Linen St. Mary's

 

 

This pleasant view of St. Mary's is on a "linen" postcard, which were highly popular during the 1930's, 40's, and 50's.  Contrary to their descriptive name, these postcards were not actually made out of linen, which is derived from flax, but they did have a high rag content, which means the paper contained a certain amount of cotton fiber. Instead, linen actually refers to the surface texture of the postcard—prior to the early 1930s, it was not economically feasible to print anything of quality on embossed papers. Two of the key traits of linen postcards are their saturated colors and their soft focus, the result of the cards’ uneven surfaces.  Though this card is rather dirty and worn, you can still see the "linen" fibers, especially in the sky over the church.

From the text, our correspondent appears to be enjoying herself, having travelled over a thousand miles from Virginia, apparently and still on her way to parts unknown with family.