Marshalltown, Iowa - 1908 postmark on card made in 1901 or earlier

One of the older vintage postcards we have come across, this card dates to 1901 or earlier.

The mandatory requirement for the phrase “Authorized by Act of Congress, May 19, 1898” officially ended on December 24, 1901. On that day, the U.S. Postmaster General issued Post Office Order No. 1447. This order allowed private publishers to use the simpler term "Post Card" and dropped the requirement to cite the 1898 act. Because publishers were allowed to use up their existing stocks of pre-printed cards, the phrase can occasionally be found on cards postmarked as late as 1902 through 1905, but new production of cards with this phrase ceased at the end of 1901.

With that phrase found on the message side of this card, we can state positively the card itself dates to 1901 or earlier. Why is the card postmarked with an absolutely superb 1908 American flag cancel (American Postal Machine Company of Boston, Massachusetts)? Perhaps it was found in a drawer in an old desk. Maybe the sender was a hoarder. We'll never know.