Postcard Collections
From a "colorized" view of Luna Park, a great Coney Island amusement park that burned in 1944, to the long bread lines at a cathedral in San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake, the National Trust Library postcard collection provides unique and engaging images of life in early twentieth century America. 
Postcards, such as the one of Luna Park, often represent the only existing visual image of a building, monument, or place. Postcards also offer an authentic view of the society in which they were produced and can reveal important insight into cultural attitudes of the time. For example, an image of a jaunty suburban matron, posing at the wheel of her very early motor car, flowered hat on her head and daughter in the back seat, speaks volumes of the rapidly changing role of women in the new century.
There are two postcard collections at the University of Maryland Libraries, which should be searched separately.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation Postcard Collection contains over 18,500 images, the majority originating from 3,185 identified locations in the United States and dating from the period 1900 to 1920. The current collection contains postcards from foreign countries, as well as the United States. This collection continues to grow through purchase and gift.
The Institute of American Deltiology Postcard Collection is estimated to contain over one million postcards. Its holdings include postcards depicting various subjects and locations of North America. Included in this collection is a library of books, periodicals and other non-postcard materials to support the study of postcards. Only a portion of this collection has been received by the National Trust Library at this time.
