The Central Libraries > Mid-Manhattan
Library > Historical Postcards
Introduction
New York City skyline, 1906
Digital ID: 836963The end of the 19th century was the beginning
of the golden age of postcards. Advances
in printing and photography allowed the mass production
of captivating visual images affordable and available
to everyone. Swept up in a fad that hasn’t
yet lost its appeal, millions of people at once
began collecting and sending a visual record of
their travels and tastes.
A fascinating historical peek at all five boroughs
of New York City from the 1890’s until the
1920’s is provided through the 500 postcards
newly added to the NYPL Digital Gallery. The
postcards also illustrate emerging lithographic
and photographic printing styles. Among the
examples digitized are oil paintings, tinted photographs,
colored lithographs, line photoengravings, relief
prints, inkless intaglio prints, linocuts, hold-to-light
cards, and cards with highlights delineated by
glitter.
Hippopotamus, Central Park Zoo, N.Y. City. Postmarked 1906.
Digital ID: 836223A new dimension to these latest postcards in the
Digital Gallery is that both the front and the
back of the postcards have been digitized. This
added feature opens windows on typographic style,
on the content and creator of the card, and on
the perspective of the individual long ago penning
greetings to a friend, a family member or a fellow
worker. Here, a father instructs his child
about the habits of a New York City hippopotamus.
The reverse side of the card
Digital ID: 836224
