Postcards

Historical value

Postcards document the natural landscape as well as the built environment—buildings, gardens, parks, cemeteries, and tourist sites. They provide snapshots of societies at a time when few newspapers carried images. Postcards provided a way for the general public to keep in touch with their friends and family, and required little writing. Anytime there was a major event, a postcard photographer was there to document it (including celebrations, disasters, political movements, and even wars). Commemorating popular humor, entertainment, fashion, and many other aspects of daily life, they also shed light on transportation, sports, work, religion, and advertising. Postcards, such as those researched and printed by the Helene Victoria Press set up in 1973 by Nancy Poore and Jocelyn Cohen, have also been used to rescue unsung heroines, such as Irene Herlocker-Meyer from historical oblivion. Cards have also been sent to convey news of death and birth, store purchases, and employment.