VIRTUAL Happy Inventions: The History of Picture Postcards

Event Details

The first picture postcards were published for the 1889 Paris Exposition, celebrating the completion of the Eiffel Tower. In America, the first picture postcards were printed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago – making Illinois the birthplace of the American picture postcard. An early mention of postcards is in the 1870 diary of a Welsh curate, who called them a happy invention.

In 2016, the world's largest public collection of postcards and related materials, the Curt Teich Postcard Archives, was given to the Newberry Library by the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Katherine Hamilton-Smith, the founding curator of the Teich Archives, presents a look at the documentary power and significance of picture postcards. She touches on the Curt Teich Company of Chicago, the role Illinois played in the history and development of postcards, and on the picture postcard as a cultural icon.

This program is presented by a grant from Illinois Humanities. Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Illinois General Assembly through the Illinois Arts Council Agency, as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations.

This program will be presented using Zoom. Participants must register and provide a working email address to receive the login information.

Event Type(s): Research Services, Virtual

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