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Birmingham, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. 1937 |
These souvenir postcards were hugely
popular in in the 1940s and 1950s in America. Companies like Curt Teich and Co. made cards representing every state and almost all the towns and cities (more
than 10,000) in the country.
Curt Teich (1877-1974) was a printer who
emigrated from Lobenstein, Germany in 1896. Curt Teich and Co. opened in
January 1898 in Chicago, Illinois, and closed in 1978. It was the world’s
largest printer of view and advertising postcards. Best known for its “Greetings
from” series of postcards with big letters, vivid colours, and bold graphic
style.
The Curt Teich Postcard Archives, part of
the Lake County Discovery Museum at Wauconda, Illinois, is recognised
throughout the world as the largest public collection of postcards and related
materials.
Another interesting aspect of these Large
Letter postcards is that they also were produced during World War Two designed
to be sent from military establishments all over the USA. I will feature these
at the end of the series in part 6.
I have collected a digital archive of around 2000 Large Letter postcards, but won't be showing all those here. Instead I have chosen interesting examples from across the range of designs and locations represented.
This is part 1 of a 6 – part post on Large-Letter postcards:
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Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. 1939 |
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| Alabama |
 |
Alaska
Curt Teich & Co. 1942 |
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Aniston, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. 1941 |
 |
Arizona
Curt Teich & Co. 1939 |
 |
Arizona
Curt Teich & Co. |
 |
| Arkansas |
 |
| Arkansas |
 |
| Arkansas |
 |
Arkansas
Curt Teich & Co. 1939 |
 |
Bakersfield, California
Curt Teich & Co. 1943 |
 |
Big Basin Redwood State Park, California
Curt Teich & Co. 1950 |
 |
Big Bear Lake, California
Curt Teich & Co. |
 |
Big Trees, California
Curt Teich & Co. 1950 |
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| Birmingham, Alabama |
 |
California
Curt Teich & Co. |
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| California |
 |
| California |
 |
California
Curt Teich & Co. |
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| California |
 |
California
Curt Teich & Co. 1938 |
 |
Carmel, California
Curt Teich & Co. 1942 |
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Catalina Island, California
Curt Teich & Co. 1935 |
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Chico, California
Curt Teich & Co. 1943 |
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Death Valley, California
Curt Teich & Co. |
 |
Decatur, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. 1945 |
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Dothan, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. |
 |
Enterprise, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. |
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| Flagstaff, Arizona |
 |
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Curt Teich & Co. 1951 |
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| Fresno, California |
 |
Grand Canyon, Arizona
J.R. Willis |
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Holbrook, Arizona
J. R. Willis |
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| Hollywood, California |
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| Hollywood, California |
 |
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Curt Teich & Co. 1934 |
 |
Huntsville, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. 1941 |
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Laguna Beach, California
Curt Teich & Co. |
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| Little Rock, Arkansas |
 |
Mobile, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. 1937 |
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| Mobile, Alabama |
 |
Montgomery, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. |
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| Montgomery, Alabama |
 |
Ozark, Alabama
Curt Teich & Co. 1942 |
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Painted Desert Arizona
J. R. Willis |
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Petrified Forest Arizona
J. R. Willis |
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| Phoenix Arizona |
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Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Curt Teich & Co. 1951 |
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| Radiator Springs, Arizona |
Great pictures of postcards! It’s really great to know about popular 1940’s and 1950’s postcards of America. Do you have paintings of Aboriginal Art form too? Please share here dear if you have any, I would love to see those amazing arts forms!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes, if you look in the indexes on the right-hand column you will see "Aboriginal Art"
ReplyDeleteWHAT AN INCREDIBLE COLLECTION, I WILL USE SOME ON MY BLOG,WITH CREDITS TO YOU
ReplyDeletehttp://thisblogadresswasavailable.blogspot.nl/
I was trying to find this Radiator Springs, AZ and/or Ornament Valley on Mapquest and couldn't find it...was it a real trading post and now maybe a ghost town? Near Monument Valley???
ReplyDeleteIf it is the "Gateway To The Ornament Valley"...it must be Kayenta, AZ or Gouldings, UT which is just over the state line...but I don't really recognize any of the buildings or landmarks inside the big letters...the hotel with the big A on it or that big black spire...maybe all gone now...
ReplyDeletefor the people looking for Radiator Springs.. or Ornament Valley.... you obviously don't watch disney movies...... :P
ReplyDeleteWhat font is the Ornament Valley in? I've been looking for a similar font for weeks now!
ReplyDelete