Kevin Moore Postcard Collection, 1883-1988
Kevin Moore Postcard Collection, 1883-1988
Wish you were here! Postcards from early Cloverdale
Long before the internet, local newspapers and letters from friends provided most information about local interesting attractions. Newspapers had simple black and white images, and the average letter did not include photos.
The World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 introduced a simple postcard with a color drawing of the fair as a souvenir. Because of a change in postal regulations, the card could be sent in the US mail for one penny. That began a new generation of souvenir postcards in the United States.
From small town merchants to large resorts, everyone wanted to advertise or immortalize their endeavors with a picture postcard. Postcards had a nice profit for sellers, and display racks took up little space so they could be found for sale in most businesses.
It was considered good etiquette to replicate courtesy after receiving a card. People would endeavor to send a local card back to the sender. Some people kept a few postcards readily available while others would make sure to send a card when they had a special event or a vacation.
The U.S. Post Office noted that in 1908 about seven hundred million postcards had been mailed. By 1913 number increased to over nine hundred million
Most families would have postcard albums to show visitors as a form of entertainment. Imagine what it must have been like in 1910 to send an elderly aunt, in the rural Midwest, a colorized image of the natural steam escaping from rocks with the words, “The Devil’s Tea Kettle at the Big Geysers Resort Cloverdale” across the photo. Or the foreign concept of having so much citrus fruit available that exhibits at a fair could be built out of oranges! In the cold winters of February, relatives in Chicago must have been amazed to receive a photo postcard of the Cloverdale Citrus Fair.
As a great number of people had limited education and writing space was limited on early cards so the catchphrase, “Wish you were here!” was a common expression written on many cards.
I hope you enjoy this view of a moment in Cloverdale’s history when people took time to be amazed by the simple and interesting things in our wonderful community.
If you have historical photographs or postcards you would like to share, reach out to the Cloverdale Historical Society https://www.cloverdalehistoricalsociety.org/
(or Contact Us at the Sonoma County Library)
--Kevin Moore, 2026
Wish you were here! Postcards from early Cloverdale
Long before the internet, local newspapers and letters from friends provided most information about local interesting attractions. Newspapers had simple black and white images, and the average letter did not include photos.
The World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 introduced a simple postcard with a color drawing of the fair as a souvenir. Because of a change in postal regulations, the card could be sent in the US mail for one penny. That began a new generation of souvenir postcards in the United States.
From small town merchants to large resorts, everyone wanted to advertise or immortalize their endeavors with a picture postcard. Postcards had a nice profit for sellers, and display racks took up little space so they could be found for sale in most businesses.
It was considered good etiquette to replicate courtesy after receiving a card. People would endeavor to send a local card back to the sender. Some people kept a few postcards readily available while others would make sure to send a card when they had a special event or a vacation.
The U.S. Post Office noted that in 1908 about seven hundred million postcards had been mailed. By 1913 number increased to over nine hundred million
Most families would have postcard albums to show visitors as a form of entertainment. Imagine what it must have been like in 1910 to send an elderly aunt, in the rural Midwest, a colorized image of the natural steam escaping from rocks with the words, “The Devil’s Tea Kettle at the Big Geysers Resort Cloverdale” across the photo. Or the foreign concept of having so much citrus fruit available that exhibits at a fair could be built out of oranges! In the cold winters of February, relatives in Chicago must have been amazed to receive a photo postcard of the Cloverdale Citrus Fair.
As a great number of people had limited education and writing space was limited on early cards so the catchphrase, “Wish you were here!” was a common expression written on many cards.
I hope you enjoy this view of a moment in Cloverdale’s history when people took time to be amazed by the simple and interesting things in our wonderful community.
If you have historical photographs or postcards you would like to share, reach out to the Cloverdale Historical Society https://www.cloverdalehistoricalsociety.org/
(or Contact Us at the Sonoma County Library)
--Kevin Moore, 2026