Virtual Coffee Talk: Picture Postcards, the Happy Invention

Thursday, November 5, 2020
7:00 PM 8:00 PM 19:00 20:00

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Please register below!

Katherine Hamilton- Smith, Director of Public Affairs and Development for the Lake County Forest Preserve District will be presenting her program “Picture Postcards: The Happy Invention,” as a Virtual Coffee Talk on Thursday, November 5 th at 7 pm. She will be discussing the history behind postcards as cultural icons, including details about the world’s largest public collection of postcards, the Curt Teich Postcard Archives. The first picture postcards were printed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago–making Illinois the birthplace of the American picture postcard. Since those flowery Victorian originals, uncountable billions of postcards of every aspect of life have been printed; depicting train stations and bandstands; street views and cartoons; ads for products and conveniences; beauties and freaks; social history both whimsical and dark; and everything in between. Ms. Hamilton-Smith says about the significance of postcards, “Almost everything you can imagine in the 20th century – good and bad – can be found printed on picture postcards. They are one of the most enduring forms of documentation in the history of visual communication.”

As the founding curator of the Teich Archives, Ms. Hamilton-Smith’s talk will also touch on the unique role that Illinois and the Curt Teich Company played in the development of picture postcards, and their documentary power and significance. Attendees will be able to enjoy this digital program from the safety and comfort of their own homes, using the Zoom information below.

Thank you to our Coffee Talk sponsor, Village Bank & Trust!

Please register below for a reminder email and to take a survey after the presentation from the Illinois Humanities Council, who helped fund this program.