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Saveur magazine includes one of our oldies-but-goodies in its Five Thanksgiving Books feature.
“For an historical perspective on the centerpiece of the feast, we recommend Andrew F. Smith’s The Turkey: An American Story, which traces the bird’s journey from its native North America to the tables of Europe and, finally, to its status as an American icon.”
No surprise, we agree!
On April 10, 1900, University of Illinois benefactor Arnold Beckman was born in Cullom, Illinois. Fourteen years later this snowy scene of Beckman’s hometown was captured for postcard distribution.
Cullom, 1914. No publisher given.
Taken from Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo (University of Illinois Press, October 2012). Previous postcards here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Is this Illinois? With the wooded hills in the background, it’s reminiscent of a highway view in West Virginia This is an early 20th Century postcard of Savanna, Illinois, a Mississippi River town in Carroll County.
Savanna, ca. 1910. A. O. Elliott (#U.S. 502), Savanna, Ill.
Taken from Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo (University of Illinois Press, October 2012). Previous postcards here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
In recognition of President Obama’s victory, today’s featured postcard is The University of Chicago in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
The University of Chicago, ca. 1935. Max Rigot Selling Co., Chicago (#272); C. T. American Art. Courtesy of Curt Teich.
Taken from Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo (University of Illinois Press, October 2012). Previous postcards here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
In 2009 we published Steven Ashby and C. J. Hawking’s book Staley: The Fight for a New American Labor Movement. Here’s a postcard view of Decatur’s Staley plant around 1940.
The A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company, Decatur, ca. 1940. Curt Teich & Co., Chicago; C. T. American Art; Decatur News Agency, Decatur, Ill.
Taken from Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo (University of Illinois Press, October 2012). Previous postcards here, here, here, here, here, and here.
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The Chicago Reader reminisces while reading Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo.
“Postcards used to be a common form of communication. Particularly with those of a certain era. I remember getting lots of postcards from my grandparents as a tad. They were the original, literal text message: quicker to dash off than a letter, and cheaper to send too. (My grandparents, having gone through the Depression, were thrifty.) The only downside is that the mail carrier and anyone else who came across it would see the message written on the card. But the message coming from my grandparents was always ‘Love you and miss you.’ Who wouldn’t want that to be seen?”
Yesterday the Chicago Bears demolished the Tennessee Titans 51-20 in Nashville. Next week Da Bears come home to Soldier Field to play the Houston Texans. Here’s a postcard of that iconic stadium from early last century.
Soldier Field, ca. 1930. American Colortype (#307), Chicago and New York.
Taken from Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo (University of Illinois Press, October 2012). Previous postcards here, here, here, here, and here.
It’s the last weekend before the 2012 presidential election and neither candidate has spent much time campaigning in the State of Illinois, much less in the Press’ hometown of Champaign. 100 years ago William Howard Taft didn’t take our vote for granted.
President William Howard Taft’s campaign train, Champaign, 1912.
Snapshot photo, privately printed on postcard paper.
Taken from Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo (University of Illinois Press, October 2012). Previous postcards here, here, here, and here.
Main Street, Galena, ca. 1960.
Color-View Inc. (#63769-B), Rockford, Ill.; Ektachrome by Joe E. Clark; Dexter Press, West Nyack, N.Y.
Taken from Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo (University of Illinois Press, October 2012). Previous postcards here, here, and here.
The West Street business district, Rockford, ca. 1960.
Color View, Inc. (#6275-C), Rockford, Ill.; photo by H. Bruechner; printed by Dexter Press, West Nyack, N.Y.
Taken from Picturing Illinois: Twentieth-Century Postcard Art from Chicago to Cairo (University of Illinois Press, October 2012). Links to previous postcards archived here.
