Railroad postcards collection
Creation: 1903-1972Abstract
Collectors of railroad memorabilia often also collected postcards. Railroad postcards generally picture stations, engines, bridges, route scenery, railcar interiors, and accidents. Some collectors sought specific railroads. This collection is over a thousand postcards related to railroads. The collection has been arranged into two series: Railroad stations and Railroad cars and trains. This is an artificial collection assembled from various donors.
Dates
- Creation: 1903-1972
Extent
2.25 Linear Feet
General Physical Description
1870 postcards : mostly color ; 3.5 x 5.5 in. 31 postcards : mostly color ; 6 x 9 in. or smaller.
Historical Note
While postcards were in existence as early as 1840, postcard collecting became popular in the early twentieth century. It was an accessible and inexpensive hobby, as postcards were plentiful. Deltiology is the study and collecting of postcards. Collectors of railroad memorabilia often also collected postcards. Railroad postcards generally picture stations, engines, bridges, route scenery, railcar interiors, and accidents. Some collectors sought specific railroads.
Scope and Content
This collection is over a thousand postcards related to railroads. The collection has been arranged into two series: Railroad stations and Railroad cars and trains.
The Railroad stations series is arranged alphabetically by the state the railroad station is located in. The only foreign country represented is Canada. Most of the images are of the exteriors of the railroad station, there are some postcards that show waiting rooms, lobbies, or terminals.
The Railroad cars and trains series includes images of train cars, engines, and scenery. The Pennsylvania Railroad is the most represented railroad, however, other railroads include Amtrak, New York Central, Norfolk & Western, Southern Railway, and Union Pacific. Of note are postcards of women railroaders, the 1947 “Freedom Train” and the 1976 “American Freedom Train.”
This is an artificial collection assembled from various donors.
Existence and Location of Copies
View selected items online in the Hagley Digital Archives.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Railroad postcards collection
- Author:
- Laurie Rizzo
- Date:
- 2013.
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
