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Windows into the Past: The Postcard collection at the National Trust Library
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Overview
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.
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Organization
A number of finding aids provide access to this collection. The largest of these is a inventory of all 3,177 U.S. locations shown by one or more of these cards. This inventory is alphabetical by state, and then by city or town within each state. For larger cities where there are many cards, the collection is further sub-divided by subject. The approximate number of cards for each entry is indicated as follows: if there is no number next to a place name, fewer than 5 cards are held. Otherwise, the estimated number of cards is shown next to the place name (ex. Mobile 25-30). The small foreign card collection is organized in the same manner. The U.S. subject card collection is arranged alphabetically and the estimated number of cards per entry are given in the same manner.
Inventory
A| C| D| F| G | H | I | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W
A
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Foreign Poscards
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montanta
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
C
D
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Access
The collection is available to the public for research. To gain access, contact the staff at the National Trust for Historic Preservation Library Collection. Duplication of these cards can be done in accordance with the “fair use” provisions of the U.S. copyright law. More information about scanning and copying policies can be found on our photo duplication services page.
Web Resources
The Cliff Smith YMCA Postcard Collection
This collection, housed at Smithfield College in Massachusetts, contains postcards dating to the early 20th century of YMCA buildings and their environs around the world. The database is searchable by location and keyword, and even publisher, and contains high-resolution images of postcards in the collection.
Curt Teich Postcard Archives - Lake County Discovery Museum
This significant collection of postcards is dedicated, primarily, to cards produced by the Curt Teich company. The majority of these cards were produced in the second half of the 20th century and as such are quite different from the cards in the National Trust Library's collection. They provide direct access to several portions of their collection electronically.
This website represents a new online presence for an organization begun in 1960 to promote the research and collection of antique postcards. The website offers information about current collecting, the history of collecting, and the history of postcard publishing.
This collection is part of New York Public Library's Digital Gallery and consists of 5,844 digitzed postcards ca. 1898-1920s. The cards feature images of North American landscapes and cityscapes, including views of well-known streets, buildings, historic monuments, natural scenery, industry, transportation, and daily life.
The Florida Postcard Collection - University of Miami
This is a collection of Florida postcards presented by the University of Miami. It is organized by broad subject category.
The John R. and Jane Adams Postcard Collection - San Diego State University
The John R. and Jane Adams Postcard Collection consist of approximately 200,000 postcards. This website is an online exhibit of postcards of historic postcards from San Diego and California.
An online exhibit of early twentieth century postcards from the Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries' Special Collections and Archives. Search or browse over 600 postcards depicting Richmond, VA between 1900 and 1930.
University of Delaware Postcard Collection
The University of Delaware Postcard Collection comprises more than 2,000 postcards of Delaware and the surrounding regions. The postcards have been digitized and are searchable by location and subject.
