Logging Among The Humboldt Redwoods California Real Photo Postcard

This postcard, titled "Among the Humboldt Redwoods, California," captures a group of men, likely loggers or timber company officials, posed before a colossal redwood tree or stump. The image, credited to A.W. Ericson, a renowned photographer of the North Coast logging industry, highlights the immense scale of the *Sequoia sempervirens* (coast redwood) and the human effort required to fell them in Humboldt County. This period, roughly from the late 19th to early 20th century, marked the zenith of large-scale redwood logging in California.

The redwood logging industry was a significant economic driver for California, supplying lumber for construction and fueling westward expansion. The sheer size of these ancient trees presented unique challenges, leading to specialized tools and techniques for felling, bucking, and transporting the timber. While instrumental in development, this intensive logging also led to widespread deforestation of old-growth forests, eventually spurring early conservation movements aimed at preserving the remaining giant redwood ecosystems.