TexasEscapes.comTexas Escapes Online Magazine: Travel and History
Columns: History, Humor, Topical and Opinion
Over 1800 Texas Towns & Ghost Towns
NEW : : TEXAS TOWNS : : GHOST TOWNS : : TEXAS HOTELS : : FEATURES : : COLUMNS : : ARCHITECTURE : : IMAGES : : SITE MAP : : SEARCH SITE
HOME
SEARCH SITE
ARCHIVES
RESERVATIONS
Texas Hotels
Hotels
Cars
Air
Cruises
 
 Texas : Architecture : Carnegie Libraries

THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY
AND THE PENNY POSTCARD

One cent stamp
by John Troesser
Recording the wonders of the new century, it’s hard to imagine the number of people who collected these photographs of history. It’s also hard to imagine an era of two and three digit phone numbers and twice-daily mail delivery. The scribbled messages also reveal their popularity: "Couldn’t find one of the Denton Courthouse, hope this will do."

"Here’s one from Beaumont, you now owe me two." The simple message "Please return favor", with nothing else except the address, shows that the sender was replying to a newspaper ad for an exchange of "views" from a distant city. So affordable and available, stores would notify customers by post ("Dear Miss, your dress is ready.") A street address wasn’t necessary in a town where everyone knew your name (and your business). I once owned several letters addressed to Captain Ira Stover, New York City.

After Courthouses and City Halls, Carnegie Libraries were the most photographed buildings from this period, although it was nearly a three-way tie with asylums and sanitariums. (Where people were thought to go when they read too much.) In the twenties, all three lead categories were swept aside by Hotel postcards, possibly because they were free in the lobby and there’s always the desire to show off to the folks back home that you always stay in a hotel with indoor plumbing, even if it’s just for the novelty of it.

Even today, most postcard dealers maintain a separate category for Carnegie Libraries. While every town had a City Hall, however humble, and every county seat a Courthouses, a library especially a Carnegie Library was a source of civic pride. Carnegie Libraries had to be applied for, which means at least one member of the community could write. Courthouses merely proved that your town had lawyers.
Visit Razed in Texas to see postcards of the following cities’ lost libraries:
  • Abilene Razed 1958
  • Corsicana Razed 1967
  • Dallas Razed, no date available
  • El Paso Razed 1968
  • Fort Worth Razed 1937
  • Houston Razed, no date available
  • San Antonio Razed 1929
  • Waco Razed no date available
  •  
    HOME | TEXAS ESCAPES ONLINE MAGAZINE | TEXAS HOTELS
    TEXAS TOWN LIST | TEXAS GHOST TOWNS | TEXAS COUNTIES

    Texas Hill Country | East Texas | Central Texas North | Central Texas South | West Texas | Texas Panhandle | South Texas | Texas Gulf Coast
    TRIPS | STATES PARKS | RIVERS | LAKES | DRIVES | MAPS

    TEXAS FEATURES
    Ghosts | People | Historic Trees | Cemeteries | Small Town Sagas | WWII | History | Black History | Rooms with a Past | Music | Animals | Books
    COLUMNS : History, Humor, Topical and Opinion

    TEXAS ARCHITECTURE | IMAGES
    Courthouses | Jails | Churches | Gas Stations | Schoolhouses | Bridges | Theaters | Monuments/Statues | Depots | Water Towers | Post Offices | Grain Elevators | Lodges | Museums | Stores | Banks | Gargoyles | Cornerstones | Pitted Dates | Drive-by Architecture | Old Neon | Murals | Signs | Ghost Signs | Then and Now
    Vintage Photos

    TRAVEL RESERVATIONS | HOTELS | USA | MEXICO

    Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Recommend Us | Contributors | Staff | Contact TE
    Website Content Copyright ©1998-2008. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved
    This page last modified: July 22, 2010