The Happy Invention: History and Significance of Picture Postcards

The Happy Invention: History and Significance of Picture Postcards

Thursday, May 22nd, 6:00 P.M.

Listen to a presentation on the history and significance of picture postcards. 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 this invention in America. Since those flowery Victorian originals, uncountable billions of 10 postcards of every aspect of life have been printed, depicting train stations, bandstands, street views, cartoons, ads for products and services, social history both whimsical and dark, and everything in between. Katherine Hamilton-Smith, the founding curator of the Teich Archives, presents a look at the documentary power and significance of picture postcards in this presentation. 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 made possible through the Illinois Humanities. Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom and the Illinois General Assembly [through the Illinois Arts Council Agency], as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations.