When postcards were in their heyday back at the beginning on the twentieth century, photographers were out in force, looking for different ways to earn their living. Their local knowledge enabled them to take photos of places of interest, special events and even everyday events. People, buildings, businesses, transport, market places, main streets and a host of other places and activities were recorded by the camera man and turned into postcards. Little did people realise at the time what a valuable contribution those images would make for historians in the future.

Street scenes

Wherever there were people and things happening, photographers were capturing scenes to satisfy the growing market of postcard collectors. Now, we can be grateful that this was so. Street scenes give us so much information regarding the shops and businesses, the modes of transport that were in existence and even the fashion of the times. A good postcard can depict a row of shops and other buildings such as hotels, giving a record of the commercial development of the town.

Squares, Market Places and Gardens

Town squares were often developed with beauty and relaxation in mind, and show examples of statues, ponds, and general layout that may well have changed since. Market places were another busy place that attracted the photographer's eye. Botanical Gardens and other local public gardens were popular subjects and often show good examples of what had been planted in the early years. In all these people were often seen, either going about their daily lives or, as sometimes happened, merely posing for the photographer.

Documenting Change

Some buildings in a town were obvious choices for photographers. Post Offices, Railway stations, Town Halls, business premises and churches all were captured by the camera. Today, rather than focus on the whole range of opportunities a town offered, many local historians focus simply on the buildings. It can be a fascinating study researching the structural changes of these buildings. In my own collection I have a street view where in the earliest cards there is a gap between two buildings. This was eventually filled with the steeple of a wooden church. That church burnt down and then rebuilt. So in the postcard views of many years later the image of the church’s steeple is quite different. Uses of buildings also changed and these have been well documented by postcard photographers of the past.

Postcards record local history

For local historians, whether pursuit of knowledge from the past is a hobby or an occupation, postcards can be a valuable source of pictorial information.