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More than 600 historic Richmond postcards
VCU Libraries Commons has posted close to 2,000 photos to Flickr, including Rarely Seen Richmond, a collection of more than 600vintage RVA postcards:
This collection shows early twentieth century Richmond, Virginia as seen through over 600 vintage postcards. Many of these images include buildings and structures that either no longer exist or have since been altered. The subject matter of these postcards also lends insight into the social and cultural attitudes of those times.
Postcards began to be widely used in the United States soon after the passage of the Private Mailing Card Act in 1898. It freed private publishers from what was considered unfair competition from government issued cards. In the next few years the demand for postcards grew as a craze for collecting them spread throughout the country. Dozens of postcard printers, both American and European, began producing postcard views. This “golden age” of postcard publishing and collecting lasted from 1898 through 1912 when thousands of cards were produced, mailed, and collected by the public.
I just spent a delightful hour or so perusing these post cards! You know you are getting old when you can remember seeing some of the scenes that are no longer there.
My Uncle was a Ferrier and used to take me with him sometimes to the Market at the Armory to buy horse shoes.