A View Card

People have long collected and traded postcards of their home towns and places they have visited.  This blog has featured many examples featuring the ol' hometown. 

This particular handcolored postcard of the Elisha D. Smith Library in Menasha is known in the hobby as a "view card," one of which, since postcards began, has been the mainstay of the collecting field. 

This type of card offers an historic reference to buildings, streets, and sometimes even towns which may no longer exist or that have changed significantly over time.

I won't belabor the obvious; we all know about this ediface, from past blog entries and our own personal histories.  But despite our familiarity, these cards can often surprise, offering much in the social history of the times if we give them a little study.  A lot can be learned as they offer looks at early forms of travel, significant architecture, and the beginnings of telegraph, telephone and power lines.  

So, next time you're presented with an old picture like this, take a good moment to take it all in.  You might be surprised at what it can add to what you already know.