The Postcard Age

In the decades around 1900, postcards were Twitter, e-mail, Flickr and Facebook all wrapped into one. A postcard craze swept the globe, wreaking havoc on international postal systems and giving rise to anecdotes about overburdened postmen who had to leave bags of cards undelivered. Many of these cards were thrown away after they had served their purpose. But not all, as the craze for buying and sending postcards was married to a craze for collecting them. Millions upon millions of postcards were never posted; instead, they were tucked into boxes and albums, unused and in mint condition. Drawing on one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of postcards anywhere, The Postcard Age traces how big historical and cultural themes of the modern era played out on the postcard's tiny canvas. Taken together, the almost 400 postcards represented in this book provide a vivid picture of the concerns, trends and pastimes of another era as well as a sampler of the artistic and historical riches offered by these messengers of the modern age.