BACK SIDE
OAK ISLAND TREASURE UK WEBSITE (BOTH PICS)
Last week, In Part 1 of our series, “THE MYSTERY OF THE OAK ISLAND POSTCARD”, we discussed how the postcard was edited and airbrushed which hid an important structure in the background that could possibly be John Smith’s house. Compendium Investigations continues our series by looking at other details in the postcard and other similar pictures to determine the date when the original picture was taken. The back of the postcard indicates that it was a “Nova Scotia Souvenir Postcard, Blue Nose Series”. This type of postcard was printed after the turn of the century, roughly 1907-1915. The corresponding operation on Oak Island at the time was The Old Gold Salvage and Wrecking Company of 1909. So, it would be logical to assume the picture was taken in 1909? Not necessarily, because an older picture could have been used for the postcard.
OAK ISLAND TREASURE UK WEBSITE
Compendium Investigations began analyzing other features of the postcard to see if there was any identifying information to help date the picture. Keeping in mind, that Dan Blankenship and many current and past Oak Island researchers believed the picture was from 1861, when the steam boiler exploded. A possible clue is the people that are pictured in the background. The late researcher, Paul Wroclawski mentioned that in newspaper articles in the 1860’s, it was noted that up to a hundred idle tourists would be watching the treasure hunting activities per day on Oak Island. This picture was cited as an example of this scenario and brings up the idea of possible contamination of the area by these visitors. When blowing up the picture, Compendium Investigations noticed that the attire worn by these people indicates a turn of the century period of 1900. This seems to narrow down the possibilities of the picture to The Oak Island Treasure Company, circa 1897 and The Old Gold Salvage and Wrecking Company circa 1909.
CIRCA 1897, OAK ISLAND TOURS
AINSLEE’S MAGAZINE, FEB. 1899
CIRCA 1909, OAK ISLAND TOURS (BOTH PICS)
Compendium Investigations analyzed several pictures from the 1897 and 1909 operations to see if there were any differences. After reviewing the pictures, it is apparent that the postcard picture was indeed taken during The Old Gold Salvage and Wrecking Company operation in 1909. It was determined that the boiler, riggings, derrick, and other features in the 1909 pictures were a match with the Money Pit Postcard. There were no such features matching in The Oak Island Treasure Company 1897 pictures. Although, there was one key feature omitted in the postcard if it was taken in 1909. There were no temporary buildings/shelters visible in the picture that were there in 1909. It’s the Compendium’s opinion that this was either because they were edited out, obscured by steam, or had been taken down prior to the picture being taken.
PIC 1- OAK ISLAND TREASURE UK WEBSITE
PIC 2 – NOVA SCOTIA ARCHIVES
PIC 3 – WORLD WIDE MAGAZINE, 1920
When comparing the three pictures identified as the Money Pit Postcard scene, we notice what appears to be John Smith’s barn in all three pictures. Pictures 1 and 2 are the exact same scene but Picture 2 is not fully edited. Picture 3 reveals a slight difference, showing less barrels than the first two pictures. The question is which scene was taken first, Pics 1/2 or Pic 3? Another question is what were in these barrels? Are they just supplies that were used by the 1909 operation or were these barrels taken out of the Money Pit? This is important because there have been many references to barrels being found in the Money Pit by different operations. It has always been speculated that these barrels were treasure related, but there’s strong evidence to suggest they may have been connected to smuggling activity that was using Oak Island for covert operations.
THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND – THE HISTORY CHANNEL (BOTH PICS)
As mentioned in Part 1 of our series, in Season 1 of The Curse of Oak Island, Episode 3, “Voices from the Grave”, it is stated that the Money Pit Postcard scene is identified with 1861. There is a picture of the scene shown during the episode that was push pinned to a corkboard, apparently in the Blankenship home that served as the initial war room location. The interesting part about this picture is that it seems to be a clearer copy of Pics 1/2 and shows a missing detail. It appears there is writing and numbers on these barrels. It is unclear what these symbols mean or who put them there. The Money Pit Postcard was edited, so it makes sense that this writing would not appear in the postcard. Although, this is not the case for Picture 3, unless it was also edited out of that picture for some reason. Was the writing on these barrels in reference to the depth at which they were discovered?
THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND – THE HISTORY CHANNEL
Isn’t it interesting that in Robert Restall’s sketch of the Money Pit, which showed the spiral tunnel, you can observe barrels on a platform at 104’ depth?
Next week, we will finish our series by examining some surveys, maps, and sketches that disagree on where the position of John Smith’s house and barn were in relation to the Money Pit, which raises the question of its actual location.
Good day from the Compendium!