What is the Postcards of Petersburg project?
To answer that question I must first answer another question.
What are postcards?
Postcards became a popular means of affordable and quick communication starting in 1898. That year the U.S. Congress passed an act that approved the special rate for postcards of 1 cent. This had a dramatic effect, causing the production of postcards to skyrocket around the world. By the early 1900’s postcards had already entered into its golden age.
As photography became more common it was combined with the postcard concept and colorized initially with a process called Photochrom. This was an exciting development since color photos would not become common until the middle of the 1900’s.
As part of the postcard craze, Kodak would later develop and market a camera that would produce postcard size prints. The back of the prints had an area for a written message and address.
Photography had been flourishing during this period and it was on a collision course with the postcard. Until this time postcards only featured illustrations, not photographs. This would change when the owners of the Detroit Photographic Company recognized an opportunity to combine photography and their patented Photochrom process to create postcards with color photos. This was quite a novelty!
Color photos would not become common until the mid to late 1900’s. These new postcards featuring color photos quickly conquered the market and helped make the postcard industry what it has been for over a century.
During this time the manufacture and popularity of postcards skyrocketed around the world. Between 1900 to 1915, which is considered to be the golden age of postcards, hundreds of millions are sent each year in the United States and millions more worldwide. The popularity was so widespread that many newspaper articles and satirical writers bemoaned the popularity of collecting and sending postcards.
With that in mind we come to what the Postcards of Petersburg project is all about. Showcasing the many postcards produced featuring the city of Petersburg and businesses and locations within it. Since the Revolutionary War and on into the 1800’s with the Civil War and through the 1900’s Petersburg was an economic center and a city rich in history and diversity. It therefore was a popular subject for postcards.
You could say all paths led to Petersburg!
Roads
Rails
Rivers
Postcards offer a unique lens through which we can view the city’s past.
Postcards of Petersburg will draw attention to this history!
Initially the Postcards of Petersburg project will start with Phase 1. This includes 14 locations, many of which are centered around Sycamore Street.
These postcards have been digitally restored and will be produced as metal full-color signs. This restoration retains the original color palette but corrects the color, undoing the aging that occurs in the inks and paper. Damage such as stains, creases, tears and sometimes missing pieces are repaired.
But the goal is to retain the original printing errors that were common with this type of printing. Thus retaining the nostalgia of this now outmoded form of printing.
These signs which come in 3 sizes will be installed in the approximate location that the postcard depicts. This will give the viewer the ability to see Petersburg now and what it looked like a century to a century and a half ago.
Each postcard comes with a QR code which takes the viewer to a website and a dedicated webpage with more information about the postcard and the history surrounding that particular location.
The website includes a general history of postcards. There is also a map that shows each location in the city that has a corresponding postcard.
A new idea to be added to the website is to show the messages on the backs of the postcards. This will give a very intimate and fascinating insight into the people living and visiting Petersburg over the last century.
The project is fully funded and has been approved by the Architectural Review Board, multiple property and business owners. As of December 2021 Petersburg City Council approved the postcard signs as historical markers and for their installation on city property!
There has been a very positive response from the community, business owners and city government. Those of us involved in the project are excited to give the community and visitors a view into Petersburg’s rich history through postcards! We hope you will feel the same way!
Are you knowledgeable about the history of Petersburg? Do you have postcards related to the city? I could use your help! Please contact me if you would like to assist with this project and be a featured contributor.
Special thanks goes out to: Richard Cuthbert, Terry Ammons, Dulanie Ward, Richard Wilson, and Joanne Williams among others from their input and support.