Using Postcards as Historical Evidence
Postcards as Evidence: Social History
Social history has come to encompass such diverse content as revivalism and religion, public education, sports and recreation, and changing tastes in art and architecture in American history textbooks. In addition to postcards created of attractions and businesses there were also postcards created that showcased these specific aspects of social history. While postcards cannot answer questions of ‘social structure’ or ‘social processes’, they can showcase what institutions existed in a locality.
One area in which postcards proliferated was transportation. Postcard images were published of trolley cars, planes, dirigibles, and balloons. Many of these were produced overseas, however quite a few were printed in the United States. One example of parks often the subject of postcards is Lombard’s Lilacia Park.
These images showcase different views of the park. Postcards of parks and gardens are like a series of postcards of one building, like the Adams Memorial Library, in that they can provide numerous depictions of the same subject and can show change over time.
Lisle Depot
Downers Grove Depot
Images of a town’s Depot depict the nature of the town, whether it was an agricultural town or more of a settlement. This comparison can be seen between the postcard of Lisle’s Depot and Downers Grove’s Depot. Social history represents almost any subject matter. Postcards that represent this them fit into other categories, however postcards that appear here express technology as well as cultural icons.
Discussion Questions
- Why are multiple postcards and views of the same park a valuable resource?
- What can you learn by looking at a similar image in different towns?
