An archive of over 1,100 early 20th-century postcards from one family. One new postcard every day.
Back — Oct 29-08 Hello Pearl thought I would surprise you. L. B.
Back — Hello Pearl – how are you. im fine and dandy only a little hot. Peter Matrimedy [?] of T. B.
Back — To let you know I did not forget that night. Ha! ha! your friend, Edna Worman
Front — Is this so Pearle? I hope this won’t happen to you. We have some fine weather at present. Say Pearle is it my turn to write? I don’t know I’m so mixed up. We’re going to have a dance Feb. 22. in the Hall at Angus, I wish you were here. Love & kisses to a friend so true. Lovingly Yours. M. S.
Back — Dallas Ills. 22-09 Dear friend. As I promised, I will send you a view of Dallas. As Ever yours, H.
Oak Street in Dallas City, Illinois shows the commercial core of a small river town — brick storefronts, wooden awnings, a quiet main street that served the farm families of Hancock County’s southern tier. Dallas City was connected to Carthage by road and to the wider world by the Mississippi River; its economy depended on both. H. sent this card from Dallas City. The street is empty in the image, which may indicate it was taken on a Sunday or early morning when commerce hadn’t yet begun.
Back — Rec’d your card thanks for same. Where are you going to spend the 4th come up to Dallas & we will go to Burlington. V.H. ] This is where I spend many long and tiresome days.
Dallas City, Illinois sits on the Mississippi River in Hancock County, about twenty miles south of Carthage on the river road. The city was platted in 1836 and grew as a river landing serving the agricultural hinterland; by the early twentieth century it was a small brick-street town with a school, a bank, and the river commerce that sustained communities of its size along the upper Mississippi. V.H. sent this real photo postcard of the high school building. The stone Gothic-style windows on a prairie school building suggest civic ambition in a community that took its children’s education seriously.
Back — 10/19/09 Came home with the intention of writing you a long letter but found out that writing material was scarce so could not write a long one as intended. Dont forget to do what I said about this card. Sigh and pray for me not to act foolish so guess will have to content myself by going to a timber land. Always, Elva.
Back — I am going to write some of these days if I have to double up. Well I suppose old santa came to see you He did [?] me. I suppose you are still hello girl, I am clerking in a Millinery store yet. F. H. T.
Back — under Otis in the Philipines Is this long distance? Betty
Back — I recived [?] your postcard all right. I am quite [?] some better am able to work now. James Chesnut.
Back — Hello Pearl; I am in Elvaston now. Going to skidoo soon Ned [?].
Back — Wed a. m. Ready to go to fair and a hard day of cleaning. Letter & money came yesterday Will write a letter if I can find time later Wont see Herb [?] unless accidentally. Wish I could send this thing [?] by him. Dont know when I’ll come home now. Cant figure out the phone call Ma.
The Hancock County Courthouse in Carthage was completed in 1907, replacing an earlier structure. Its classical revival architecture — the columns, the prominent dome — expressed the aspirations of a county seat that had been founded in 1833 and incorporated the memory of Joseph Smith’s murder at the nearby jail in 1844 into its civic identity. “Ma.” sent this hand-colored photograph from Beardstown, Illinois — she was traveling and sent a card of Pearl’s own county courthouse, the building that defined Carthage’s civic center.
Back — Lyd & I will be down to-night. You need not meet us as we will come on our wagon. Will bring fruit. Has Marg [?] got her paper. Berk.
North Side Square in Carthage, Illinois shows the commercial district that surrounded the Hancock County Courthouse — the shops, banks, and professional offices that a county seat of Carthage’s size supported in the early twentieth century. Berk sent this real photo postcard from Carthage, the image capturing a specific moment in the square’s life: specific storefronts, specific automobiles at the curb, a specific Saturday afternoon. Carthage was Pearl’s town; she knew every business on this square.
Back — I expect you think I am sending these Cards far enough apart We play Smith Center a foot ball game tomorrow we beat Redcloud 8 to 4 last [?] Friday Write soon F. H. Z. [?]
