and “Address” clearly separated, places this card firmly in the modern postcard era after 1907. The catalog number “19809” and the small “K” logo in a diamond shape are printer’s marks, possibly indicating the specific print run or the lithographer. No handwritten message, date, or cancellation mark appears on the card, suggesting it was never mailed and remained in pristine, unused condition. The card thus functions as a crisp, unaltered artifact of mid-century American resort culture, specifically highlighting the culinary spectacle of the appetizer table as a signature amenity designed to attract a discerning clientele traveling the highways of northern Michigan.