Arts & Culture

Vintage Southern Postcards

Long before smart phones and even before color photography became commonplace, “linen” postcards were the original social media. Printed on textured paper with bright inks, they cost a penny a piece and became so popular in the 1930s ’40s that American travelers snapped up nearly a billion of them. For the first time, they could easily share an image of moss-draped oaks in North Carolina, a dark passage in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave, or a sweeping vista from Lookout Mountain in Tennessee with friends and family back home. A new book, Postcard America, by collector and University of Texas professor Jeffrey L. Meikle, showcases more than 200 of these iconic souvenirs—in all their colorful nostalgia.

February 19, 2016

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Greetings from Texas, 1938.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Lake Santeetlah, North Carolina, no date.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Moccasin Bend and Chattanooga, Tennessee, from Lookout Mountain, no date.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Sunset on a Florida Lake, 1935.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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The Oaks Tourist Court, Atlanta, Georgia, 1936.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Qualla Park Shop, Cherokee, North Carolina, no date.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Buckhorn Curio Store, San Antonio, Texas, 1935.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Shuffleboard Courts in Mirror Lake Park, St. Petersburg, Florida, no date.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Orton Plantation, near Wilmington, North Carolina, 1940.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Have a Swim With Us at Miami Beach, Florida, 1935.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Unloading Bananas From Ship Side, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1937.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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New Viaduct and Skyline, Baltimore, Maryland, 1936.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Medical Arts Building, Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, 1935.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Granby Street at Night, Norfolk, Virginia, no date.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Canal Street at Night, New Orleans, Louisiana, no date.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Adams Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1941.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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The Lotus, Washington, DC, 1936.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Tramor Cafeteria, The Finest Cafeteria in the South, St. Petersburg, Florida, 1939.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Echo River, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, 1940.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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A Breaker on Atlantic Ocean, 1933.

From Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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Postcard America: Curt Teich and the Imaging of a Nation, 1931-1950

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