Published: March 24, 2008 05:30 pm            

John Watson: Pictures from the past in letter form

Vacation time is drawing near, and many of us will take trips to places around the country. When you arrive at your destination it is sometimes tempting to purchase postcards from the area to send to friends and family back home to let them know what you are doing.

According to the book “Prairie Fires and Paper Moons, the American Photographic Postcard: 1900-1920,” by Hal Morgan and Andreas Brown, the postcard began in England in the early 1800s. These postcards contained works of artists. Major artists of the era did not want their works on the cards, but some beginning artists let their works be put on the cards as a way to be noticed.

After the photographic process was developed about 1840, some card publishers started putting photographs on the cards. Most of this activity took place in England.

In 1898, the U.S. Post Office established a reduced postage rate for privately printed postcards. The rate also required that the full back of the card be reserved for the address, a policy that changed in 1907 when the postal service agreed to allow messages on the address side of the card. That meant any correspondence went on the picture side of the card, but at a penny for postage communication was cheap.

The penny postcard lasted for more than 50 years before the price went to 2 cents. Perhaps that is where the saying, “A penny for your thoughts,” originated.

The major picture postcard publishers produced cards in large quantities, which was good for larger resorts and companies wanting advertising postcards for mass mailings. But as the popularity of the picture postcard grew, many people wanted limited quantities with pictures of their business, home or selves on the cards. These could be profitably produced at the local photography studio on photographic postcard stock.

Many early photography studios specialized in the picture postcards. The studios had special painted backdrops you could have your picture made with. One such studio was the Electric Post Card Studio in Fort Worth. I have a picture of my dad sitting in the moon that was made at the studio. The man-in-the-moon picture postcard was very popular during the first quarter of the 20th century.

The picture was made about 1916. According to Paula Stuart of the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, little is known about the Electric Postcard Studio today.

One lucrative branch of the postcard business was the portrait studio concession at resorts, amusement parks and county fairs, where tourists could have comic portraits made of themselves.

There were also traveling photographers. One I remember coming through Cleburne in the 1940s had a Shetland pony with him. He would locate a neighborhood with children playing in the yards, park his trailer, unload the pony, which was already saddled, get his camera and start walking down the street.

When he got to a house with children playing in the yard he would knock on the door and ask the lady of the house if she would like a picture of her children with the pony. By this time the children would be gathered around the pony petting it, and then they would look up at mother and say, “Please.” What mother could resist that?

The photographer had a cowboy hat hanging from the saddle horn for the child to wear, and there was a small pair of chaps in the saddlebag. The gimmick worked! I know, because I had my picture taken with the pony.

During the 1950s roving photographers seemed to attend any event held at the Will Rogers Coliseum. They would snap your picture as you were walking in and then hand you a card with a number on it that you could mail in with a couple of dollars and get your picture. The photographer mainly targeted young couples, and what boy on a date would turn down a chance to get a picture of himself and his date? These pictures were always on postcard stock.

Davis Studio in Cleburne made many pictures on postcard stock. I think their three main sizes were billfold size, postcard size and eight by 10.

Another popular picture postcard was the comic card. You may have seen the one with the picture of a cowboy herding cattle on a jackrabbit.

During World War I many postcards with pictures of Uncle Sam and other patriotic themes were printed to help promote patriotism.

The size for the picture postcard was set at 5.5 inches by 3.25 inches. Some manufacturers tried making larger cards, but they did not sell so well, and they always came back to the standard size.

Much early 20th century history was preserved on picture postcards. You probably have several stashed away with old photographs that have been passed down from your grandparents or great-grandparents. Many of these cards are now becoming collector’s items.



On the net:

buckcreek.tripod.com/

traveler.html



John Watson of Cleburne

can be reached at

texastraveler@sbcglobal.net.

        

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